ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - A state senator says the company
that bought the former Atlantic Club Casino Hotel wants to make sure it never
reopens as a casino.
James Whelan, a former mayor of Atlantic City, wrote this week
to New Jersey casino regulators complaining about what he says are attempts by
Caesars Entertainment to prevent a future buyer from operating the property as
a casino. He said the company is seeking a deed restriction to be part of any
future sale of the property dictating that it cannot be used as a casino again.
Caesars and Tropicana Entertainment jointly bought the
Atlantic Club out of bankruptcy court, divided its assets and closed it Jan.
13. Tropicana got the gambling equipment and customer lists, and Caesars got
the property and its 801-room hotel.
In a letter sent Wednesday to the state Casino Control
Commission and the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, Whelan said letting
Caesars prevent the property from ever again becoming a casino is bad for
Atlantic City.
"Instead of maximizing the sale price, as most sellers
would, they are more interested in limiting future potential competition,"
Whelan wrote. "While it may well be that the current market would make it
unlikely that the property would re-open as a casino, there is no telling what
the market conditions will be in 15, 10, or even five years from now. Shouldn't
we allow the market to dictate if and when this property could become a casino
again, not have Caesar's restrict competition?"
Earlier this year, Whelan wrote to the same casino
regulators asking them to block Caesars from making a bid to buy the distressed
Revel Casino Hotel, which is considering selling itself or making a second
bankruptcy filing. Whelan said allowing Caesars, which already owns four of
Atlantic City's 11 casinos, to add another one would violate state law giving
any one company an "undue economic concentration" in Atlantic City.
Caesars Entertainment owns Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah's
Resort Atlantic City, Bally's Atlantic City and the Showboat Casino Hotel.
Caesars won't say if it is interested in Revel, and company
spokesman Gary Thompson declined to comment on Whelan's letter.
The joint bid by Tropicana and Caesars was widely seen as a
long-overdue contraction of the Atlantic City market, which could not support
the amount of casinos it had. The seaside gambling resort has been steadily
losing revenue, market share and jobs for more than seven years as casinos
continue to open in neighboring states.
About 1,600 workers lost their jobs when the Atlantic Club
closed.
Source: Philly.com
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