Atlantic City To Have Fewer Blackjack Tables, No Really, This Time We Mean It
The Revel finally admits its hopes of finding a buyer have faded and that it will be closing later this year.
Having perhaps disingenuously announced that it would be closing its doors unless it found a buyer during bankruptcy proceedings, the newest and largest casino in Atlantic City, The Revel, has now admitted it will actually be closing on September 10th of this year. This follows the Atlantic Club closing up shop completely and two other casinos, the Showboat and Trump Plaza, also playing the “if we can’t find a buyer” card this year.
Revel Admits The Truth
• Closing on the 10th of September
• Future of Atlantic City not all about blackjack
• Re-purposing schemes already on the table
The shrinkage in the number of viable casinos in Atlantic City comes as no surprise to analysts who cite increased competition from mega-destinations abroad, surrounding states who’ve opened their own casinos, and the all-encompassing beast that is the internet. The closure of 25% of the city’s casinos may leave some 8000 people without work, and decorate the famous broadwalk with hulking great empty edifices that will need to be re-purposed as the casino strategy investors used to pursue is no longer as attractive in terms of returns.
Schemes And Dreams
Various schemes already exist that range from resorts to condos but as yet none has caught the public imagination nor met with approval from city authorities reeling from this very sudden readjustment after a lengthy period of steady decline. “We are disappointed in the decision that the Board of Revel has made as there appeared to be several bidders for the property.” said the Mayor in a statement, although he completely failed to name any of the potential buyers, going on to admit, “I am not aware of the current facts.”
The facts are that Atlantic City faces an income and employment crisis if they don’t implement some smart strategies to win back visitors or re-brand themselves as a different sort of destination. Gambling might well carry on being the city’s backbone, eight other casinos still operate within the city limits, but as the number of people willing to gamble fall, and the blackjack tables at yet another giant casino fall silent, one has to wonder for how long that can possibly continue.
