Gov. Christie, in his first remarks about Atlantic City in
the wake of news Tuesday that 3,200 more casino workers in the city would soon
be out of jobs, announced Wednesday the convening of a summit next month on the
resort's future.
In a statement issued by his office, Christie - who was
traveling in Alabama and Mississippi to boost fellow GOP governors - said there
was "no doubt that Atlantic City faces real challenges as the city
undergoes revitalization," while also emphasizing signs of progress in
non-gaming areas, including luxury-tax receipts and retail wages.
Rebranding Atlantic City as more than a gaming destination
has been a focus of Christie and other political leaders as the city struggles
to stem the hemorrhaging of gaming revenues amid increased competition in
surrounding states.
On Tuesday, Revel Casino Hotel announced it would shut its
doors by Sept. 10, becoming the fourth casino in the city to close or announce
closure this year.
"It's going to be painful. Thousands of people are
losing their jobs," Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) said
in a phone interview before the governor's office announced the plans for the Sept.
8 summit. Sweeney is among the invitees.
"We're going to have to rebuild," Sweeney said. He
said he expected that the Revel property - whose construction has been
criticized by some industry experts but which he supported - would still be
"successful," "whether it's a casino or another function."
He said that further diversifying the city's economy would
be key to putting people back to work.
The closure of the recently constructed luxury Revel - a
$2.4 billion project that Christie helped resurrect in 2011 after the recession
stalled its completion - would add to the ranks of unemployed workers in
Atlantic City.
The Revel announcement followed the closure of the Atlantic
Club earlier this year, and news that Showboat and Trump Plaza will also close,
leaving thousands more out of work.
"Here's a situation that no one expected,"
Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian said Wednesday night on a talk-radio program
on WPG 1450.
Of Christie's summit announcement, Guardian, a fellow
Republican, said: "This is where the rubber meets the road."
He said state officials have been visiting Atlantic City,
but the summit would allow for a collective conversation: "You bring all
of them together and say, 'Here's what we really need to do.' "
Guardian is listed among the invitees to the summit, which
Christie's office said would also feature Democratic and Republican legislative
leaders in the Senate and Assembly; other Atlantic City officials, including
Democratic State Sen. Jim Whelan, Republican Assemblyman Chris Brown, and
Democratic Assemblyman Vincent Mazzeo; and officials of the casino industry and
organized labor.
Jon Hanson, the chairman of a state gaming, sports, and
entertainment advisory commission, will lead efforts in issuing recommendations
after the summit, Christie's office said.
Christie created the advisory commission in 2010 to make
recommendations on challenges facing the gaming, sports, and entertainment
industries.
That year, the commission issued a report with
recommendations for Atlantic City, including the creation of a "clean and
safe" tourism district with state oversight, and marketing efforts to
increase visitation.
Christie adopted that approach the following year, creating
a state-run tourism district in the city and beginning a marketing push that
focused on non-gaming options in the resort.
In the announcement Wednesday, Christie's office highlighted
"Signs of Atlantic City's Nongaming Renewal." It noted growth in tax
receipts for alcoholic beverages, event tickets, and other "amusement
attractions"; a casino hotel occupancy rate for 2014 above 95 percent; and
an expansion of the retail sector over the last three years, particularly
clothing stores.
Sweeney said the prospect of Richard Stockton College
locating a campus in Atlantic City - a possibility also floated recently by
Guardian - "would be a major first step."
The Senate president has previously said he envisioned
creating a nonprofit board of business leaders to reinvest gaming revenues from
possible new casinos in North Jersey into Atlantic City. Currently, the state
restricts casinos to Atlantic City.
Asked Wednesday whether he still supported that approach,
Sweeney said it was one of several "concepts" he had. "I'm sure
others have better ideas," he said. But he reiterated that new revenue
from any expansion of gaming to North Jersey "has to go to re-creating
Atlantic City."
Lawyers for Revel on Wednesday filed a notice in federal
bankruptcy court that they intended to delay an auction that was scheduled for
Thursday - and was thrown into doubt when the company said it had encountered
challenges in its attempts to sell the property.
In the filing, the lawyers said the debtors had been
"working with certain potential bidders" and required more time
before an auction. The filing does not specify a new auction date.
Businesses that employ workers in the Revel resort,
meanwhile, have asked the court to schedule a status conference to address
their concerns.
Warren Martin, a lawyer for 11 businesses that employ 800
workers, asked Judge Gloria Burns in a filing Tuesday to hold a conference to
address the resort's future "in a clear and transparent manner," saying
that the Revel debtors had "chosen to shroud their sale process in
secrecy."
Christie is scheduled to hold a town hall-style meeting in
Ocean City on Thursday.
Source: Philly.com
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