Atlantic City bleeds as would-be gamblers pay bill

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Related Articles

WTO mulls ministerial talks in IndiaCranes Software exceeds expectations on election p...India Inc calls Obama 'protectionist'Downturn effect: Double-digit salary hikes a thing...

: Terrence Dopp

It’s 3:45 am in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Jimmy Panagiotou just walked away from the poker table after 5 and half hours, about $200 lighter.

The 43-year-old professional gambler, wearing a World Series of Poker baseball cap and leather jacket, is on a cigarette-and-coffee break outside Caesar’s casino, pondering his next move.

Looking around, he takes his loss in stride as he notes the eerie quiet of the largest gambling district in the US after Las Vegas. Only diehards remain. “It’s not like it used to be,” Panagiotou said. “All of the casinos are struggling.

People are not going to find money to gamble when they need to find it just to live.”

After 28 years of growth, Atlantic City’s gambling proceeds are down for the second time in a row. In the first 11 months of 2008, revenue from casino games fell 6.7% to $4.2 billion, regulators reported. Last year’s 5.7% decline was the first ever, as the number of visitors slipped to 33.3 million from 34.5 million. The slowdown comes as Governor Jon Corzine has warned that the state faces a revenue shortfall of $1.2 billion for the year ending June 30 and $5 billion in fiscal 2010.

Through November 2008, the state collected $338 million in Atlantic City tax revenue, down from $384 million in 2007, and $364 million in 2006. Casino employment fell to 39,137 in November last year from more than 42,000 as recently as August and a peak of 51,560 in July 1997.

James Hughes, dean of the Edward J Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, said the casino industry is vital for the economy of southern New Jersey.

“It’s possible Atlantic City is past its peak,” said Hughes, who predicted the situation may worsen next year. “It could never go back to its past glory. It’s a much tougher game now.”

Last year, the seaside resort’s gambling houses struggled with smoking restrictions and slot-machine competition from neighboring states. This year, rising unemployment and near-record home foreclosure rates deterred even more gamblers. Casino construction has been shelved. Bonds of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc, which owns three Atlantic City casinos, trade at as little as 12.25 cents on the dollar on concern the company can’t make interest payments.