Atlantic City's Declining Casinos

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

It was a sobering moment for Lynne Nagy last Tuesday evening, as she found herself surrounded by 30 empty slot machines at the Trump Marina casino.

Just three years ago, the Edison woman said, she had to wait in line to play her favorite machine off season.

"It's pretty dead," she said at 9:30 p.m. "They've even cut back on the comps."

As Atlantic City marks its 30th year as a casino town tomorrow, there's no clear bet on its future.

Gaming here is trying to position itself to survive a perfect storm: soaring gas prices, a smoking ban, a soft economy, stiff slots competition from Pennsylvania and New York, and the expansion of gaming in Delaware and Connecticut.

The Queen of Resorts, as Atlantic City once dubbed itself, is in crisis mode.

"We are at a critical junction in the history of gambling in Atlantic City," said Tony Rodio, regional president for the Atlantic City Hilton and Resorts, the first casino to open here, on May 26, 1978.

At last week's East Coast Gaming Congress, a two-day affair at the Atlantic City Convention Center focusing on trends in the industry, several top casino executives lamented the impact of Pennsylvania slots - even as they showed splashy videos of their coming projects.

Instead of playing to the diminishing slots audience - largely day-trippers who still bring in 69 percent of the Shore town's casino revenue - executives want to lure more affluent visitors with upscale restaurants, luxurious spas, and hotel towers reaching to the sky.

"Atlantic City has run out of the convenience customer," said Kevin DeSanctis, chief executive officer of Revel Entertainment Group L.L.C., which is developing a $2.5 billion casino on the Boardwalk next to Showboat.

"The reality is, if it doesn't move to an overnight customer, it will be very difficult for us to be successful in the future."

He added: "The outlook in Atlantic City is pretty bleak. The monthly revenue numbers are horrible."