Things have never been this bad for Atlantic City’s casinos. Revenue is plunging at a record-breaking pace. Nearly 3,100 jobs have been lost in a year. Things have gotten so bad at Atlantic City’s gambling halls that the head of the local casino association recently urged workers not to discuss the economy with customers.

Philadelphia (Reuters) – Atlantic City casinos revenues dropped by a record margin for the second straight month in March, officials said on Thursday, as the recession and competition from other states cut gamblers‘ spending. Combined revenue from the 11 casinos in New Jersey’s gaming capital dropped 19.4 percent to USD 318.4 million in March…

Carl Icahn is making a play for a hotel-casino that is down on its luck. Following months of anticipation, the billionaire and activist investor made a USD 200.0 million offer to acquire the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City on Tuesday, demonstrating how poorly the gaming industry has fared over the last year amid the economic downturn. Year-earlier bids for the struggling casino were closer to USD 1.0 billion.

Atlantic City, New Jersey – A New Jersey congressman says the USD 787 billion federal stimulus package is hurting the casino industry in Atlantic City. U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo wants to change a provision in the stimulus law passed in February that bans the use of money that benefits casinos or other gaming establishments. LoBiondo says Atlantic City is losing millions of dollars in business as a result of the provision.

Atlantic City, New Jersey – Casino workers from Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Detroit and Connecticut joined together today in a new Gaming Workers Council, with a broad organizing, bargaining and communications agenda. „We’re excited,“ said Sharon Masino, a casino dealer at Caesars in Atlantic City and a member of the UAW/AC Dealers Union. „With everybody joining together, we’ll be stronger than ever.

(Bloomberg) – Casino gambling revenue dropped 15 percent on the Las Vegas Strip in January and tumbled 19 percent in Atlantic City last month as the U.S. recession curbed spending on travel and betting. Casino proceeds on the Strip, the biggest U.S. gambling center, slumped to USD 510.4 million in January, Nevada’s Gaming Control Board said today in an e-mailed statement.

Atlantic City, New Jersey – Pinnacle Entertainment says building the USD 2 billion casino-hotel it had envisioned for the Atlantic City Boardwalk is just not possible right now. Company chairman Dan Lee said Friday the beach house-themed casino on land where the Sands Casino Hotel once stood is just a „dream“ at this point. Whether that dream becomes reality is looking more uncertain than ever.

Revenue for the 11 casinos in Atlantic City decreased 9.4 percent last month from the same month a year ago. The casinos generated USD 321.4 million in total gambling revenue, according to figures released today by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, which regulates the Atlantic City gaming market. Of that, nearly 66 percent of total revenue, or USD 211.6 million, came from slot machines. The remainder, USD 109.8 million, came from table games.

Atlantic City, New Jersey (AP) – Penn National Gaming on Thursday became the latest company to scrap plans to build a lavish new casino in Atlantic City. The Wyomissing, Pa., firm announced in a statement accompanying its fourth-quarter earnings that it won’t exercise its option to build a new casino on Route 30 in an area far away from the existing 11 casinos. The company’s chairman and CEO, Peter M. Carlino, blamed market conditions.

Atlantic City – There is a chance that the „stalking horse“ that wants to buy Tropicana Casino and Resort may not finish the race or even get out of the starting gate. Cordish Co., the Baltimore developer designated last fall as the so-called stalking horse, or leading bidder, in Tropicana’s protracted sale, missed a deadline Monday to reach agreement to buy the troubled casino.

New York – The first clues that this could be a different kind of railroad experience are in a passenger guide that includes drawings depicting the proper way to display a poker face and admonishes, „Trafficking bad vibes into AC is strictly prohibited.“ Welcome to the Atlantic City Express Service, dubbed ACES, the first direct train service between New York and New Jersey’s gambling mecca.

Atlantic City – This town’s run of bad luck continued yesterday with word that the opening of the USD 2.5 billion Revel casino would be delayed for as long as a year. Revel’s decision means all four megacasino resorts planned here are either delayed or shelved indefinitely because of the national credit crisis. It adds to the misery that hangs like a fog here because of a collapse in business that has six of the city’s 11 casinos in or near bankruptcy.