It’s amazing to hear that Atlantic City, New Jersey Casinos are on the down-hill spiral and that two of them are closing their doors this weekend and a third will shut its doors in two weeks. This makes a person speculate, “How many more will find it impossible to keep their doors opened due to low player attendance and end up closing their doors too?”
I’m remembering a statement I made in the 1980’s as I walked down the boardwalk toward the Resorts Casino with some friends when I said, “There are too many casinos going up here and it’s just a matter of time until other states are going to wise up and want to reap the rewards from the income that casinos are bringing in here.”
I do believe my statement is now coming to fruition and this is exactly what’s happening in Atlantic City now because there are too many states that adjoin the New Jersey area that have their own casinos and it’s destroying the once booming business in Atlantic City. It causes me to ponder if there’s a possibility even more casinos could close their doors in the near future.
Casino players are going to more than likely play in their own states and not travel to other areas; and it causes me to sense a cloud of gloom over Atlantic City Casinos. When they began to build casinos there, they went up in a flurry to accommodate the large crowds that gathered to play but now the players are melting down and in my opinion will continue to do so because of the casinos popping up in nearby states.
With the close of these three casinos a total of 5,000 workers will lose their jobs in an unprecedented weekend in the seaside gambling resort; and of course, this leaves people to feel the betrayal by a system that once promised stable, well-paying jobs for them. This is sad because these employees believed they had a solid job until retirement age. Not only will they be losing their jobs but their benefit programs as well…it’s a devastating happening for these employees and my heart goes out to them.
Many of these employees have aged as the years rolled by and it will not be possible for them to get good paying jobs in the future.
Chris Ireland, a bartender at the Showboat since it opened said, “We never thought this would happen.” Ireland’s wife also works there too, as a cocktail server and both will be unemployed before dinnertime on Sunday. Can you imagine their devastation?
What makes it even tougher to swallow is the Showboat, one of four Atlantic City casinos owned by Caesars Entertainment is turning a profit; but the company says it is closing Showboat to help reduce the total number of casinos in Atlantic City. Caesars teamed with Tropicana Entertainment to buy the Atlantic Club last December and close it in January.
Many believe the Great Recession had an affect on the casinos and I’m sure it did to a degree but in my truthful opinion, “The writing was on the wall from years ago;” and if it wasn’t it definitely should have been considered, because when the casino gambling was approved by New Jersey voters in 1976, the city should have deliberated the probability of other states voting it in too. The city should have held the number of casinos to a minimum, placing a moratorium on too many casino building permits being granted. I would have thought the city would have recognized there were a large number of states bordering New Jersey and this could bring total disaster if they approved gambling in their states.
Mayor Don Guardian has stated his city is remaking itself as a more multifaceted destination, where gambling is only a part of the allure.
This is a sad situation for New Jersey casino employees to face and I can imagine the pain and agonizing emotions of the employees who have already lost their jobs; as well as for those who possibly hang in limbo not knowing what the future holds for them.
It’s my opinion this question looms, will Atlantic City lose more of its casinos in the future and return to the days in the 1970’s?
Barbara Kasey Smith is the writer of this article and the opinions stated in this article are solely hers.
Source:
AOL.Com