Lately, the situation in Atlantic City has been pretty heated, with the New Jersey’s gambling resort facing some financial difficulties. Still, a number of casino openings are expected to be carried out, which provoked rumours that the ailing resort’s gaming industry is slowly recovering after several years of serious setbacks.
It came to Casino Guardian’s knowledge that the president and Chief Executive Officer of the American Gaming Association, Geoff Freeman, has commented that the casino and gambling resort has headed in the right direction, with companies that are aimed at making million-dollar investments in Atlantic City.
According to Mr. Freeman and also some analysts, a number of upcoming events could have a positive impact on the region and could be considered as a sure sign for the recovering Atlantic City gaming industry. First, it is the expected opening of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City that is scheduled for the summer of 2018 which is considered as one of the events that could turn out to be beneficial for the resort’s industry. The group of Hard Rock International and some of its investors is expected to invest over $500 million in the property’s renovation.
In addition, the proposed joint venture of MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment Corp., which would team up on a casino development project which has not been revealed for the time being. Last but not least, the former Revel, which is now known as TEN, has been expected to reopen, despite the fact that the opening date remains unsettled.
As mentioned above, the gaming industry in the resort has been suffering from a sharp decline over the last three years. A lot of problems followed after five Atlantic City casinos closed doors, which resulted in massive lay-offs and approximately 10,000 jobs lost in the region.
The possible reopening of the former Revel Casino Hotel Atlantic City has been one of the most-expected events that could take place on the territory of New Jersey’s gaming resort, especially considering the fact that the re-opening date has already missed a few times.
The resort, which was took a $2.4-billion investment to be build back in 2012, closed only two years later, in September 2014, after filing for bankruptcy protections. Then, the property magnate Glenn Straub spent more than $80 million to buy the casino property and after that rebrand it to TEN Atlantic City. After missing a couple of reopening deadlines, Straub had reportedly hoped to reopen the casino until the end of June 2017, but these hopes had soon been shattered by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission which issued a ruling under which the property must be granted with a gambling license first.
In mid-July, a private equity firm was reported to have placed an acquisition bid of $220 million to take over the TEN Atlantic City property.
Apart from the new casino projects to be invested in, Atlantic City is expected to soon begin plucking the fruit of the new gaming options which have been lately added to the list of permitted gambling activities in the state. As reported by Casino Guardian, at the beginning of July the New Jersey Senate finally gave the green light to a new Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) Bill, called A-3532.
Under that bill, the state of New Jersey officially allowed daily fantasy sports betting, which would allow DFS operators to provide their sports betting services on the territory of New Jersey. The daily fantasy sports industry is considered possible to bring hundreds of millions in revenue for local casinos and the state.
- Author
Daniel Williams
