AT THIS point, there's been so much hand-wringing in
Atlantic City that it's surprising that casino execs and politicians aren't
walking around with skeleton fingers.
Not that concerns aren't merited as the former gaming
capital of the East may see as many as three of its 11 gambling dens close
before the first autumn leaf changes color.
But despite the relentlessly bad news of the past seven
years - which saw casino revenue sliced in half, lost to legal gaming halls in
every state that surrounds it - Atlantic City and its chief (only?) industry
aren't dead. On life-support, maybe, but not yet flatlining.
There is actually a way the town and its casinos can
conceivably return to destination-resort prominence. In fact, elements of the
plan have recently entered the public discussion, most important of which is
the establishment of a casino somewhere in North Jersey.
As recently as eight years ago, the idea of a gaming hall
anywhere in Jersey but Atlantic City would have been the height of folly and
dismissed out of hand. After all, the northern half of the Garden State was -
and remains - a crucial feeder market for A.C. So why would you take that
business away?
Because the sad fact is that most of the gambling revenue
that has left Absecon Island is never coming back. It's now the property of
casinos in New York and Pennsylvania, which, thanks to their proximity to
gamblers in the 201 area code, have glommed a big chunk of the North Jersey
market. So, we have to start with this premise: that money has left Atlantic
City for good and there needs to be new revenue sources.
So here's a five-step plan that could work:
* The state
Legislature approves one casino in the Meadowlands, or another northern
location.
* This casino must be
the mother of all slot houses - say 10,000 machines, or whatever number will
make it the world's largest (slots remain the financial backbone of the casino
industry). Table games are fine, but the casino must primarily be a slots parlor.
* By law, ownership
of this casino is assigned to a consortium of the current A.C. owner-operators.
Ownership stake can be determined by annual market share: One day a year, new
figures can be used to determine which company owns how much of the North
Jersey casino during the subsequent 12 months.
This step is key, because to award a North Jersey license to
a company that has no skin in the Atlantic City game would be blatantly unfair
to the corporations that have invested hundreds of millions there. And having
existing casino companies as stake-holders could lead to increased Atlantic
City business through the use of player rewards cards.
Resorts Hotel-Casino, which is now part of a three-casino
network overseen by the Mohegan tribe of Connecticut, appears to be reaping the
benefits of its affiliation with its sister properties in Connecticut and
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
* Instead of the 8
percent state tax Atlantic City casinos pay, this casino's vig should be more
in line with other states. Pennsylvania's taste, for instance, is a whopping 55
percent. Let's make this, for conversation's sake, 45 percent.
* Of that 45 percent,
a to-be-determined percentage should be exclusively earmarked for two things:
Underwriting dirt-cheap (as in $39 round-trip) flights from markets in the
Southeast like Atlanta, Charlotte and Jacksonville that don't yet enjoy
"convenience gaming," and subsidizing the kinds of major conventions
that will fill hotel towers Monday through Thursday during the off-season.
Recent statements by various movers and shakers have
included some of these elements, suggesting this is a realistic plan. Of
course, nothing is a mortal lock, and this suggestion may ultimately not prove
workable.
But the real point here is that it is too early to turn the
lights out along the Boardwalk, and that it may still be possible for Atlantic
City to not only survive, but thrive.
However, mere hand-wringing and lamentation over unstoppable
forces are most assuredly not going to get the job done. A.C. is on the ropes
yet again. It's time to start thinking outside the ring.
Source: Philly.com
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