Atlantic City is slowly but surely regaining its former glory. With increased visitors, the city has created new jobs and hence more money coming in for local businesses, which have been impacted by a dip in tourism.
The “Atlantic City news” is a positive article about Atlantic city after it has been hit by the pandemic. It talks about how the city bounced back big from the pandemic and that there are new jobs available, as well as how tourism is up.
Everyone is talking about Vegas, Vegas, Vegas, but Atlantic City is rebounding back — and in a major way.
After a blazing summer at the tables, Atlantic City casinos had their greatest month of October in ten years in October.
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According to data provided by the playnj.com website from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, revenue from table games and slots at nine hotel-casinos in A.C. totaled 237.5 million in October 2021.
Not only was it 28% greater than it was during the pandemic in October 2020, but it was also 17% higher than October 2019, the better benchmark for the tourism sector to gauge its recovery by.
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Furthermore, it was Atlantic City’s best October in ten years, an astonishing statistic given the city’s – and other destinations’ – slow recovery to even a semblance of normality. Even more astounding when you realize that there were 11 hotel-casinos in October 2011, when revenue was just under $262 million, compared to nine now.
“Customers’ eagerness to return to in-person gaming and entertainment experiences, as well as the addition of more entertainment options now that restrictions have been lifted,” Jane Bokunewicz, faculty director of Stockton University’s Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism (LIGHT), told playnj.com.
Despite its enviable location near such metropolitan areas as New York City and Philadelphia, Atlantic City has been dormant for years. However, when additional gaming establishments developed, A.C. became less significant.
However, there has been a concerted attempt to restore the hotel-casinos along the iconic Atlantic City Boardwalk, with Caesars Entertainment investing $400 million.
An unprecedented summer of pent-up demand from travelers, coupled with cost-cutting initiatives by hotel-casino owners, drove the rebound.
According to New Jersey Online Gambling, gross operating profit for the third quarter of July, August, and September was $310.8 million, more than twice what it was in 2020 and $50 million higher than comparable three-month periods in 2019 and 2015. It’s also Atlantic City’s best third quarter since 2011.
Former Atlantic City casino regulator Daniel Heneghan told New Jersey Online Gambling that although the summer months are considered the peak season for the New Jersey coastal resort town, reducing the casino staff to 22,000 workers from 27,000 during the same quarter also helped.
“Revenues have actually returned, but expenses have kept down — and that number of people is a significant reason for that,” Heneghan added. “While there are still many jobless or underemployed persons in this region, casinos have developed more effective methods to operate.”
