Atlantic City saved

It’s all over. The fat lady hath sung. And Atlantic City lives to gamble another day. Discouraged by poll numbers that showed insurmountable support for the status quo in atlantic-cityNew Jersey, expansion PAC Our Turn NJ is closing up shop. That means that well-heeled potential casino developers Jeff Gural and Paul Fireman (the two frontrunners) are out of the fight. They’re pulling their ads from Garden State media. Sure, they would have been mandated to construct billion-dollar pleasure palaces, but you know what we would have gotten on Election Day Plus One: slots in a box. (Strangely, the American Gaming Association buried this banner-headline story deep in its daily briefing.)

Polling showed the voters were skeptical that the state would do as it said in terms of using the new tax proceeds to shore up economically blighted areas of New Jersey (a big vote of no-confidence for state leaders). Gural and Fireman covered their retreat with self-serving verbiage. “We believe deeply that gaming expansion to Northern New Jersey is a remarkable opportunity that should not be squandered. We have committed $4 billion in private investment to this state to create world-class resort destinations with gaming. The benefits include 43,000 new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in recaptured revenue — a rare opportunity for New Jersey. In addition, as New York debates allowing gaming in New York City, it is critical that we beat them to market or risk losing this opportunity permanently,” they said in a statement. Somebody should pick up the phone, and tell Gural and Fireman that New York has already debated casino expansion into the Five Boroughs and it will happen a few years from now.

Then they faced reality. “The data, however, speaks for itself. The current political climate in New Jersey and voters’ concerns about the lack of details relating to the effort have sarloproved overwhelming.” A few expansion supporters vowed to fight on. Meanwhile, state Sen. Paul Sarlo (D, right) blamed Atlantic City itself and its attendant troubles with souring voteres on big, shiny, new casinos. “This news makes it more difficult for the referendum to pass, but we’re not giving up on it. But if it was to go down, the biggest loser in the whole process will be the Atlantic City region,” Sarlo said somewhat nonsensically. He also got in a dig at casino-averse Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, saying that the state should have just approved one new megaresort and juiced it in for Gural.

Pro-Atlantic City activist Bill Cortese characterized yesterday’s actions as “billionaire developers throwing temper tantrums.” That sounds about right to us. Now it’s time to watch and see how MGM Resorts International and Carl Icahn — who have been making future Atlantic City development contingent upon the election’s outcome — react now that the Boardwalk appears to have been saved. Caesars Entertainment, commendably, isn’t waiting: Harrah’s Resort will get a $30 million infusion, mostly for room renovations in the Bayview Tower. Casino President Rick Mazer attributes the capital commitment to an upsurge in convention business, the Bayview Tower rooms being the closest to the new convention center. Added Mazer, “This is the first of several renovation projects we hope to be doing soon.” Hear, hear.

* Although it’s already dropped $719,562 on its pursuit of a slot parlor in Tiverton, Rhode Island, the political arm of Twin River Casino isn’t taking anything for granted. It’s opened a campaign office in Tiverton. The idea is for residents to stop by for a cuppa joe, ask questions and (hopefully) walk away with a yard sign.  Twin River’s dollar commitment to the election also includes in-kind contributions of $58,836, including get-out-the-vote efforts by casino staffers. This compares to almost zip in anti-casino spending, although opponents are promising a big, eleventh-hour push. (Surprisingly, Penn National Gaming hasn’t waded in, trying to protect its Plainridge Park flank.) Twin River is trying to sell Tiverton on the merits of a $75 million casino with 30 table games and an unspecified number of slots. Given the support of area unions, this particular election looks to be in the bag.

* So what happened to that $200 million hotel that Cordish Gaming was going to build at Maryland Live? It’s still underway but Cordish couldn’t wait for it to be finished next maryland-live-hotelyear, especially with MGM National Harbor heading at them at warp speed. “We’ve got a little over a year before our hotel is ready. This will allow us to start serving our casino guests yesterday,” said casino President Rob Norton, explaining the speedy acquisition of the nearby Hilton Garden Inn, now Live! Lofts. “The customers went to bed under one brand and woke up under another,” Norton quipped. Cordish will invest $3 million in rebranding the property and spiffing it up. Cordish gains 250 rooms, 100 suites and an indoor pool — to say nothing of a new marketing tool. To make it even more appealing, the hotel will provide free shuttle service both to Thurgood Marshall Airport and to the casino itself. You could literally say that Cordish caught the competition napping.

* Want to fit in a little plastic surgery with your next casino stay? Then all you’ll have to do is hop a plan to Incheon International Airport and stay at Mohegan Sun‘s Inspire megaresort … once it opens, that is. That’ll be in early 2020, so possess thy soul in Inspirepatience. “We strongly believe that Korea and more specifically Incheon will be the tourist hub of northern Asia, and as such we think this is a perfect location to extend our brand,” said Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority President Bobby Soper. While you’re waiting for your sutures to heal, you can tour the planned Native American heritage museum. The more sane members of your family, meanwhile, will find rock climbing and ziplining waiting for them at an “eco-adventure” park. You can be sure that Soper’s fellow casino-industry leaders will be watching Inspire closely, to see if a South Korea casino can make its nut just off of tourist business.

* Carbondale, Illinois, has drawn a line in the sand over the proliferation of slot routes in town. The city council is pegging the total allowed at 100. Between the current installed base and those machines awaiting approval, Carbondale could soon have 94 video gaming devices. Slot routes are definitely making a dent in casino revenue in the Land of Lincoln, having raked in $785 million over the past four years. Carbondale leaders cited image concerns and the intrusiveness of the machines as reasons for curbing their number.

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