September 24, 2014
Current Events
Built on Absecon island on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic City was once a desolate town plagued by poverty, crime and corruption. But in 1978, the New Jersey legislature legalized gambling, breathing new life into Atlantic City as a booming resort town which quickly filled with bustling casinos along the historic Boardwalk.
With Las Vegas as the only location for legal gambling within the United States, Atlantic City was immediately embraced by east coast residents who appreciated the idea of driving an hour or 2 to gamble, instead of having to fly 3000 miles to Nevada. Atlantic City quickly became a hit, turning a downtrodden and economic failure of a town into an ocean front metropolis.
Soon after, Native American communities decided to replicate the concept of Atlantic City, opening casinos up and down the eastern seaboard. Recognizing the economic advantages of legalized gambling, various states throughout the country also began to open and operate casinos of their own to supplement their state budgets. The game was on!
For as long as Las Vegas and Atlantic City were the only 2 locations Americans could legally gamble in, the 2 towns were bustling with tourists. However, once east coast residents were given a plethora of gambling options within 15 minutes of their homes, the competition was on. Why drive to Atlantic City when you could simply stop at the local casino on the way home from the drug store?
Current Events
Atlantic City is dying. Why? Because it no longer holds the monopoly on east coast gambling. The Revel Hotel and Casino had high hopes of turning around Atlantic City’s struggling casino market by building an extravagant resort showcasing high tech rooms with high end finishes, meant to attract a younger clientele. For a brief while it worked. They just couldn’t sustain it. In fact, no Atlantic City casino has been able to for decades.
As of today, 4 of Atlantic City’s 12 casinos have gone out of business. Several others are expected to soon follow. This means 30 floor hotels with thousands of rooms each will go unused, unneeded and will add to a rapidly growing ghost town.
The northeastern U.S. casino market is saturated, yet it continues to add new gambling halls to markets without enough demand to support them all. This only drives a deeper dagger into Atlantic City, which is dying a slow but sure death.
It's funyy how I was born and raised in the Northeast (PA to be exact) but I can't remember ever having the slightest bit of interest in visiting ANY major NE tourist city. That includes Atlantic City.
As a child, I absolutely loved when my family made our annual summer pilgrimage to certain Southern cities to visit with kinfolk who never migrated to the North.
As an adult, I still return to certain southern cities, for vacation, as often as possible.