Atlantic City Faces Long Recovery

Atlantic City Faces Long Recovery Before It Can Start Destroying Lives Again

News• News• Hurricane Sandy• ISSUE 48•44• Nov 2, 2012

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ—In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Atlantic City officials warned Friday that it could take weeks or even months for the storm-ravaged gambling hub to fully repair its infrastructure and get back to utterly and completely ruining people’s lives.

“The floodwaters have receded, but the damage to our city is so severe that it will be quite some time before we’re back at full strength and ready to totally demolish the personal lives and finances of thousands of human beings,” said Mayor Lorenzo Langford, who urged cooperation with disaster relief personnel in working to restore the city’s ability to systematically bankrupt people and hurl them into a desperate spiral of misery and debt. “Atlantic City has always been a proud center for turning scores of innocent people into self-destructive alcoholics and gambling addicts, and hopefully, with hard work and targeted federal funding, we can return to doing what we do best.”

“Restoring electricity was a step in the right direction,” Langford added. “That allows casino owners to light up the signs they use to lure people through the doors and steal their money. But unfortunately, we still have quite a way to go before the city is once again a fully operational destroyer of marriages and savings accounts."

City officials confirmed that several roadways leading into the city—which are vital for funneling desperate schmucks from all over the country into Atlantic City so they can squander their retirement funds and children’s college savings plans on the transitory pleasures of legalized gambling—were also hit hard by the storm.

“It’s important to remember that the casinos are just one small part of a much larger life-obliterating network that is now struggling to recover from Sandy’s impact,” Langford said. “We need our casinos to wrench whole families and communities apart via bankruptcy, divorce, and even full-blown mental illnesses, yes, but we also need to make sure our roads, small businesses, and beaches are in top form so we can more easily attract poor, deluded gamblers here and keep them here.”

“Unfortunately, we’re a far cry from any of that, but I’m confident that if we keep our resolve, we’ll make it back,” he added.

At press time, Harrah’s casino was asking for donations in the form of anyone willing to throw it all away in a matter of hours at the establishment’s blackjack tables.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/atlantic-city-faces-long-recovery-before-it-can-st,30207/

Pro leagues, NCAA file against New Jersey gambling

Not to hurt anyone's feelings, but a game is a game.  It's simply entertainment.

You can fill the media with the antics of these soon-to-be-forgotten media creations just as with the ridiculous and gossipy who's pregnant, getting divorced, arrested for DUI, entering drug-rehab nonsense that replaces substantive issues.

How reminiscent of Bread and Circus in another lifetime?

Has there been any global location that has legalized sports betting that hasn't experienced math-fixing and betting scandals? Gov. Christie sure isn't asking!  

And now comes Governor Chris Christie who believes in small government, deficit spending, sucking as much from the poor as possible with expanded gambling in any share, style, size and configuration endorsing sports betting?  This is the Governor who has gone begging to Washington for $$$ for Hurricane Sandy relief because New Jersey is so desperate simply because of Predatory Gambling.

If Predatory Gambling paves the road with Gold, what happened to Atlantic City and Las Vegas?

If Predatory Gambling is so wonderful, why can't New Jersey fund its own Hurricane re-building?

FILE - This Nov. 13, 2012 file photo shows New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaking in Trenton, N.J. The state is facing lawsuits from the major sports leagues and the NCAA for its new gambling laws(Photo: Mel Evans, AP)

Pro leagues, NCAA file against New Jersey gambling

December 7. 2012 - NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - The four major pro sports leagues and the NCAA have filed legal papers calling New Jersey's effort to allow sports gambling an "unlawful scheme" and a "blatant violation" of federal law.

The leagues sued Gov. Chris Christie in August after he announced plans to allow gambling on pro and college games at casinos and racetracks. New Jersey's legislature passed a sports betting law earlier in the year.

The state has sought to have the lawsuit thrown out, and the motion filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Trenton was a response to that.

In the brief, the leagues reject New Jersey's argument that a 1992 federal law restricting sports gambling to a handful of states is unconstitutional.

The NCAA has already pulled some events from New Jersey over the dispute.

NBA Commissioner David Stern took Christie to task in a deposition in New York last month saying he's troubled that Christine would "choose to attack a federal law" and that all the state is interested in is "making a buck or two."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2012/12/07/new-jersey-gambling-baseball-nfl-nba-colleges/1754321/

30% Plunge in Trump Atlantic City Revenue in October

Atlantic City Trump casinos order workers to take time off without pay to make up for hurricane losses

Posted: Monday, November 12, 2012

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI Staff WriterpressofAtlanticCity.com

 

Managers and frontline workers at the two casinos owned by Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. are feeling the brunt of some cost-cutting measures in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Salaried employees must take one week of unpaid furlough, while hourly workers will not be allowed to use their vacation time to compensate them for lost time during Atlantic City’s five-day hurricane shutdown, the company says.

Bob Griffin, Trump Entertainment’s chief executive officer, told employees in a memo dated Nov. 5 that the loss of casino revenue during the shutdown “will linger for many months and has complicated our already challenging financial situation.”

Trump Entertainment originally planned to let workers use their vacation time in place of days lost to the shutdown. However, Griffin said the company has reversed that decision as it looks to save money. He also said salaried employees must take a week off without pay by Dec. 2.

“We recognize the hardship you and your family are already enduring, however, in order to keep the properties open through the upcoming weeks, our only alternative is to implement a more aggressive savings plan,” Griffin told employees in the memo.

Griffin noted that the casino industry has been hurt by hurricane damage in Atlantic City’s feeder markets. Atlantic City’s core customer base comes from New York and North Jersey, parts of which were slammed by the Oct. 29 storm.

Trump Entertainment spokesman Brian Cahill did not immediately return messages Monday seeking comment about the employee austerity measures.

Trump Entertainment is the parent company of Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino. Both Trump casinos suffered a more than 30 percent plunge in their October gambling revenue during the hurricane-shortened month. Trump Plaza had just $6.6 million in total revenue from its slot machines and table games, the lowest among Atlantic City’s 12 casino hotels.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/atlantic-city-trump-casinos-order-workers-to-take-time-off/article_43761960-2d2a-11e2-abe4-0019bb2963f4.html

Atlantic City casinos' anxiety mounts over extended closings

Atlantic City casinos' anxiety mounts over extended closings
Suzette Parmley, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: Wednesday, October 31, 2012

With their financial losses mounting, the Atlantic City casinos stand prepared to open their doors as soon as Gov. Christie's evacuation order is lifted.

When that might be is anyone's guess.

Lisa Spengler, spokeswoman for the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, said Wednesday that DGE director David Rebuck was "in ongoing dialogue with the Governor's Office, state and local officials, and the Atlantic City casino executives."

"No decision as to the reopening of the casinos will be made until such time as the governor's mandatory evacuation executive order is lifted and all safety issues surrounding Atlantic City, its residents, and visitors have been addressed," she said.

Rebuck toured the casinos Wednesday. All 12 reported minimal structural damage from Sandy. But given the extended closing, the storm's financial wallop may be more severe than was expected.

The casinos have been shuttered since 4 p.m. Sunday and are estimated to be losing close to $5 million a day, combined, for each day they are closed.

The Atlantic City Expressway and Garden State Parkway, the two main arteries for patrons traveling to and from the resort, were reopened Tuesday afternoon.

Christie toured ravaged parts of the state with President Obama on Wednesday by helicopter and motorcade, making a stop in Brigantine and driving past the casinos.

Said Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts: "Of course, you want to get folks back up and running as quickly as possible because of the economic impact. . . . But the governor's obligation is to ensure it is done in a safe way contingent with the conditions on the ground."

Spengler said DGE investigators and personnel were ready to report to each of the casinos when allowed to. When given the go-ahead, Rebuck will sign an order allowing each casino to reopen at a specific day and time to ensure a seamless reopening.

Joe Lupo, executive vice president of operations at the Borgata, said that his casino, like the others in town, was anxiously awaiting word on when it can reopen, especially as the weekend nears. The A.C. casinos lost most of Sunday because of the order to close at 4 p.m.

"The weekends have been more impactful for Atlantic City," Lupo said. "While we're hoping to open by then, we're obviously going to support the governor's role. The safety of our employees and customers is the most important thing."

Lupo said the casinos typically need 24 hours' notice to tell employees to report to work and make
sure all the casinos' money is available.

Moody's Investor Service issued a report Wednesday saying an extended closure for ailing Atlantic City "would result in a meaningful loss of revenue and earnings over the short term, something many casino operators . . . cannot afford."


Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20121101_Atlantic_City_casinos__anxiety_mounts_over_extended_closings.html#ixzz2B1IN96Yw
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Sandy: What's Climate Change Got to Do With It?

This photo provided by 6abc Action News shows the Inlet section of Atlantic City, N.J., as Hurricane Sandy makes it approach, Monday Oct. 29, 2012. Sandy made landfall at 8 p.m. near Atlantic City, which was already mostly under water and saw a piece of its world-famous Boardwalk washed away earlier in the day. (AP Photo/6abc Action News, Dann Cuellar)

 

http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/hurricane-sandy-climate-change/story?id=17595201