Before the ink dries......

....the Casino Investors know their options and how they can wriggle out of an PROMISES.

...Casinos offer grandiose promises.....

The Gambling Industry brought UNION WORKERS to testify in Gardner Auditorium about how WONDERFUL the benefits were......

Ya just got screwed! How 'bout those PROMISES?....

Atlantic City casino workers fear future after judge voids contract

Trump Taj Mahal owners scored a victory Friday when a judge threw out a union contract. The company had been demanding substantial union givebacks and government aid in return for keeping the casino open past November 2014. Employees remain wary of the casino's future. (AP file photo)

 

 

By Associated PressThe Associated Press
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on October 18, 2014

 

 

An hour after a judge ruled to throw out the Trump Taj Mahal's union contract Friday without a guarantee that the company would stay open, the casino's workers gathered in front of the resort on the Atlantic City boardwalk.

Some joked and others were hopeful that the situation would pass, but most were angry.

"You want to cut my pay, you want to cut my salary, you want to cut benefits of all the workers," said Charles Baker, 55, a cook at the casino. "We're going to fight for our rights, we're going to fight for what we deserve. We work hard here in this city and for some billionaire to come down here and come by and just sweep it all away, it's just unacceptable."

Unlike its neighbors on the north side of the boardwalk — Revel Casino Hotel and Showboat — Trump Entertainment Resorts isn't immediately set to close the casino, but Friday's ruling puts its 3,000 workers in flux as they wonder what's next.

Trump Entertainment had previously said that the Taj Mahal would close in November if Friday's ruling didn't go in its favor. Though Friday's decision signaled progress for keeping the company open, its continued operation is not guaranteed.

The company and billionaire investor Carl Icahn had said it needs big union concessions and massive tax breaks from Atlantic City and New Jersey — both of which already have rejected the demand. It originally sought to have the city reduce its property tax assessment by 80 percent, to have the state contribute $25 million in tax credits, and for union workers to give up their pension and health insurance.

It would provide $2,000 stipends for workers to find their own coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

After getting a negative reaction from Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian and state Senate President Steve Sweeney, the company revised its financial request from the state. It is now seeking $175 million in relief through a so-called PILOT program — payments in lieu of taxes — and the receipt of two types of state economic grants not usually available to casinos: the Economic Redevelopment Grant and the Urban Revitalization Grant. State legislators would have to vote on letting the casinos into the program.

Workers feared that the tactic used by the Taj Mahal's management would be used at other casinos in the city. Union members announced plans to picket the Taj Mahal for three hours next Friday.

"This is only the beginning," said Valerie McMorris, 45, who has a 15-year-old son on her benefits and a husband who just lost his job at Revel. "This is the first step in decimating middle-class jobs."
Others said they worried that the uncertainty workers are feeling would negatively impact the local economy in Atlantic County.

Patrons at the Taj Mahal shook their heads in disapproval upon hearing about Friday's ruling. Joan Starke said that she's already considering taking her business to another casino in town.

"If they treat the people like this, I'll think about going to Borgata," said Starke, 72. "I don't think this is fair."




http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/newjersey/2014/10/atlantic_city_casino_workers_f.html

 

Do the math on Phony Casino Job Promises!

Do the math!

Revel, Showboat, Trump Plaza = 5,900 JOBS

5,000 JOBS PROMISED at Revel Alone!

Chris Christie loses a big Atlantic City bet, posing another challenge for 2016 run



By Paul Kane September 5


ATLANTIC CITY — Underneath the gleaming new tower on the north end of the boardwalk, Gov. Chris Christie (R) placed a bet that this down-on-its-luck city was about to turn around. Revel, a massive $2.4 billion casino willed to completion by Christie, was supposed to provide 5,000 “permanent” jobs and fuel a revitalization to the entire city.

“The completion of Revel and its opening is a turning point for Atlantic City and a clear sign that people once again have faith in the city’s ability to come back,” Christie said before the 2012 grand opening, which featured a performance by megastar Beyoncé.

Two years later, the Revel is shuttered — wiping out thousands of jobs amid an economic implosion of the gambling industry here. Rather than serve as a shining example of Christie’s economic stewardship, Revel now stands as a 57-story example of failure in a city that has bedeviled New Jersey governors for decades.

This particular governor, however, is on the brink of deciding whether to run for president and is already struggling with a political scandal over the closure of the George Washington Bridge. His handling of the Revel case creates more problems for his preferred image as a can-do executive who gets results, even if it means working with Democrats.

The casino’s collapse also leaves the tough-talking governor open to criticism from social conservatives in early primary states such as Iowa and South Carolina, who oppose gambling as a vice and who already distrusted Christie’s centrist leanings. Libertarians, meanwhile, question the role of a state government in attempting to prop up such a risky private endeavor.


Even those sympathetic to Christie’s efforts here criticize him for listening to Wall Street analysts, who were bullish on Revel and its ability to transform the city. “He got duped,” said Bob McDevitt, president of Unite Here Local 54, a local union with about 9,000 casino workers.

McDevitt said unions warned Christie and his predecessor, Democrat Jon Corzine, that it was too risky to open a massive casino at a time of economic turmoil and expanding competition from nearby states. “It fell on deaf ears,” he said. “They’re all complicit in it.”

The governor has organized a closed-door, bipartisan summit to be held here Monday designed to figure out what to do with Revel and three other casinos that have closed or will soon do so.

The answers coming out of the gathering could go a long way toward determining whether Atlantic City’s troubles will become an anchor weighing down Christie in a potential 2016 bid.

“I’m certainly not ready to throw in the towel on this. We have a lot of work to do,” Christie said at a mid-August news conference just days after the announcement that the Revel, Showboat and Trump Plaza casinos would all close in September. About 5,900 jobs will disappear, amounting to about 20 percent of the casino workforce in Atlantic City.

Christie’s advisers say he has tried to make the best of a very bad situation. By the time he took office in January 2010, Revel was half-built on the boardwalk, a hulking mass of steel that was losing its financing. Morgan Stanley decided to take a nearly $1 billion loss on the project rather than spending more than $1 billion more to finish the project. One option was to halt construction — leaving an unfinished project looming over a boardwalk already struggling with blight.

Instead, Christie’s administration pushed forward and found new investors by early 2011, luring them with the promise of up to $261 million in tax incentives.

The incentives could only be claimed if the project was profitable, which never happened. The governor’s advisers believe he can escape conservative criticism by saying that no taxpayer dollars were lost on the project.

State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D) and other key politicos from both parties supported the plans.

At the time, Christie boasted of the government’s role in sealing the deal, asking his idol, the liberal musician Bruce Springsteen, to perform at the new casino. “I think Bruce, if he’s true to his lyrics, would love the fact that the state used taxpayer funds to invest in this place to create jobs for working men and women,” he said.

Revel’s backers believed that they had created an antidote to many of the problems with Atlantic City’s casinos, which were premised on the convenience of gamblers who would make day trips in buses from Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore to play slots for a few hours and return home.

Outside the casino walls lay a city that was still struggling, with little draw to tourists. The average Las Vegas visitor spends three nights there, while the Atlantic City visitor stays 11 hours, according to William J. Pascrell III, a lobbyist representing gambling clients. For decades, the Las Vegas-based companies that ran most of the casinos here vacuumed up the gambling profits but did little to promote redevelopment of the surrounding area, preferring to keep customers inside. “That was a Las Vegas mentality,” Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian said.

Revel was designed to appeal to well-heeled tourists looking for nice rooms to stay in, high-end restaurants and popular entertainment acts in the casino’s club. Some state officials feared the Revel would be so successful it might cannibalize other casinos on the boardwalk and take dollars away from competitors on the western edge of town by the marina, such as Borgata and Harrah’s.

Instead, Guardian said, “The building just didn’t come together.”

Those convenience gamblers from neighboring states drifted away, draining nearly half the $5.2 billion wagered in Atlantic City in 2006. Big-dollar gamblers did not like Revel’s odd designs — the casino was six floors up — and its restriction on smoking.

Staggering debt payments made it impossible to turn a profit, not to mention a specialty energy system to heat and cool the tower that added $30 million a year in costs. Five months after Christie christened the casino as a “game changer” for the city, Wall Street downgraded its debt. Springsteen never performed there.

All this came as the city saw some measures of growth, according to Elizabeth Cartmell, president of the Atlantic City Alliance, the marketing group whose “Do AC” campaign has tried to drum up customers.

But there just aren’t enough gamblers to fill the blackjack tables and slot machines when 14 new casinos were added to the Mid-Atlantic region in the past decade. Overall revenue for slot machines increased less than 9 percent since 2001, despite 50 percent more slot machines in the region. “What you see is a clear shifting in where the dollars are being spent,” Cartmell said.


This week, Christie traveled to Mexico on a trade mission. He will hope to find some answer to the Atlantic City problem, both to boost the city and for his own national ambitions.

“We are, I believe, at a nadir,” said McDevitt, the union leader. “If it’s followed up with real action, I think it will be a positive story for Governor Christie. If nothing changes, the city’s languishing, sure, it’s a problem.”



http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/chris-christie-loses-a-big-atlantic-city-bet-posting-another-challenge-for-2016-run/2014/09/05/d7471a7a-33b0-11e4-8f02-03c644b2d7d0_story.html?wpisrc=nl_pmpol&wpmm=1

Who said casino were 'ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT' ?

Casino never brought the 'PROSPERITY' promised to Atlantic City, never eliminated poverty, never reduced unemployment, never paved the streets with GOLD.

Who is foolish enough to think they're any DIFFERENT?

Please note that CAESARS [formerly Harrah's] sought a Massachusetts location [Suffolk Downs].

CAESARS is up to its neck in debt and the Massachusetts Gambling Commission didn't seem to think that was an issue.

Trump Plaza set to close in Sept.

ATLANTIC CITY - The list of casinos closing or expected to close here just keeps growing. Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino will likely shut its doors for good in mid-September.

Trump Entertainment Resorts told The Associated Press that it expects the casino to close its doors Sept. 16. No final decision has been made, the company said, but it “expects that it will terminate the operations of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino on or shortly after September 16, 2014.”

Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo (D., Atlantic) said he and State Sen. Jim Whelan (D., Atlantic) received a phone call late Friday afternoon from a Trump Plaza lawyer notifying them about the planned closure. Atlantic County officials also were briefed, he said.

Trump Entertainment Resorts told The Associated Press that it expects the casino to close its doors Sept. 16. No final decision has been made, the company said, but it “expects that it will terminate the operations of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino on or shortly after September 16, 2014.”

Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo (D., Atlantic) said he and State Sen. Jim Whelan (D., Atlantic) received a phone call late Friday afternoon from a Trump Plaza lawyer notifying them about the planned closure. Atlantic County officials also were briefed, he said.

Mazzeo said the attorney told him that Trump Plaza management plans to make a formal announcement and issue 60-day layoff notices to about 1,600 employees Monday.

“This is another blow to the casino industry here,” Mazzeo said. “With mid-September the timing of the closing, it will have a devastating impact on the local economy.”

Trump Plaza becomes the fourth casino to close or threaten to close in Atlantic City since January.

The Atlantic Club, which employed about 1,700, closed Jan. 13.

Revel Casino Hotel declared bankruptcy for the second time June 19 and is set to go on the auction block Aug. 6. Revel owners have said that if the casino does not fetch a buyer soon, the megacasino will close Sept. 1.

A week after Revel declared bankruptcy, Showboat Atlantic City announced it would close Aug. 31. Parent company Caesars Entertainment Inc. said this week that it was open to selling the casino to help save it from closure.

There has been speculation for more than a year that Trump Plaza was on the verge of closing. Like the Atlantic Club, Trump Plaza is one of the city's smallest and oldest gambling halls — it opened May 26, 1984 — and had difficulty competing with the bigger casinos in town and in nearby states, including Pennsylvania.

Bob McDevitt, president of Unite Here Local 54, the union that represents most casino workers, led a Boardwalk rally Wednesday to protest Showboat’s planned closing. McDevitt, who labeled Showboat’s closing “a criminal act” by Caesars Entertainment since the property was still profitable, could not be reached late Friday to comment on the latest casino to fall.

Whelan, a former Atlantic City mayor, expressed his displeasure Friday night.

“I go from depressed and sad to being angry,” he said. “When these casinos close, people lose their jobs and their careers. It’s a very sad situation.”

Employees at Trump Plaza had not been notified Friday of the planned closure, but slot attendant Stan Jelesnianski, who said he has worked there for 21 years, said employees had been worried “for a long time.”

“Business has been slow,” he said.

According to May 2014 monthly revenues from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the latest monthly data available, Trump Plaza ranked last among the 11 casinos in total revenue, making $5.2 million.

Of that total, it generated about $4.6 million from slots, down 19.8 percent from May 2013. And it took in $660,666 from table games, a decrease of 45.6 percent from a year ago.

Its year-to-date total casino revenue of $21.9 million was down 26.7 percent from the same period a year ago.

Charles Pinkett, a Boardwalk rolling-chair operator, said the casino has seemed to be on life support for a while.

“The people have been talking about how there’s no room service,” he said.

Outside Trump Plaza, in the center of the Boardwalk on a busy summer evening, the casino's outdoor eatery was filled with customers and music could be heard from both nearby Kennedy Plaza and a beach bar.

Mark and Alice Aronson, dining outside, said they were surprised and saddened to hear another casino was on the way out. Alice Aronson, a local therapist, said she had clients from Showboat who were dealing with the pain of the likely layoffs.

“It’s a shame,” she said. “This is a good place. I heard Donald Trump is not involved anymore. I thought maybe he’d fight for it. It seems, one by one, they're not taking care of their employees.”

Trump Plaza’s closing would leave one Trump-brand casino in Atlantic City — the Trump Taj Mahal, between Resorts Casino Atlantic City and the soon-to-close Showboat.

 

 

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20140712_Trump_Plaza_set_to_close_in_Sept___N_J__officials_say.html

 

 

Bailing Out the Casino Industry! Duh?

Casinos are no beginning to bail on their revenue sharing agreements with the states. Instead, they are appealing to states to look upon their contributions to state revenues on the basis of income taxes paid by employees.

Food for thought for Massachusetts voters taxpayers . . .

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/6c6880abf53c401ebd7127e6e1ded998/DE--Final-Day

Casino bailout among final issues for Delaware lawmakers as legislative session ends
By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press
First Posted: July 01, 2014 - 5:07 am
Last Updated: July 01, 2014 - 5:10 am


DOVER, Delaware — Delaware lawmakers approved a $10 million financial bailout for the state's three casinos early Tuesday in one of the final acts of this year's legislative session.

House lawmakers approved the bailout on a 27-10 vote just minutes before adjourning at about 3:30 a.m. The Senate, which finished a few minutes before the House, had approved the legislation last week.

The casinos have complained repeatedly that they are struggling with increased competition from neighboring states and have to share too much of their gambling revenue with the state.

Supporters of the bill touted it as an effort to save jobs in Delaware's gambling industry, a key source of revenue for the state's general fund. They also noted that the state has repeatedly increased its share of casino revenue since approving gambling in the mid-1990s.

"The revenue sharing arrangement no longer works in today's saturated market," said House sponsor Rep. William Carson, D-Smyrna.

Critics said the casinos have not been forthcoming in opening up their books to state officials and noted that, even with the bailout, there are no guarantees the casinos won't lay off workers.

"I hope the casinos show good faith and do not cut their work force," said Rep. Dennis Williams, D-Wilmington, who withdrew an amendment that would have required the casinos to return the money if they reduced their work force by 3 percent or more.

With the exception of the casino bill, there was little drama on the final night of the session.

House lawmakers had given final approval last week to a $3.8 billion operating budget for the fiscal year that started Tuesday. The budget represents an increase in spending of 2.4 percent over the fiscal 2014 budget, with Medicaid and public education accounting for much of the increase. But lawmakers also approved a $500 pay increase for most state employees, effective Jan. 1, at a cost of about $22 million, less than the cost of Markell's proposal for a 1 percent pay raise.

Lawmakers agreed with Markell to balance the budget by increasing the annual tax on limited liability companies and business partnerships, and by raising the minimum annual corporation franchise tax. They also went along with his proposal to use $40 million designated for transportation projects to balance the operating budget.

Lawmakers waited until after midnight Monday before approving a $421 million capital budget, which includes $155 million for transportation projects and about $200 million in new bond authorizations for school construction and other capital improvements.

Markell had proposed raising Delaware's gas tax by 10 cents a gallon to boost spending on road and transportation projects by $100 million annually over five years, but lawmakers balked at the election-year proposal.

Similarly, lawmakers had no stomach for the governor's proposal to impose an annual fee on Delaware households and businesses to pay for a comprehensive plan to clean up the state's waterways, many of which are so polluted that they are subject to fish-consumption advisories and are not safe for swimming.

"I remain committed to addressing our transportation funding gap and what I believe to be the embarrassing condition of our waterways," Markell said shortly before signing the budget bills at 4 a.m. "Both of those efforts will create jobs and economic opportunity immediately and in the long term."

In addition to the operating and capital budgets, lawmakers also signed off on a $45 million package of grants for community organizations, volunteer fire companies and nonprofit groups. Republican lawmakers urged members of the joint finance committee to follow through on plans to strengthen oversight of recipients of the annual grants to ensure that the money they receive is spent for legitimate purposes.

A proposal introduced late in the session to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana was not brought up for a floor vote before lawmakers adjourned.

House members also adjourned without trying to resurrect a measure to abolish the death penalty.

 

The measure failed to gain enough support to clear a House committee last year after winning Senate passage by a single vote.

 

 

 

Foxwoods to Cut Casino Hours, Layoffs Possible

Foxwoods to Cut Casino Hours, Layoffs Possible

Credit: The Boston Globe

May 15, 2014 8:04 AM

 

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. (AP) — Foxwoods Resort Casino has announced plans to cut some hours of operation on portion of its gaming floor.

 

A memo to employees obtained by The Day of New London says the casino will shut down slot machines and some table games in the Rainmaker Casino area from early 4 a.m. on Mondays until 9 a.m. on Fridays.

 

The casino says the changes also will result in ‘‘staffing changes across all levels of employment.’’ The company did not say whether layoffs would be part of that plan.

 

Billy Shea, president of the union local that represents dealers and beverage servers, says he has not been notified of any staff reductions.

 

The Rainmaker Casino is one of six gaming areas at Foxwoods, which has just under 6,000 employees.

 

Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com

 

 

http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/2014/05/15/foxwoods-cut-casino-hours-layoffs-possible/rQtmdTC1qsVvM91KRm95xI/story.html

 

 

 

 

 

Mohegan Math - The Real Conflict

...not exactly what Massachusetts taxpayers thought they were getting....

Hoosier Park tightens belt by reducing staff

February 3, 2014

Hoosier Park tightens belt by reducing staff

Officials say layoffs are the result of a downturn in business and a poor economy

By Traci Moyer The Herald BulletinThe Herald BulletinThe Herald BulletinMon Feb 03, 2014, 07:33 PM EST

ANDERSON — Hoosier Park Racing & Casino has laid off 13 employees due to a downturn in business, poor economic conditions and “ongoing and very aggressive” competition from Ohio casinos.

Jahnae Erpenbach, vice president and general manager of gaming for Hoosier Park, said the employees were offered severance packages, other positions within the company, or outplacement services to help them transition into new employment on Friday.

“Believe me, Hoosier Park would much rather be adding jobs,” Erpenbach said.

The staffing level adjustments were made through a reduction of staff and the combining and changing of responsibilities, she said.

Erpenbach said that because the cutback was made to meet the ongoing business levels of Hoosier Park, customers would not be affected by the changes made in staffing levels.

Hoosier Park employs approximately 1,000 employees at Hoosier Park, she said.

In December, Hoosier Park reported a 3 percent drop in revenue from January to November 2013, compared to the same period in 2012.

In an Indiana Gaming Commission report, Hoosier Park reported a total win of $17,085,600 for 2013, down from its 2012 total win of $17,543,537.

Statewide, 13 casinos reported an 8 percent total drop in revenue in 2013, which is a loss of $13 million from 2012.

Erpenbach said new hires will depend on the growth of the gambling industry.

“I hope we have a successful year,” she said.

Like Traci L. Moyer on Facebook and follow her @moyyer on Twitter, or call 648-4250.

Wagering tax According to the Indiana Gaming Commission's Annual Report for 2013, Hoosier Park was in the state's top six out of 13 casinos for its percentage of annual wagering taxes. - 23 percent Horseshoe Hammond- 15 percent Hollwood- 10 percent Ameristar- 12 percent Horseshoe Southern- 8 percent Indiana Grand- 7 percent Hoosier Park- 6 percent Blue Chip- 5 percent Belterra- 4 percent Tropicana Evansville- 3 percent Majestic Star- 3 percent Majestic Star II- 2 percent French Lick- 2 percent Rising Star Source: Indiana Gaming Commission


http://www.heraldbulletin.com/business/x1262669012/Hoosier-Park-tightens-belt-by-reducing-staff

 

Foxwoods to lay off 120 table game dealers

By MICHAEL MELIA / Associated Press / January 23, 2014

 

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Foxwoods Resort Casino, which has been struggling to reverse a decline in gambling revenue, is eliminating the jobs of 120 table game dealers, the workers’ union said Thursday.

 

The casino will first seek volunteers to accept buyouts and wants the layoffs to be completed by March 1, said Billy Shea, president of Local 2121 of the United Auto Workers. He said he was not surprised by word of the layoffs in light of the casino’s slump.

 

‘‘We've known for a while this was going to come down,’’ Shea said. ‘‘It was quite obvious and apparent the company had no choice. The business is down.’’

 

Foxwoods, one of the largest casinos in the Western Hemisphere, is owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and employs about 8,000 people. It generated more than $1 billion in revenue last year but fell short of its own projections as it contends with the weak U.S. economic recovery and growing competition in neighboring states.

 

Foxwoods spokeswoman Dale Wolbrink declined to comment on the layoffs.

 

‘‘We don’t discuss anything that has to do with our team members,’’ she said.

 

Management informed the union that it also will cut five assistant floor supervisors in addition to the full-time dealers, Shea said.

 

He said the union, which represents about 1,800 Foxwoods employees, is pursuing more generous buyout packages from the casino.

 

‘‘I feel so badly for the people that are going to be affected,’’ Shea said. ‘‘This is going to affect a lot of people.’’

 

He said workers with the most seniority won’t be affected.

 

Foxwoods, which opened in 1992, once dominated the regional gambling market along with its giant neighbor, Mohegan Sun. They have faced new competition from casinos in the New York City area and the arrival of table games at Rhode Island’s Twin Rivers Casino. There’s also a plan in the works to allow three casinos in Massachusetts.

 

http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/2014/01/23/foxwoods-lay-off-table-game-dealers/xtKViGJqX6Klurh0ogQwEN/story.html

 

 

GAMING CANDLE was lit on both ends.....

Bill Kearney

Massachusetts ‘Gaming’ Future

On May 26, 1978 Resorts International opened the first casino in Atlantic City. This was the first expansion of commercial Gaming outside of Nevada. It was also the day the GAMING CANDLE was lit on both ends, and today it’s near to being burned out in every way.

The Associated Press - January 13, 2014 - Newly jobless NJ casino workers try to cope...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - At a minute past midnight, Debra Wagner was suddenly unemployed.

A housekeeper for 23 years at the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, she was one of 1,600 workers who lost their jobs early Monday when the struggling casino shut down, the victim of a glut of casinos in the northeastern U.S.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20140113_ap_69bbc42dfb8044ada2e30c585a404de7.html#MClEXw2dZvewdLkk.99

 

 

 

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - At a minute past midnight, Debra Wagner was suddenly unemployed.
A housekeeper for 23 years at the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, she was one of 1,600 workers who lost their jobs early Monday when the struggling casino shut down, the victim of a glut of casinos in the northeastern U.S.

Just a few hours after a handful of remaining customers and last-shift workers counted down the casino's final five seconds, Wagner stood in line with hundreds of others at a union hall, hoping to score a $20 supermarket gift card and some help in filling out unemployment paperwork.

"I had planned to retire here," she said. "Right now I'll collect unemployment, and maybe in the spring somebody will start hiring. Hopefully."


But that seemed unlikely. With casinos popping up in states all around it, the Atlantic Club fell victim to the cold efficiency of the marketplace: Analysts have long said that in this region, there are too many casinos and not enough gamblers to keep them all afloat.

Two rival casino companies paid a combined $23.4 million to shut down the Atlantic Club and remove what they considered unneeded capacity from the market. Tropicana Entertainment bought the slot machines, table games and customer lists, while Caesars Entertainment bought an 801-room hotel it has no immediate plans for.

Wagner can't even turn to family for help.

"Both my sisters worked there, and so did my mom," she said. "We're all out of jobs, all four of us. We can't even help each other."

Once Atlantic City's top-earning casino, where then-owner Steve Wynn clowned with Frank Sinatra in commercials, bringing the legendary singer an armful of fresh towels, the Atlantic Club went out with a whimper. In the hours before the 12:01 a.m. closing, its restaurants and bars had all shut down, and many gamblers and employees had already left.

A few die-hards that stayed on the casino floor until the end, counting down its final five seconds as dealers who were suddenly unemployed burst into tears and hugged each other. Within moments, casino staff began stacking and counting chips and preparing to remove cash boxes from the casino floor.

"Where was our support?" asked Kathy Buonasorte, a cocktail server for 28 of the casino's 33 years.

"They all left us. No politician helped us. No one came to save us."

On the sidewalk outside the casino, she hugged fellow server Beth DeLuccia, who she described as the first friend she made at the casino. Nearby, server Maureen Cohen had just finished her final shift.

"I served my last drink at 4 this afternoon," she said. "It was incredibly sad. Can you believe how pathetic it's going to be to come over (a nearby) bridge and see a closed casino?"

"It's a sad day," said David Rebuck, director of the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, who watched the shutdown process begin right after midnight. Dealers and security personnel set to work counting the take from the casino's final day. Overnight, workers were to read the meter on each of the hundreds of slot machines, empty the cash containers and secure them in the counting room. At some point on Monday, armored cars were to remove the remaining cash.

The hotel's safe deposit boxes had been emptied hours before the shutdown as the final hotel guests checked out, and front-desk cashier drawers were already removed, leaving gaping holes.

By Wednesday, crews from the Tropicana will begin removing the slot machines and table games.

The casino floor will be bare by the end of the month, Rebuck said.

Guests helped themselves to souvenirs as well, digging up or ripping out potted plants and even six-foot-tall trees from planters on their way out the door.

It was the first casino closure in Atlantic City since the Sands shut down in 2006. But that was intended to make way for a bigger, better casino that Pinnacle Entertainment planned, but never actually built.

Struggling for years against newer, bigger casinos in Atlantic City and in neighboring states, the Atlantic Club sought a buyer for the last few years but was unable to attract one. It filed for bankruptcy in November.

Its owners, Colony Capital LLC, a Los Angeles hedge fund, paid more than a half billion dollars for it in 2005.

Genting: Laying Off LOW WAGE WORKERS, Exploiting Workers, “It shows how big a lie the jobs argument is.”

Genting is the financial backer of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts.


After earning a raise in October last year, 175 employees of the buffet restaurant in Resorts World Casino in Queens, New York, were told on Monday that the eatery would close.

The Malaysian owned highest-grossing slot parlour in United States made a sudden decision to close down the restaurant, saying that it had been unprofitable from day one (it opened in 2011), reported the New York Times on Wednesday.

“If we allowed it to remain open, it would have ultimately had a negative impact,” the daily quoted Genting Group spokesman Kerri Lyon as saying.

“If that’s consistently losing money, then it becomes a drain on other parts of the business, and it becomes harder to sustain a business that you certainly want and the community wants to survive,” Lyon said.

The NYT report revealed that last year, a local arbitrator had ordered the casino management to pay employees a living wage, doubling the staff’s average pay cheques.

The ruling had affected more than 1,300 employees, mostly low-wage earners who found themselves propelled to the middle class as a result of the pay hike.

However, the sudden turnaround on Monday angered employees.

“They just threw us out like dogs. They just gave us a couple of dollars to shut up, and that’s it,” Mariano Cano, 45, a server at the buffet told NYT.

Cano’s pay was US$5 (RM16.30) an hour, including tips, but it shot up to US$12 (RM39.20) after the wage increase.

Sally Navarro, 25, a hostess with weekly earnings of US$707 (RM2310.40) after the revised wage, said the dismissal had left her stranded without money to pay bills and tuition for nursing school which she had planned to attend.
“A lot of us got hurt. I think they are being greedy,” she said.

The casino opened in October 2011 and had almost 1,800 employees before the recent dismissal.

According to Lyon, it posted revenues of US$696.5 million as of March last year.

The restaurant had just increased its prices prior to the closure, although Lyon said that the increase had nothing to do with the pay increase.

Employees said they were banking on a meeting between their union, New York Hotel Trades Council and officials from Genting Group to provide other jobs in the casino.

However, on Wednesday, employees turned in their uniforms and collected their last pay cheques.

“I’m very upset about this,” said John Turchiano, a union spokesman.

“We are doing everything possible to assist these workers.”

According to Turchiano, the dismissed workers would be given priority for new jobs that are available and they will receive an additional four months of health insurance coverage. Severance pay was also provided. – January 10, 2014.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/genting-resort-restaurant-in-ny-shuts-down-leaving-175-jobless

175 jobless, yet Genting still eyes US gambling scene

The Genting Group continues to tout dominance in the US gambling scene, despite laying off 175 restaurant workers at its casino in New York yesterday.

The Financial Times reported today that the conglomerate had teamed up with three horseracing associations in Miami yesterday “with respect to a potential casino”.

The same day New York governor Andrew Cuomo laid out a timetable for attracting the state’s first casinos, in which Genting has been taking a keen interest.

The daily also reported that Genting received encouraging news last week on its involvement in what would be Massachusetts first casino.

The casino is a US$500 million (RM1.6 billion) gaming facility operated by the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe in partnership with Genting.

However, it is believed that the Malaysian company faces an array of challenges.

Florida is said to be a difficult prospect because only one operator is allowed to run a casino under a longstanding exclusivity arrangement with the state government.

“Given that legislators have twice rejected ‘destination resorts’ proposals that would allow the creation of at least two sizeable casino resorts, the regulatory approval remains the key hurdle,” said Kenanga Research.

Genting’s first foray into Miami in 2011 was marked by a string of painful events, when it announced the development of a US$3.8 billion (RM12.4 billion) resort on 30 acres of land.

While the Resorts World Omni hotel that was to form the core of that resort still exists, the wider project never materialised, partly due to opposition from rival existing hotel businesses, analysts told The Financial Times.

It was also reported that Genting sued the US federal government last year in an effort to continue using foreign labour for a Miami-based casino ship offering overnight gambling cruises in international waters.

A federal judge, however, ruled yesterday against Genting‘s request to overturn orders by immigration officials to either stop the cruises or hire US workers as crew, reported Miami Herald.

“The same company that promised to create 100,000 jobs is now suing the federal government to try and exploit foreign workers at subpar wages rather than hire Floridians,’’ said John Sowinski, the Orlando-based campaign consultant who heads the No Casinos advocacy group.

“It shows how big a lie the jobs argument is.” – January 11, 2014.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/175-jobless-yet-genting-still-eyes-us-gambling-scene

GENTING to open slots-only casino in Miami Malaysia Chronicle PETALING JAYA - Genting Malaysia Bhd's has entered into a four-way partnership to open a slots-only casino at the Resorts World Omni Center in ... See all stories on this topic »
Inside Gaming: Genting's Agreement With Gulfstream, Fines in Philly ... PokerNews.com In this edition of Inside Gaming we take a look at Genting's deal in Florida, Harrah's Philadelphia's fine, the Gaming Commission Chairman in New ... See all stories on this topic »
175 jobless, yet Genting still eyes US gambling scene The Malaysian Insider The same day New York governor Andrew Cuomo laid out a timetable for attracting the state's first casinos, in which Genting has been taking a keen ... See all stories on this topic »	The Malaysian Insider
Critics question east coast gambling deal WZVN-TV Gambling giant Genting, Gulfstream Park and the horse industry may have mapped out a slot-machines happy ending, but the deal faces hurdles ... See all stories on this topic »
Critics question South Florida casino deal Business Journal Malaysian-based Genting Group is looking for a slots machine license with a permit owned by a non-profit linked to Gulfstream Park racing track, ... See all stories on this topic »
Slot Machines In Downtown Miami? WLRN The Genting Resort World, which owns the former site of the Miami Herald, hopes that by down-scaling to include only slot machines, it can increase ... See all stories on this topic »

Genting: We bombed in Miami; Jockeying for position in ... David McKee

It took almost no time at all for Genting Group's latest Miami proposal to draw heavy political criticism. State Sen. Gwen Margolis (D), who represents ...

Genting's plans under fire - Economy & Banking - MiamiHerald.com

Jumpstarting the economy was Genting's original promise, but now it's getting criticism over layoffs and hiring.

www.miamiherald.com/2014/.../gentings-plans-under-fire.htm...

 

 

Mississippi casino revenue drops in 13th of 15 months

Oct. 21, 2013 10:35 PM

Written by

Jeff Amy

Associated Press

 

Mississippi casinos won less money from gamblers in September for the 13th month out of 15, as casinos along the Mississippi River continued to lag badly.

Mississippi Department of Revenue figures show statewide casino revenue fell 4.4 percent from September 2012 to $170.2 million.

The 12 coastal casinos won $88.2 million from gamblers, up 1.7 percent from $86.7 million in September 2012. The 18 river casinos from Tunica to Natchez won $82 million, down 10 percent from $91.2 millio.

The numbers exclude Choctaw Indian casinos, which don’t have to report to the state.

Revenue statewide is down about 4.5 percent over the last 12 months. After hitting nearly $2.9 billion in 2007, revenue fell 22 percent to $2.25 billion in 2012. And the take is on track to dip another $100 million in 2013, state figures show.

Revenue is dropping because fewer people are coming through the doors at the state’s 30 casinos.

The number of customers fell from 10.1 million in April, May and June 2007 to 6.4 million in the same three months of 2013, according to the state Gaming Commission.

A brief improvement in the early 2012 was followd by a downward trend resuming. Industry leaders have said casinos along the Mississippi River, Tunica and Lula have suffered from competition from expanding gambling at two racetracks in Arkansas. Some casinos have suffered financial distress, and the industry as a whole has been shedding workers.

Revenues in Arkansas rose almost six-fold from 2007 to 2012 and were 17 percent higher in July than a year earlier.

In Louisiana, state-licensed casinos won $182.2 million in September — nearly 9 percent less than a year earlier. In September 2012, a new casino opened in Baton Rouge. Year-over-year comparisons with 2013 were unfavorable with the three-casino market falling nearly 17 percent.


http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/20131022/BIZ/310220043/Mississippi-casino-revenue-drops-13th-15-months

Casino is no sure bet | Gamblers not flocking to Fayette County

September 12, 2013

Casino is no sure bet | Gamblers not flocking to Fayette County

AnonymousThe Tribune-DemocratThe Tribune-DemocratThu Sep 12, 2013, 10:51 AM EDT

JOHNSTOWN — Luck be a lady?

Not at the Lady Luck Casino at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.

Apparently, Pennsylvania’s newest resort casino, which is located about an hour and a half drive from Johnstown in Fayette County, has rolled snake eyes in its first two months of operation.

Lady Luck opened to much fanfare in July with about 450 employees, but St. Louis-based Isle of Capri Casinos Inc., which operates the resort, said in statement Tuesday that it is laying off 15 percent of its employees.

“Business has been slower than expected, and we must make some changes to keep our expenses in line with business levels as we move into the slow winter season,” Isle of Capri said in a statement.

Is this a sign that Pennsylvania has finally busted when it comes to its appetite for gambling? The commonwealth already was the second-biggest gambling market in the nation, trailing only Las Vegas, before Lady Luck opened.

Combine that with the other gambling options available to southwestern Pennsylvanians – Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, The Meadows in Washington, Pa., Rocky Gap near Cumberland, Md., and Wheeling Island in Wheeling, W.Va., and it’s not all together surprising that business isn’t booming at Nemacolin.

While Fayette County seems like a shorter drive from Johnstown than Pittsburgh, it actually takes roughly the same amount of time to get to Rivers Casino as it does to Lady Luck. Throw in all of the additional entertainment options in Pittsburgh as opposed to Lady Luck and it’s no surprise that most Tribune-Democrat readers said in an online poll in July that they either would not be gambling at Nemacolin any time soon.

Lady Luck had more than just its location working against it. Unlike most of its competition, the casino is not open to the general public. Patrons must either be guests of the pricey resort (or its restaurant) or be willing to purchase a $10 gift card for the resort.

“We have received high marks from our customers related to their experience at Lady Luck Nemacolin,” Isle of Capri spokeswoman Jill Alexander said in the statement. “However, customers have been resistant to the access plan.”

Richard McGarvey, a spokesman with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that it’s not unusual that a casino has layoffs in its first year, often because the company hires more staff than is necessary.

So it’s possible that a better future is in the cards for Lady Luck. We just wouldn’t bet on it.


http://tribune-democrat.com/editorials/x789527704/Casino-is-no-sure-bet-Gamblers-not-flocking-to-Fayette-County

 

15% Casino Resort Layoffs

Bill Kearney

Massachusetts ‘Gaming’ Future

Associated Press - September 10, 2013 - Nemacolin casino in Pa. laying off 15 percent

Pennsylvania's newest casino is laying off 15 percent of its 450 employees, citing "slower than expected" business since the resort casino opened two months ago....

The Lady Luck Casino at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort opened July 1, but unlike most others in the state, it is not open to the general public. Instead, patrons must be guests of the posh resort, about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh; a customer of the resort's restaurants, or other facilities; or be willing to purchase a $10 resort gift card.

St. Louis-based Isle of Capri Casinos Inc., which operates the resort, said in a statement that customers have been "resistant" to the plan that limits access to the casino.

"We continue to work closely with the resort to establish admission procedures that conform to state regulations that are as customer-friendly as possible," the statement said.

The company wouldn't specify how many employees are being eliminated, but 15 percent of its workforce would be about 70.

"Business has been slower than expected, and we must make some changes to keep our expenses in line with business levels as we move into the slow

http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/news/state/pa/nemacolin-casino-in-pa-laying-off-percent/article_ce20ba48-6d7f-56e3-836d-fcf49b3594f7.htmlSee More