Is This the End for Atlantic City? (nightlife, bill)
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It is more competition for AC so it is time that AC fought back and got more competitive. Better room rates, lower rakes, and more giveaways for starters. Especially lower rakes. Gamblers are VERY sensitive to the rake.
Also time to expand the non-gambling attractions like Vegas did. It can still beat out the dreary casinos of Pennsylvania, but it will take a lot of effort.
I prefer gambling trips of 4-7 days rather than just disappearing for an evening. So I will continue to support AC as long as they cut me a nice deal.
The daily gamblers are mainly seniors however and they will abandon AC in favor of a shorter drive and less time between rest rooms.
Competition is always a good thing. It will make everyone better. I look forward to the wars!
As long as local states still have their coach bus trips, the seniors (and myself!) will continue to come to AC. But competition is a good thing...can only make AC better.
It was actually competition which kicked the revitalization into high gear. The Trop built the Quarter as a way to compete with the Borgata and get people back from the marina to the boardwalk...then Harrah's opens the Pool (what a unique club that is!) to get people back to the marina...so maybe this new competition will end up making AC even better!
It's been reported that in 2009, Atlantic City’s casinos posted their worst financial returns since 1997.
Atlantic City casino revenues down 13 pct in 2009 | AP | 01/11/2010 (http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/business_breaking/20100111_ap_atlanticcitycasinorevenuesdown13pctin2 009.html - broken link)
I don't think that's specific to AC, but probably more global due to the recession and people limiting entertainment spending, companies cutting back on conventions, etc. although I'm sure competition from Pa and Delaware made AC's more extreme. From cnn money:
"Of the 41 states with major gambling revenue, 28 states reported declines over the year, with 14 states reporting decreases of more than 5%, according to the report"
It is more competition for AC so it is time that AC fought back and got more competitive. Better room rates, lower rakes, and more giveaways for starters. Especially lower rakes. Gamblers are VERY sensitive to the rake.
Also time to expand the non-gambling attractions like Vegas did. It can still beat out the dreary casinos of Pennsylvania, but it will take a lot of effort.
I prefer gambling trips of 4-7 days rather than just disappearing for an evening. So I will continue to support AC as long as they cut me a nice deal.
The daily gamblers are mainly seniors however and they will abandon AC in favor of a shorter drive and less time between rest rooms.
Competition is always a good thing. It will make everyone better. I look forward to the wars!
You are exactly right, Marc!
It is actually kind of good for AC, will force them to start trying harder to attract and please customers, something they haven't really had to do in decades. They started to make an effort when Mohegan and Foxwoods opened up and then realized that those places were too far to really hurt them much, so they kept everything the same and drove up the minimum bets.
I think you're right about the seniors to a point, but most of them play slots, and if they were going to just go someplace closeby they'd go to Yonkers. And some do. But a lot still go and will continue to go to AC. It will dent AC's business, though.
Also, as a gambler, I'm not as sensitive to the house edge as I am to the minimum bets, because the house edge tends to be the same amongst all the major casinos in the nation for the games I play. However, the minimum bets in AC can be prohibitive, starting at $15 on weekdays - that's obscene.
I disagree with comments about the beach and boardwalk. They have really been trying to make it nicer. Many of the casinos now have private beach areas with lounge chairs, cabanas, and people to fetch drinks for you. The beach bars are great, they are my favorite place to go out in the summer. Standing at the beach bar at trump at night, with the palm trees and the music and looking back at the lights of the city, it looks gorgeous and makes you feel like you're really at a vacation destination. The boardwalk is undergoing a renovation, all the storefronts are being refaced to look like the AC from the 20's, and the junk stores are little by little being replaced with high end stores. Atlantic City has an uphill task because there are so many homeless there and so much poverty, but I think their efforts have made a big difference already. Just look at the difference made with Ocean One mall, which was a dump, and now is the Pier at Caesar's, with the great free water show, great restaurants and great stores. Did you know they have chocolate covered Twinkies there? That alone makes it worth the drive, lol. Look at the outlets at the Walk, what a boon that was! They should have done this 20 years ago, but back then they didn't care what it was like outside the casinos, now they know they need to whole city to appeal to tourists and have made great strides IMO. This is one jersey-ite who does not see it as a black hole, but a place with tons to offer and hopefully gets the chance to continue to evolve.
P.S. the $2.00 games are starting at Resorts. Stay till night and go to Boogie Nights afterward, the best new club to open in the past 5 years!
Good post, ocngirl :OK: I agree
The beach and boardwalk are beautiful and they've improved their appeal by adding the beach bars to them. Don't mind the negative nellies here, it's the same folks who always take every chance to bash NJ who are doing it again in this post.
I also see a lot of potential in AC, but they have slacked and screwed it up for the last couple of decades, at least.
It was actually competition which kicked the revitalization into high gear. The Trop built the Quarter as a way to compete with the Borgata and get people back from the marina to the boardwalk...then Harrah's opens the Pool (what a unique club that is!) to get people back to the marina...so maybe this new competition will end up making AC even better!
This is exactly right, again, ocnjgirl!
I think that the PA casinos getting table games is FAR from a "death blow" as the OP put it. At worst, it will hurt business severely, but not KILL A.C.
The competition is the kick in the butt they need. Right now, they are really the only game in town for NJ'ans, NYers and Philadelphians. They get crowded all summer, packed on the weekends, and they take advantage with the highest table minimums across the board that I have seen throughout the nation (only New Orleans came close). They offer the bare minimum in the extras like amenities (pools, bars, clubs, etc.), dining/buffets, entertainment, and deals/comps. It's an expensive proposition to go there with little promise of a good time unless you're ready to gamble lots of $$$.
This will force them to drop those minimums, start offering inexpensive and better buffets, shows, more clubs, more hotel pools, etc. They will have to be like Vegas and the casinos will have to be more active in cleaning up the town and making it hospitable for businesses like outlet malls and other things that will appeal to visitors, like Vegas has.
If AC wants to, they can beat out the PA casinos and anyone else, and they can become more like Las Vegas. They already are the closest thing to Las Vegas that you'll find in this country outside of Nevada. I've been to casinos across the nation, here is a short list of some of them:
Par-a-dise in Peoria, IL
Harrah's in New Orleans
Greektown Casino in Detroit
Various riverboat casinos in St. Louis, near Cincinnati, in Kansas City, etc.
Muckleshoot and Tulalip in the Seattle area
Turning Stone near Syracuse
Various casinos in Tunica, MS
Spa Resort casino in Palm Springs
Foxwoods and Mohegan in CT
(All the ones I listed have table games as well as slots; they are not slot palaces only. There are several others I haven't listed...)
The nation is becoming crammed with casinos. Most are Riverboats and Indian Reservations. Many of them are tucked out of the way, much like Foxwoods or Mohegan, in the middle of nowhere. Most of the others are riverboats which are limited as to how big or nice they can be; the nicest of these still doesn't compare to one of the big Vegas or AC casinos.
I read somewhere that something like 80% of Americans live within 2 hours of a casino. People go to these for sure, but they also still flock to Vegas from all over the place. The difference is that Vegas offers a couple things these other places don't:
- Value - through freebies, comps, deals, discounts, etc.
- Variety
It's worth it to go to Vegas if the Riviera is giving me 3 free nights, free pit play $75, free buffets (this is the offer they gave me to do once a month for the next three months). It's worth the airfare. They do not require me to gamble to get this deal. Other casinos are doing the same thing with their customers. People are going to Vegas and gambling because they're saving so much on hotel and food.
But it works. The Vegas casinos do great. They can give you a $10/night room and a $10 buffet that's excellent because they will WIN that money back. And they don't have to get you to gamble there (although it would help) or to lose. Even if you go gamble elsewhere, or stay there and lose, SOMEONE who got a similar deal either at the same casino or from a different one, will come in and blow his bankroll. In fact, for every person they give a freebie to and never collect on, there will likely be 5-10 people that they win on.
Vegas understands the important thing is to get a high volume of people into the city. Don't worry too much about where they gamble or if they win - as long as the city gets a lot of visitors, the money will come in. And they are doing well. Usually, when they give someone a freebie, that person does gamble there, and of course most of them do lose.
Atlantic City doesn't do this except for very, ,very high-level players. I get comps from Harrah's but they aren't that great and they put a note that I must play an amount that they're happy with or else they will not give me the room for free and will charge me. So I just don't go. I'd rather just go to Vegas.
But with competition, AC will likely have to improve to keep customers. AC is able to offer value, but then again, so can the other casinos; but AC's casinos are nicer than most of the other ones.
But what AC offers that no place outside of Nnvada offers is variety. Gamblers like to be able to ditch the casino that's beating them up and walk next door or a few casinos down to shake thiungs up and hopefully improve their luck. Only AC really offers this (well, Tunica, MS also, but their casinos are very, very spread out). The AC Boardwalk is a lot like a small version of the Las Vegas Strip in terms of variety.
I am excited to see what happens if this bill passes. I think AC may finally get the push they need to take it to the next level and truly be up there closer to Vegas, as they used to be.
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AC's Returns For 2009 Worst Since 1997
