Trump Plaza set to close in Sept., N.J. officials
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
ATLANTIC CITY - The list of casinos closing or soon to close here just grew by one. Trump Plaza will close its doors for good in mid-September, according to state officials who were briefed Friday by lawyers representing the casino.
"I believe Sept. 16 is the targeted closure date that we were told," said Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo (D., Atlantic). Mazzeo said both he and State Sen. Jim Whelan (D., Atlantic) received a phone call late Friday afternoon from a Trump Plaza lawyer.
Mazzeo said he was told by the attorney that Trump Plaza management plans to make a formal announcement and issue 60-day layoff notices to about 1,600 employees on Monday.
"This is another blow to the casino industry here," Mazzeo said in a phone interview. "With mid-September the timing of the closing, it will have a devastating impact on the local economy."
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20140712_Trump_Plaza_set_to_close_in_Sept___N_J__officials_say.html
Impotent Fake Billionaire Reality Show Toupee Donald Trump, has no comment.
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Last edited Sat Jul 12, 2014, 04:32 PM - Edit history (5)
Casinos on the East Coast in particular are finding that they can't subsist on high rollers alone.
Casinos need gamblers, both low and high rollers. Gamblers need discretionary income. Weak economies don't produce enough discretionary income, so there aren't enough low rollers.
And that doesn't include the cost of room, board, and travel.
rocktivity
Last edited Wed Jul 16, 2014, 04:01 PM - Edit history (5)
...Christie came in and rejected the tunnel project even though it would have created solid jobs...(a)nd instead built...a much NOT needed casino in...already bloated Atlantic City...East Coast and high-end elite Casinos do NOT mix...PA/DE/MD/NY...have been poaching away the day trips. Why drive to Atlantic City when you can drive 30 minutes...?
Even WITHOUT a car, I can get to the casinos in Yonkers (NY), CT (Foxwood/Mohegan Sun), the Poconos (PA), or near Kennedy Airport (NYC) just as easily as I can to Atlantic City. Or I could just stay home and save the cost of travel, room and board by gambling online -- but that requires discretionary income, too.
rocktivity
P.S. Are you familiar with the Christie Crime Digest?
Last edited Sat Jul 12, 2014, 11:23 AM - Edit history (1)
Despite it being clear that NJ doesn't need another mall OR another casino:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5222495
rocktivity
In addition to the "famous" (and sometimes infamous) Steel Pier, there were other piers like Million Dollar Pier, Steeple Chase Pier, and Central Pier, that catered to families and notably, to kids, with rides and arcades and whatnot. But when the casinos came, they effectively began an assault on the boardwalk... effectively torpedoing boardwalk businesses and amusements because they wanted to force the tourists into the casinos to gamble. All that's left of the amusement piers is Steel Pier (which I don't even recognize anymore) and Central Pier, with the other 2 becoming a condo and a mall. Thus began the demise of the ocean-front.
When gambling was first approved, they also promised to pump money into the city itself off the boardwalk, but that never materialized, and the city's infrastructure continues to languish some 35-plus years later. It was bad enough that mayor after mayor got caught up in the city's almost intractable corruption.
Back in '74 on a weekend trip there, we stayed at what was then the Holiday Inn (which was a tower not far from the old convention center). In the '80s, that hotel property eventually got gobbled up and incorporated into what became Trump's fantasy - the very Plaza casino (originally Harrah's) that is now scheduled to close.
There has always been so much potential in AC compared to a place like Vegas - mainly because of the ocean. Yet decade after decade, the potential was squandered and corrupted.... and people wonder why folks migrate to Ocean City, NJ (which is dry) or Wildwood, NJ. (also dry but trying to change...). They could be like a Coney Island there (and have gambling too) but they got greedy.
A couple days ago, I stumbled upon a cool video (from 2012) with a 20-minute rolling tour up the boardwalk that captions the names of the major facilities along it. Notable was the obscenely massive Revel near the end of the video (that has been through 1 bankruptcy and ready for another) that is at the far northern end of the boardwalk near ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. How can you build something near nothing with little foot traffic and expect to survive there? 
As a fan of HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" (congrats to them for 5 Emmy nods, mostly technical), for the historical backdrop that does actually follow real history, with incorporation of fictional characters and lots of Jersey and Philly references, I can see how very little has changed in the past almost 100 years.
Last edited Sat Jul 12, 2014, 07:33 PM - Edit history (1)
to gamble away hundreds to make a northern NJ casino viable? Especially now that there aren't enough of the middle class low roller penny slots players DonCoquixote speaks of? With a 20-minute commute, they sure aren't going to be spending the night. And it's not going to draw gamblers from New York when they have casinos in Yonkers, Connecticut and Queens to choose from -- look, Ma, no New Jersey bridges or tunnels!
rocktivity
