Atlantic City casino leaders call for city upgrades to remain competitive facing NY three licenses

Atlantic City casinos are calling for the coastal resort city to improve its infrastructure and address ongoing concerns in an effort to remain competitive as New York moves forward with the projected opening of new gambling venues.

Executives from Hard Rock AC, Resorts, Tropicana and Bally’s tackled these issues at a forum last Friday, sponsored by the Greater Atlantic City Chamber, according to Associated Press. While officials described the additional Empire State venues as “inevitable,” they showed optimism on the destination city stepping up its game before that occurs.

“New York is coming,” said Joe Lupo, president of Atlantic City's Hard Rock casino and head of the Casino Association of New Jersey. However, he stated casinos in Atlantic City “have some time” -at least three or four years- to “really make an impact” before that happens.

Joe Lupo, president of Atlantic City's Hard Rock casino

Among problems awaiting corrections are poor infrastructure and potholed streets, plus dirty neighborhoods that do not give the appearance of being safe for visitors, executives said on Friday, according to AP. Casinos claim that should they join forces with state officials to address these concerns, the impact from upcoming New York casinos would be lesser.

Gaming operators are thus asking for a sustained “clean-and-safe” initiative to retain, and hopefully improve, visitation to the casinos. “Make Atlantic City as great as it can be in the next two or three years,” said Mark Giannantonio, president of Resorts. “Look at what is right in front of you: cleanliness and safety issues."

Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small had described such an initiative as slated to be a big part of plans for this year during his state of the city speech, delivered last month. But Lupo called on Friday for more specific, concrete plans. 

“We need to see some funding from the state and some real planning from the city,” the president of the Casino Association of New Jersey said. “The streets need to be paved. There needs to be more light. There needs to be more police on the streets.”

In addition to city improvements, casinos operating in New Jersey believe their already-established reputation, plus the iconic Boardwalk and the ocean, could help them compete with New York casinos. “People are still going to want to come down to the shore,” said Tropicana senior VP Jacqueline Grace.

Atlantic City casinos are also attempting to retain competitiveness by launching renovations. Last week, Borgata President and COO Travis Lunn said the property will revamp its hotel room offering and install new slot machines in an effort to retain its market leadership position.

The opportunity comes as other competitors in the New Jersey market, including Hard Rock and Ocean Casino Resort, have also announced investments to step up their respective games, something Lunn described as “healthy” for Atlantic City.

The selection process for three new casinos in New York City is expected to launch in late summer or early fall. Many major gambling and hospitality players have expressed interest in securing one of the licenses, including Hard Rock which, if chosen, would have operating venues in both the Empire State and New Jersey.