Atlantic City Bleeds as Would-Be Gamblers Pay Bills Instead

[marmar]

Atlantic City Bleeds as Would-Be Gamblers Pay Bills Instead
By Terrence Dopp


Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- It’s 3:45 a.m. in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Jimmy Panagiotou just walked away from the poker table after 5 1/2 hours, about $200 lighter.

The 43-year-old professional gambler, wearing a World Series of Poker baseball cap and leather jacket, is on a cigarette-and-coffee break outside Caesar’s casino, pondering his next move. Looking around, he takes his loss in stride as he notes the eerie quiet of the largest gambling district in the U.S. after Las Vegas. Only diehards remain.

“It’s not like it used to be,” Panagiotou said. “All of the casinos are struggling. People are not going to find money to gamble when they need to find it just to live.”

After 28 years of growth, Atlantic City’s gambling proceeds are down for the second time in a row. In the first 11 months of 2008, revenue from casino games fell 6.7 percent to $4.2 billion, regulators reported Dec. 10. Last year’s 5.7 percent decline was the first ever, as the number of visitors slipped to 33.3 million from 34.5 million.

The slowdown comes as Governor Jon Corzine has warned that the state faces a revenue shortfall of $1.2 billion for the year ending June 30 and $5 billion in fiscal 2010. Through November, the state collected $338 million in Atlantic City tax revenue, down from $364 million and $384 million, respectively, in the first 11 months of 2007 and 2006. Casino employment fell to 39,137 in November from more than 42,000 as recently as August and a peak of 51,560 in July 1997. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a8VfINwFvedk&refer=home

[Uben]

1. The economy is one factor.....

...but another is the fact that more casinos are being built, spreading out the number of gamblers. We had a new casino built here, and the damned place is packed every weekend! People don't have to travel as far to gamble these days, and that has made the meccas of Las Vegas and Atlantic City less attractive. Plus, I have noticed the offers from casinos for free rooms and meals has dropped considerably, as well as the comps.