ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — For the second straight month, Atlantic City casinos have set a record for the biggest monthly revenue drop in the 30-year history of legalized gambling here.

March figures released yesterday by the state Casino Control Commission showed the gambling halls took in $318.4 million, a drop of 19.4 percent from a year ago.

That eclipsed the previous record for the biggest monthly decline, which was set in February, when revenues fell 19.2 percent.

The recession and stiff competition from slots parlors in Pennsylvania and New York continue to take a frightful toll on the nation's second-largest casino market.

Three casinos here are in bankruptcy, a fourth is headed there within weeks, and still another is fighting off foreclosure because it can't pay its bank loans.

Nine of the 11 casinos suffered revenue drops of 21 percent or more, led by the Atlantic City Hilton Casino and Resort, which has been one of the city's worst performers in recent years.

Its revenues were down 34.8 percent.

Atlantic City is now in the third straight year of revenue declines that started when slots parlors opened in the Philadelphia suburbs. Those new gambling halls gave closer-to-home options to customers who once had little choice but to drive to Atlantic City.