Atlantic City is a gaming city located in New Jersey, USA, which has 12 land-based casinos. The casino industry became legal in 1976, and it was 2 years later, in 1978, that the first casino in the city was born: Resorts International.
A city that has enjoyed high popularity
The city took advantage of a few people to boost its popularity. For example, Donald Trump is investing in Atlantic City and making sure to bring in renowned boxers to attract tourists. Mike Tyson carried out most of his fights there in the 1980s. It became the main tourist destination in the late 1980s.
But things change with the development of Las Vegas and two casinos in Connecticut. The revenues of Atlantic City begin to decrease slightly … In 1999, Steve Wynn decided to invest $ 300 million in the “Tunnel Project,” which consists of connecting parts of the city by a big road and tunnels. In 2003, Casino le Borgata was born.
Today, some big casino brands are present in Atlantic City, such as Bally’s, Golden Nugget, Harrah’s, Caesars, or even Trump Plaza. The most recent built is the Revel in 2012 – which cost nearly $ 2 billion – and which already, shows losses after a year.
Atlantic City in sharp decline
In 2012, the city’s revenues peaked at around $ 3 billion, there are around 33,000 casino employees, and the city attracts some 28 million visitors. 2012 is also the year of Hurricane Sandy, which puts another blow on the head in October 2012 and which forces the casinos of the city to close for a few days (not counting the material damage).
Townspeople and casino owners say they are worried about Atlantic City’s future. Since 2006, each year has been worse than the last in terms of income and massive job cuts are a subject more and more discussed. That year, the city’s overall revenue was $ 5.2 billion.
Online regulation in an attempt to save casinos
To save the disastrous economic activity, some believe that legalizing gambling in the city could be a form of solution. This is what is happening in 2012-2013.
The governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, validated the legislation in 2013, and several Internet companies like Pokerstars want to be better prepared to take advantage of the American online market. The firm with the red spike tried for several months to acquire the Atlantic Club, but negotiations failed in early 2013. Rational Group, which owns Pokerstars, turned to Resorts, the city’s very first casino. You should know that to obtain an online gaming license in New Jersey, you must collaborate with a land-based casino. The future will tell us if online games can save land-based casinos.