“This certainly needs to be part of the discussion. “There are only so many gambling dollars to go around,” he said. Republican Assemblyman Ronald Dancer also said a cap on casino license should be studied. He said AC’s overall gambling revenue has increased in the 15 months since two new casinos opened last year: Hard Rock, the former Trump Taj Mahal, and Ocean Casino Resort, the former Revel.īut the gross operating profit of the casinos has declined since the two new entrants joined the market. The most burning issue for Atlantic City in the new year is likely to be whether state lawmakers approve a measure to ban smoking in the nine casinos. “That’s just a bad idea,” said Caputo, who is a former Atlantic City casino executive. The idea received support from several lawmakers.ĭemocratic Assemblyman Ralph Caputo panned a proposal to restore casino operations to the Showboat, which currently operates as a non-gambling hotel. The Rutgers report predicted a casino due to open next year in Philadelphia’s stadium district with 2,000 slot machines could divert $63 million to $150 million in gambling revenue currently being spent in Atlantic City casinos. WHYY thanks our sponsors - become a WHYY sponsor
