Atlantic City - New Jersey residents remain fundamentally split over whether or not people should be allowed to smoke in the resort's casinos, a new survey finds. Nearly two-fifths of the people polled by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind public opinion research center said smoking should be banned outright in gaming halls. But nearly half thought it merely should be limited to certain areas.
Proposed legislation could allow about 300 Atlantic City casino regulators to join a union. The state Senate Labor Committee is scheduled to consider a bill that would allow Casino Control Commission employees to drop their "confidential employee" designation and unionize. Under current state law, the designation is for public employees whose jobs or employment knowledge would make them incompatible to join a union.
Atlantic City - Resorts Atlantic City, the fading grande dame of Boardwalk casinos, has defaulted on its mortgage and is facing foreclosure by its chief lender. Column Financial Inc., a commercial mortgage subsidiary of investment bank Credit Suisse, wants Resorts' owner to voluntarily surrender title to the casino because it has fallen behind in payments on a USD 360 million loan.
Atlantic City's gaming slump has not only punished the casinos, but also the state agency that regulates the USD 4.5 billion industry. The Casino Control Commission has been forced into doing more with less amid the economic crisis that has hurt gaming operators and their vendors. Its operating budget has flatlined at USD 29.1 million. A virtual hiring freeze, combined with a cost-cutting, early-retirement program for state government workers in recent years...
Atlantic City - Once thought immune to recession, Atlantic City’s casino industry lost more than 2,000 jobs last year as employment fell to its lowest level in two decades. Casinos finished 2008 with 38,585 workers, the first time since 1987 that annual employment sank below 40,000, according to year-end figures released Tuesday by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. Employment peaked at 51,560 jobs in July 1997.
Atlantic City - New Year's Eve is to the casinos what the Super Bowl is to the NFL and the Academy Awards are to the motion picture industry. It is one gigantic blowout bash featuring lavish parties, extravagant meals and big-name entertainment to reward high rollers for their loyalty and keep them coming back in the new year. But as Atlantic City continues to struggle with the recession and plunging revenue, the most important holiday on the casino calendar will not be as grand as in years past.
Atlantic City, New Jersey (AP) -- Security guards at Atlantic City's 11 casinos may soon be able to detain suspected underage gamblers or drinkers on their own without waiting for police to show up. The presence of too-young customers has been a continuing problem in the nation's second-largest gambling resort. On Wednesday, a casino was hit with a USD 20,000 fine for serving drinks to two underage women...
Atlantic City, New Jersey (AP) -- Atlantic City's casinos won 7.8 percent less from gamblers in November than they did a year ago. Half a month with a smoking ban, coupled with a severe economic downturn that has left people with little money to spend or risk in the casinos caused yet another dismal month for the gambling halls. Only two of the 11 casinos reported an increase, while six reported double-digit decreases.
As millions of Americans are having problems paying their mortgages, so too are some Atlantic City casinos. Trump Entertainment Resorts became the second casino operator to say it would not make a scheduled loan payment while it tries to work out new terms with its lenders. Last month, Resorts Atlantic City did the same thing, and more could follow. It’s the latest proof that Atlantic City’s casinos, once thought to be recession-proof, are subject to the same financial pressures affecting the rest of America.
Atlantic City, New Jersey - As millions of Americans are having problems paying their mortgages, so too are some Atlantic City casinos. Trump Entertainment Resorts became the second casino operator here to say it would not make a scheduled loan payment while it tries to work out new terms with its lenders. Last month, Resorts Atlantic City did the same thing, and more could follow.
Atlantic City is desperately in need of some positive news. Their casinos have been experiencing record slowdowns, and projects that were set to be finished have been put on hold. Tuesday, the news could get worse for the city. The New Jersey Supreme Court will rule whether the former owners of the Tropicana Casino and Resort were wrongly stripped of their license last December. Tropicana Entertainment LLC has appealed to the state Supreme Court after losing their license.
Atlantic City - The construction tsunami that was meant to bring a classy luster to this place has slowed to a trickle thanks to the credit crisis. While a new USD 3.5 billion casino is starting to take shape next to Showboat on the Boardwalk, it is the only one of four huge projects moving forward. Both MGM Mirage and Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. have stated publicly that their USD 5 billion and USD 2 billion casinos...
