🎰 New York approves three new casinos, raising fears they could siphon off Atlantic City gamblers from NYC and North Jersey.
🏖️ Experts say Atlantic City’s beach, boardwalk and destination appeal give it long-term staying power despite short-term hits.
🚬 A proposed smoking ban and possible North Jersey casinos add fresh pressure to an already competitive landscape.
ATLANTIC CITY — New York State recently granted licenses to three casinos—Bally’s in the Bronx, Hard Rock Metropolitan Park near Citi Field, and Resorts World near the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.
The $64 million question is, “Will this hurt Atlantic City casinos and their customer base?”
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Many of Atlantic City’s current visitors come from the New York City area, so this will hurt AC in the short run as people want to check out what the new places have to offer, says Jane Bokunewicz, director of Stockton University’s Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism.
“But in the long run, Atlantic City has a lot of unique properties that New York doesn’t have, so they can be successful in the long run after everyone sees the initial casinos and then hopefully chooses to return to Atlantic City,” Bokunewicz said.
New York casinos could hit Atlantic City in the short term
Atlantic City properties have also been planning for the possibility that New York would get casinos, so they’ve been implementing strategies to try and separate themselves from New York in several ways, Bokunewicz said. Plus, with two of the New York casinos not scheduled to open until 2030, AC has time to get things in order, she added…