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A Closer Look into Plans on Atlantic City’s Casino Industry

Posted on November 15th, 2010

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When gambling was made legal in Atlantic City way back in 1978, gamblers have made it their paradise. Since then, gamblers who live on the East Coast have established Atlantic City as their choice destination. Since the recession of 2008, though, business has not been good for the city. But the decline of the casino industry in Atlantic City has caused a blow to another industry that has been in turmoil as well – horse racing, which has been partially dependent on the gambling industry of the State. Now, casino executives and insiders are pinning their hopes on Trenton, the state’s capital, imploring them to save this ailing industry.

Lawmakers in the state capital, for their part, have been doing their share, working on bills to keep the casino industry in Atlantic City deregulated, beefing up the elite police force to make the boardwalk safer, and establish a fund which could supply millions of dollars that will be used to market and rejuvenate the image of Atlantic City. The plan of the legislature is to make Atlantic City a tourism district. This may be gathering more steam as the governor himself, Chris Christie, has also made plans to make the state the dominant agency in developing the city. Everyone, from casino stakeholders to state officials, have made it clear that they would like to make their area safer, cleaner and more accommodating for any type of visitor, be they gamblers or tourists. The legislature’s plan is set to be with the governor by July 1, 2011.

Mark Juliano, an Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority member and former CEO of Trump Entertainment said that the casinos of Atlantic City have been robbed of patrons by new slot and casino facilities located in New Jersey’s neighboring states. The gaming halls of the state get close to $3.9 billion in bets for the past year, which is down from $5.3 billion during Atlantic City’s heyday. Juliano explained, “We don’t have a monopoly anymore so you have to give people a multitude of reasons to come. The competition in other states is essentially slot machines at racetracks and some free-standing casinos. None of that has what we have here, the infrastructure and big hotels with 500, 1,000 and 2,000 rooms. The convenience gambler, we can’t sway. But there are enough people we can bring to Atlantic City for two or three days not just to gamble but for conventions and vacations with a beach.”

As a result, employment at the casinos has suffered, promoting a downward cycle: residents have lessened income, which means less casino patronage, which makes casinos sack its employees which goes back to further lessening the income of the residents. From a high of a 50,000-strong workforce, Atlantic City’s casino could now only afford to employ 35,000 employees. The main agenda of the casino industry as of the moment is the cleaning of the area’s image. That can only be done with having more cops, so that tourists would start to consider Atlantic City a safe destination. Juliano opined, “Perception can become reality. If people don’t think Atlantic City is safe, that has to be addressed. The improved presence of police will be a big part of a new look and feel for the boardwalk. I think you’ll also have more of an emphasis on keeping the boardwalk clean. Simple things like keeping the trash receptacles clean.”

State Sen. Jeff Van Drew suggests having 100 police officers in what would become a police unit especially for the special tourism district. This plan, merged with a measure by Senate President Steven Sweeney that is more or less the same, is expected to be acted on this week. There are also plans to streamline and loosen regulations done by the Casino Control Commission and Division of Gaming Enforcement of the state. Currently, the budget for these two bodies is a whopping $66 million, compared to Nevada’s similar regulation bodies that only have a $44 million budget. All these plans, though may take a lot of time to really bear fruit. Juliano claimed, “I don’t think you’ll see a lot right away because we’ll be in the process of developing plans and prioritizing what the needs for the district will be. But changes will be coming. It’s an exciting time.”