ATLANTIC CITY - The 3,200 workers who have made Revel home
the last 28 months are hoping against hope that the casino snags a buyer before
its targeted Sept. 10 closing to save their jobs and a key piece of Atlantic
City's skyline.
If the casino gets shuttered, the vast majority of them will
be unemployed and thrown into a glutted labor market that will soon include
2,100 workers laid off at Showboat if it, too, doesn't secure a buyer by Aug.
31, and 1,100 at Trump Plaza when that casino closes on Sept. 16.
"I'm staying optimistic," said Dana Flanagan, 23,
of Absecon, who has been a cocktail server at the $2.4 billion casino since it
on opened April 2, 2012. "I'm hoping something good happens."
Revel's ownership group, Revel Entertainment Group L.L.C.,
announced on Tuesday that due to "challenges" in trying to sell the
property, it had decided to wind down operations in preparation for a Sept. 10
closing.
But a bankruptcy-court filing on Wednesday by Revel's owner
said it was still negotiating with potential bidders and that "as a result
of these ongoing negotiations, and in an effort to maximize the prospects for a
value-maximizing sale transaction," the auction needs to be postponed
indefinitely."
That was little comfort for Victoria Samuel, 20, a
supervisor at CORE revelry, one of the stores at Revel's glitzy mall called
Shops at the Row. The shop, owned by the Marshall Retail Group, leases space
from Revel on the sixth level.
Samuel, of Lindenwold, said many of her coworkers were in
limbo, just like herself. If Revel closes, she said it's unclear what happens
to the mall.
"I don't know anything, so I can't say anything,"
she said Wednesday afternoon as she worked the cash register. "We are all
waiting to find out (whether Revel lands a buyer).
"I'm waiting to hear so I can start looking for a job,
or if they'll transfer me to another casino" to work another retail
outlet," said Samuel, who has worked at Revel for a year and a half.
"I knew when the casino opened it had problems, but I never thought it
would come down to this."
Neither did Ashley Gonzalez, 23, a sales associate a few
doors down at Pandora, a national jeweler. A few of the store's glass counters
were already emptied and the items boxed up on Wednesday.
"We had a meeting today and decided we needed to
prepare in case [the casino] closes," she said. "We started packing
up today and are just waiting for the final word. Other stores are packing up,
too."
"Shocked" is how Gonzalez described her emotion
when notice came down Tuesday that Revel was to close.
"I didn't think it would close," she said.
"Everyone that works here was really confident that it would get sold and
we were just waiting for the auction. Everyone is in shock. They hit us out of
left field."
Revel Entertainment declined to comment on Wednesday as to
what the company will be doing to aid employees about to be displayed.
"I feel for these people," said David Fiorenza, an
expert on urban and public sector economies at Villanova University.
"Atlantic City has high unemployment already with no
casino closings - currently the city has a 9.5 [percent] unemployment rate
compared with 6.3 percent nationally in June. But now, you have a glut of
unemployed workers with a hospitality background, and the winter months are not
kind to New Jersey in general because a lot of places close up or are not as
busy."
State and Atlantic County officials said they have reached
out to all the casinos facing closures - Revel, Showboat and Trump Plaza - and
have offered job search and retraining assistance for their affected workers.
The same was done in December and early January when the Atlantic Club casino
hotel was about to fold. The casino closed on Jan. 13.
"We are offering job retraining and job search services
and have food stamps for families," said Atlantic County Executive Dennis
Levinson. "We realize that people are going to have to, unfortunately,
adjust to the new normal.
"These layoffs impact all of South Jersey, not just
Atlantic County," he said. "The workers are coming from all
over."
Levinson said the county has established a Workforce
Investment Board that has set up shop in the casinos about to close "to
let them know what we have available." Workers are taught how to fill out
applications and how to dress for a job interview, among other things, at these
workshops.
The state Labor Department has also been actively reaching
out to the casinos this summer, after Revel declared its second bankruptcy on
June 19.
The agency has been working with officials in Atlantic City,
several South Jersey county administrations and their Workforce Investment
Boards, and even federal authorities, to link the casino workers who are facing
layoffs with new employers before any layoffs occur, said spokesman Brian
Murray.
The department is also informing casino workers how to file
online for unemployment insurance benefits and explore new jobs through
Jobs4Jersey.com, where the OnRamp services helps them to create and launch
resumes.
Source: Philly.com
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