Deteriorating Economy Hurts Atlantic City Casinos

Atlantic City's gaming revenue is down 6 percent for the first 9 months of 2008. This is causing some casinos to layoff staff. The Borgata announced in early October that they will be laying off 400 staff members. Harrah's Entertainment Inc. says it will be laying off hundreds at it's four Atlantic City casinos.

MGM Grand Casino Development in Atlantic City Suspended

MGM Mirage reported third-quarter 2008 net income fell 67% and said it was suspending plans to build a new casino in Atlantic City because of the credit crunch. Chairman and Chief Executive Terry Lanni said The company will halt development until the economy and capital markets "are sufficiently improved.

Smoking Ban Suspendeded

The Atlantic City Council decided to suspend the smoking ban on city casinos that would have taken effect on October 15, 2008 by at least a year.

Goodby Miss America Way

The Miss America Pageant had been held in Atlantic City since 1921. In 2007 the pageant moved to Las Vegas following a dispute over local funding and network television coverage. The pageant had been remembered in Atlantic city via "Miss America Way", the name of a block long section of road between the Sheraton Hotel and the Atlantic City Convention Center. This road is now being renamed "Convention Boulevard".

Bader Field

Bader Field, in Atlantic City, is a former airport. It is a 148 acre strip of land surrounded on three sides by water. The airport was used in the first attempts to cross the Atlantic Ocean by air. Bader Field is owned by the City, and is expected to be put up for sale in the near future. To find out more about Bader Field, follow this link: Bader Field

Chelsea Hotel

The new, "non-gaming" hotel, the Chelsea opened in June, 2008. It is located adjacent to the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City. It was built on the grounds of the Holiday Inn and Howard Johnson motels that had been at that location. The new Chelsea has 330 rooms and 12 suites, with both ocean and bay views.

Airport Parking Garage

In June of 2008, a new indoor parking garage opened at the Atlantic City International Airport. The parking garage is six stories high, and provides 1,370 parking spaces.

Borgata Water Club

The new 800-room "Water Club" tower opened in June of 2008, at the Borgata. The Borgata Water Club has 5 pools and a "Spa in the Sky". The Water Club features signature in-room dining by Manhattan Chef, Geoffrey Zakarian, and shopping at six exclusive boutiques.

Train Service Between New York City and Atlantic City

NJ Transit and Borgata Hotel & Spa, Caesars Atlantic City and Harrah's Atlantic City have joined forces to to provide weekend express train service between New York City and Atlantic City. This project was to begin in December 2007, but has been delayed until 2009.

Trump Marina Casino to be Sold

Coastal Marina, LLC, a New York-based gaming venture, is to acquire the Trump Marina Hotel Casino from Trump Entertainment resorts, Inc. The resort is to be re-branded as a "Margaritaville™” Marina Resort & Casino.

Link to more about Margaritaville

New $25,000 Chip

The NJ State Casino Control Commission recently approved the use of a new higher denomination , $25,000, gambling chip. The previous highest denomination chip was $20,000. The new chip is expected to be used on casino high- end tables, where gamblers can bet up to $50,00 at a time.

Harrah's Opens New Waterfront Tower

With the opening of it's new Waterfront Tower, Harrah's now has the the tallest building in Atlantic City at 525 feet, and the most hotel rooms at 2950, most with spectacular views. These new facilities include a tropical-themed pool underneath a 90-foot-high glass dome.

Harrah's Sold

As of Jan. 28 2008, Harrah's is no longer a public company. Harrah's Entertainment Inc. was sold to two private equity firms, Appollo Management L.P. of New York and Texas Pacific Group Capital of Fort Worth Texas, for $27.8 billion. Worldwide, Harrah's owns more than 50 properties that include casinos on land and in ships. The transaction includes four casinos in Atlantic City - Bally's, Caesars, Showboat, and Harrah's Marina.

Atlantic City Casino winnings drop in 2007.

On January 10th, 2008 the Atlantic City casinos reported that they had won less money in 2007 than they won the year before. The winnings showed a 5.7 percent decline to $4.9 billion. The lower winnings were attributed to new competition from slot parlors in Pennsylvania and New York, and the new smoking restrictions imposed on Atlantic City casino floors.

Tropicana Casino

On December 17th, 2007 the casino commission denied the Columbia-Sussex Corp. a license renewal for the Tropicana Casino. As a result, the Tropicana Casino is up for sale.

Sands Casino Demolished

On October 18th 2007 the Sands Casino was demolished, to make room for a new mega-casino resort. The Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. will develop on the Sands site, at Indiana and Pacific Avenues, a $1.5 billion mega-casino resort scheduled to open in 2012.

Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. recently (02/27/2008) stated that their plans to build on the Sands site might have to be put on hold because ot tight credit markets.

Smoking Ban

In April, the Atlantic City Council voted to impose a total smoking ban on city casinos that would take effect on October 15, 2008. Most of the casinos plan to comply with the smoking ban by building indoor unattended smoking lounges away from the slot machines and gaming tables.