Atlantic City Gambling Revenue Further Hurt By Lack Of AC

Atlantic City casinos have experienced just about everything possible in the past couple of years to hurt business. On Thursday, two AC casinos had another setback that kept gamblers away from the slots and the tables.

Boardwalk Hall and Trump Plaza both were without air conditioning on Thursday after utility problems hit the area on Wednesday night. Customers immediately noticed the difference upon entering Trump Plaza.

"I come here usually a couple times a week," said Barry Friedman. "Today, though, I couldn't handle the heat. If it was fifty degrees outside it would be one thing, but with it hot outside, and no relief inside, it just became unbearable."

Friedman was just one of a handful of gamblers that we spoke to on the Boardwalk that claimed they had left one of the casinos lacking AC. Several of the gamblers were on vacation from other states, and were hoping they could re-enter the casinos by the end of the day.

Atlantic City gambling revenue has been steadily decreasing for the past several years. It all started with the recession, and it has continued until today. AC was set to have a major overhaul completed before the recession, with new casinos and renovations taking place all across the city. The recession caused several of those projects to be delayed, and others were canceled all together.

Competition is also growing for the city that used to be known as the gambling capital of the East Coast. Pennsylvania is making the strongest push to take the crown, with lawmakers approving table games for Pennsylvania casinos earlier this year. The table games have started to be offered in July at many of the state's casinos.

July 15, 2010
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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