Can AC casinos hold on through the rest of the pandemic?
When the coronavirus pandemic first took hold of the Garden State in March, Atlantic City s nine casinos were ordered closed.
Following more than three months of zero gaming activity indoors, and still dealing with capacity and amenity restrictions, nine casinos continue to operate heading into the new year. And industry observers don t expect any of the gaming halls to fold before New Jersey fights its way out of the health crisis. As long as the casinos can just stay open for a few months it looks like there s a light at the end of the tunnel I don t think there will be any closings in Atlantic City, said Jane Bokunewicz, coordinator of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality & Tourism at Stockton University. Even with restrictions, every single casino in Atlantic city in the third quarter did have a positive gross operating profit.
Philly casinos are betting big on the future
Live! Rivers and Bally s in AC have big plans for a comeback
The $700 million Live! Casino Hotel in South Philly is expected to open its doors early next year. Owners of the facility said that, despite the havoc COVID has wreaked, there never was a thought of pulling out of the project. | Image: Tom Briglia, courtesy of Live! Casino-Hotel Philadelphia.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to burn across America like a molecular version of a California wildfire, it’s not surprising that optimism appears headed for the endangered-species list.
But in South Philadelphia, hard by Citizens Bank Park, a $700 million monument to that most important of human attitudes is being constructed.