Two years ago, the Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie assured Atlantic City citizens of the positive growth the city is about to feel. He stated that there would be five thousand permanent jobs provided by the newly opened gigantic casino named Revel, costing $2.4 billion. He couldn’t have been more wrong.
Now, the 57 story building sits as a monument of failure, wiping the dream of five thousand ‘permanent’ jobs, and further intensifies the economic crisis in the state’s gambling industry.
It is a bad year for Mr. Christie with yet another scandal damaging his reputation, the closure of George Washington Bridge. It is a nightmare for a governor who is considering running for president. Those sympathetic to Christie’s situation explain his downfall with the Wall Street consultants, who gave him a false hope for Revel’s ability to revive the city.
Unions on the other hand warned the Governor of the risks of investing in such a huge endeavor during times of economic stagnation. They were not heard. Now he is forced to make anti-crisis meeting the incoming Monday, with the agenda of deciding the future of Revel. The outcomes of this meeting may as well determine if he is going for the 2016 elections, or will be remembered as the undertaker of Atlantic City.
Members of Christie’s team reminded the public of his high spirit and determination to turn a bad situation into a good one. Back in 2010, when the Revel construction faced a $1 billion loss, he found a way to finish the project by finding new investors by 2011 and ceasing construction of one of the facilities.
Even though the situation was handled, the major problem was not addressed. The average Atlantic City customer would spend eleven hours gambling on average while the Las Vegas one would spend three days. The promises for players from other states such as Baltimore, New York and Philadelphia never came true. Las Vegas operators still acted as if in Las Vegas, focusing on keeping clients inside their property, while the Atlantic City had a lot to show outside of casinos and that’s what it needed.
Revel had a similar, false understanding of the Atlantic City customer. The casino offered luxurious, expensive vacations to people who sought a relaxing, middle-class vacation, often times only for a day or two.
There are simply not enough gamblers to fill all the fourteen new casinos built for the last ten years. There has been only 9 percent increase in slot machine profit since 2001, despite their number doubled. It is up to Governor Christie to act accordingly and get A.C. from the trouble it is in.
