Revel Casino Could Become a Top-Flight Corporate Center, Says Israel Posner of Stockton College
Within weeks, three casinos will be closing in Atlantic City, making four closures in all in 2014. When Revel Casino, Trump Plaza, and the Showboat join the Atlantic Club as closed casinos, local residents fear they’ll become eyesores on the local landscape.
Several Atlantic City officials told the Associated Press recently they are already looking for businesses to occupy the old resorts. They don’t want the “empty shells” to be a sad reminder of a more prosperous time. An expert at an Atlantic County college says the concerns go beyond the mere social or psychological concerns, though.
City Needs Lights on for Promotional Reasons
Israel Posner heads a gambling research institute at Richard Stockton College in Galloway Township. He says finding occupants for the former gaming venues is crucial to the burgeoning non-gambling related tourism trade of the city. To do that, the buildings in the city need to be illuminated and occupied.
Posner said, “If you rely on tourism, you want bright lights. All the promotional shots of Las Vegas are at night with the lights on. Darkness is almost the antithesis of entertainment.” Nobody wants to go on a vacation to a city whose center is full of abandoned buildings. Vacationers want Las Vegas, not Detroit.
Non-Gaming Tourism Is the Future of Atlantic City
With the casino industry of Atlantic City failing, city leaders are developing a tourism trade which is less dependant on gambling. When asked how he envisions the buildings being occupied, Israel Posner said he could see Revel Casino as a top-flite economic center. The building cost $2.4 billion to build and is, in Posner’s words, “is the most interesting structure that was built in the Eastern U.S. in the last decade“.
Revel Casino Housing Corporate Offices
Revel has a slanted roof with a giant ball positioned on the top, so it has a distinctive and modern feel to it. When Revel Casino was designed, it was envisioned as a Las Vegas-style resort. Among other problems, timing was extremely bad for the project. Not only did the casino management face a bad national economy when it opened in 2012, but it also faced market saturation as more gamblers from New York and Pennsylvania were opting to play at gaming locations in their native states. That does nothing to detract from the beauty of the structure itself, or its attraction to potential tenants.
At the moment, Revel Casino’s owners are still discussing a sale with potential buyers. If no deal can be found, then the casino plans on closing the doors to its hotel on September 1 and the casino on September 2.
Showboat as Entertainment Venue?
Posner sees the Showboat as a potential entertainment spot. The owners could rent units for concert space and nightclubs, such as the old House of Blues nightclub which once existed there.
Trump Plaza Might Be Demolished
The gaming researcher wondered aloud whether Trump Plaza wouldn’t be better off “razed to the ground”. Posner believes the land itself is worth more than the property, due to the dilapidated state of the old building and its proximity to a brisk shopping area. Trump Plaza is considered such an eyesore that Donald Trump is suing to have his name removed from it.
Posner added, “The land may be worth more than the building that’s on it. With the success of the Walk’s shopping nearby, you might extend that shopping corridor right down to the Boardwalk.”
Hotel Properties Remain an Option
Many options exist when it comes time to fill the space. TJM Properties is a Florida-based real estate firm which bought two properties from Caesars Entertainment. The Claridge Casino Hotel was one of those properties associated with Bally’s, but it is now being run as a non-casino hotel. TJM Properties is considering doing the same with the Atlantic Club, which it also purchased from Caesars.
Sherry Amos, spokeswoman for TJM Properties, says nice smaller-scale casinos are popular with tourists. Amos said, “Customers like the idea of staying in a boutique non-casino hotel and still being close to the casinos, if they want to go there.” She added that boutique casinos not associated with gaming venues tend to be more family-friendly. The feedback they’re received from local patrons has been positive.
“They tell us they’re traveling with the families or children, and don’t want to stay in a casino-hotel. Yet they’re glad they’re near some.”
The problem with operating hotels is the competition from the 8 remaining casino hotels. Those establishments are heavily subsidized by the casino operations. A typical practice is to offer cheap hotel rooms to players, knowing they will end up losing money in the casino. Thus, the casinos can offer $40 to $50 hotel rooms with a certain degree of luxury. It is hard for nearby hotel operators to compete, because their break-even point is much higher.
Stockton College Campus?
Another option that’s been discussed is renting room to Stockton College, which has discussed wanting to place facilities inside Atlantic City. The possibility exists, but a Stockton College spokeswoman said that several options are being considered at present, with nothing certain.
