The latest Casino Connection Atlantic City is out, and my AC History piece is about a real Atlantic City institution, White House Subs: Mention the White House to longtime Atlantic City residents, and their first thought isn’t the building with the Oval Office, but the local landmark at Arctic and Mississippi avenues. Now part of […]
History of White House Subs in Casino Connection AC Read More »
atlantic city, writingOne of the revelations from yesterday’s 3Q results announcement was that MGM has received an offer of about $250 million for the 50% share of the Borgata that the company is obliged to sell thanks to the Pansy Ho/Casino Control Commission imbroglio. The bigger isn’t named, but since it is mentioned that Boyd has the
Who’s the mystery bidder on .5(Borgata)? Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingThis month in Casino Connection, I take a look back at one of Atlantic City’s most honest public officials, and its first noteworthy historian, Alfred Heston: Atlantic City has seen generations of public officials and interested citizens, but few residents have left a legacy as monumental as Alfred Miller Heston, a newspaper publisher, historian and
Alfred Heston in Casino Connection Read More »
atlantic city, writingAn experienced gaming executive (who I once worked for at the Trump Taj Mahal) has acquired Resorts Atlantic City, and a former Resorts exec has some advice. From the AC Press: One of the executives who oversaw Resorts Atlantic City during its 1970s heyday said the money-losing casino should transform itself into a convention haven
Turning around Resorts Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingThis week’s Las Vegas Business Press column takes a closer look at the game of baccarat, which is becoming more and more important on the Strip: At the level of the individual casino, there are even greater swings of fortune. Unlike Nevada, New Jersey discloses separate results for each of its casinos. This allows analysts
Bacc talk in LVBP, thoughts on empiricism Read More »
news about gambling, writingI’ve got a pretty interesting Atlantic City History article this month–it’s about the original Atlantic City Airshow, circa 1910. From Casino Connection: The Atlantic City Airshow, “Thunder Over the Boardwalk,” has become a city tradition. Since 2003, the spectacle of U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and scores of other military aircraft buzzing over the Atlantic Ocean
AC aeronautical history Read More »
atlantic city, writingJust to show you the kind of week I’m having, it’s Thursday and I’m just now getting around to posting a link to my bi-weekly LVBP column, which I should have done on Monday or Tuesday. I just got the beta version of the Macau gaming summary up, and I’ve jumped into a study of
Surprising AC slots in LVBP Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingNew Jersey governor Chris Christie’s Advisory Committee on New Jersey Gaming, Sports, and Entertainment has issued its report, which calls for a partial state takeover of Atlantic City. From the AC Press: But Atlantic city and state officials have naturally focused most on the governor’s plan to create a state-run portion of Atlantic City, in
NJ to take over AC casino district Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingThis is getting predictable. In May, casino revenues in Atlantic City declined 9% from May 2009. Year to date, revenues are down 7.9%, and it doesn’t look to get much better. I don’t think that table games in Delaware and Pennsylvania are going to help. It was an across-the-board decline. Every casino posted lower revenues
AC slides more in May Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingThe Trump Taj Mahal’s bad beat jackpot has finally paid off, in record fashion. Thanks to 84 year-old John Bazela’s four sevens getting beaten by by four aces, everyone at the table is quite a bit wealthier this morning. From the AC Press: Tom Gitto, the casino’s director of poker, said the jackpot usually hits
Bad beat profitable in AC Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingCasting around the Internet for stories to comment on, I saw a promising headline: Newsweek would tell me exactly why Garden State casinos were having such a hard time. Here’s the first paragraph, but you should click through and read the whole thing, just for fun: The Great Recession has brought more bad luck. According
Nothing doing in New Jersey Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingTable games are about to arrive in Delaware. From CBS-3: Gambling on table games begins this week at the first of Delaware’;s three racetrack-casinos.Low-limit test games begin Monday at Harrington Raceway & Casino, and the casino plans to go live with table gaming Friday for the start of the Memorial Day weekend, pending final approval
Delaware starts table games Read More »
news about gamblingIt’s not the proudest moment in Atlantic City history, but it’s an important one nonetheless. This month in Casino Connection, I take a look at ABSCAM: There aren’t any commemorative parties, but this year marks the 30th anniversary of a major Atlantic City news story-the Abscam investigation. The investigation—in which FBI agents posed as the
ABSCAM in Casino Connection Read More »
atlantic city, writingHarrah’s is undertaking a massive renovation of one of the city’s historic gambling halls. From the AC Press: Acknowledging that the cowboy concept has gone stale, Bally’s Wild Wild West Casino is preparing for a $1.5 million facelift to reinvigorate the aging casino just in time for the bustling summer crowds. … Bally's spent $110
Old west is old in AC Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingI somehow missed celebrating one of the biggest milestones in Atlantic City gaming history earlier this month: on April 2, the Trump Taj Mahal celebrated its 20th anniversary. But I did write a little about the road to opening in this month’s Casino Connection: Even before Atlantic City’s first casino, Resorts International, opened in 1978,
Happy birthday Trump Taj Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingInteresting article in today’s AC Press about local casinos’ new focus on…locals: The sluggish economy and fierce competition from Pennsylvania’s slot parlors for out-of-state customers have forced Atlantic City casinos to fine-tune their marketing strategies to focus more on the local area. In doing so, they have discovered there is a lucrative market right in
Evolution of AC: locals Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingThis isn’t the popular thing to say right now, but I’ve got real doubts about the AC mini-casino proposal. Here are my thoughts from the LV Business Press: Both Atlantic City and Las Vegas have had a difficult recession of course, by definition no recession is easy. Atlantic City, however, has suffered much more due
AC needs more than mini-casinos Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingMore news from Atlantic City, none of it good. From NJ.com: Resorts Atlantic City, the nation's first casino outside Nevada, says it may not survive; another Atlantic City casino hasn't made a loan payment since last summer; and three others are in bankruptcy court. Atlantic City's 11 casinos have been struggling for more than three
Yesterday I wrote a bit about the numbers behind the proposed mini-casinos considered for Atlantic City. Now, with news that Hard Rock is talking about spending $300 million to build a mini-casino, I thought I’d do a little number-crunching and learn if you’d be better off using that money to buy an existing property or
Comparison shopping in AC Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingHere are more details about the proposed regulatory changes in Atlantic City, which seem to make the tax process even more byzantine. Ah, I just wanted an excuse to use “byzantine” in a sentence. It’s one of those words that I don’t get to use enough. From Business Week: The new casinos would have to
Details of AC “overhaul” Read More »
atlantic city, news about gambling