The news isn't getting much better in Atlantic City, but you have to hand it to the journalists who are writing the headlines on its swan dive into the red.

The Press of Atlantic City reports "June gambling revenue at Atlantic City casinos down only slightly," while The Star-Ledger proclaims "Revel casino's gambling revenues up last month."

Both true, but both examples of reporting on the sunny eye of the storm while ignoring the raging hurricane surrounding you. Revel didn't get a big stake from New Jersey to get gaming revenue to fall just a little bit, and the fact that it took an extra million bucks from gamblers wasn't enough to lift it out of eighth place, where it's sat since its soft opening in April.

Anyway, when you're done pressure-hosing all the lipstick off this pig, you're left with an Atlantic City that posted a revenue decline of about half a percent from June 2011. Unfortunately, there were only 11 casinos in June 2011, and there are 12 now, so we're basically saying even the addition of a $2 billion megaresort can't tip the tables in the city's favor. And while gambling is only part of the picture at Revel, shouldn't it be enjoying some kind of honeymoon from players who want to at least get a feel for it before they head back to penny slots and all-you-can-eat shrimp bars? If eighth place is the high point, then for its investors, Revel is going to leave an aftertaste like a Chernobyl tomato — huge on the outside, radioactive on the inside.

Revel's response has mostly been to emphasize its nongaming attractions, including the conventions and shows it's hosting. There's no doubt that Revel uses a business model that's less dependent on gaming revenue — and it will probably enjoy more success with it than other casinos on the Boardwalk — but it is always going to be measured by its performance as a casino. You have to wonder if a future story will start off something like this:

ATLANTIC CITY — Officials at the new Revel megaresort, in an attempt to make sense of gaming data released by the state, reacted with amazement today when they realized there was a casino on the sixth floor.

"We had no idea this was down here," one surprised executive said. "I thought we were strictly a nightclubs-and-shows kind of venue."

Clearly, the casino needs to do a better job marketing its gaming amenities — a tall order at a time when the city's main marketing campaign, Do AC, looks a lot more like soft porn than slot machines. But if even the almighty Revel falters, stakeholders are bound to say, the only future for gaming is expanding it to fertile ground in the north.

I'm even more irreverent on Twitter @joe_arney.