Atlantic City casinos reopen after Irene </h2>August 30, 2011 Hurricane Irene may never have become the devastating natural disaster that the media was hyping and hoping for, but it did manage to uproot a lot of people. Forced evacuations in New Jersey left Atlantic City closed for business, with the casinos shut down for the weekend. Yesterday, all eleven casinos reopened.With Irene (downgraded to a tropical storm when it hit) heading toward New Jersey, the state ordered a mandatory evacuation of the coastline, including Atlantic City. That meant each of the eleven casinos had to be closed for only the third time in history. By losing a weekend of business, the casinos lost an estimated $40 million to $45 million in gambling revenue. That means the city also lost out on tax revenue and peripheral revenue such as money spent at nearby restaurants.Yesterday afternoon, all of the Atlantic City casinos reopened, but few customers returned. With many people still out of the area and many roads leading into the city blocked by flooding or downed trees, casino attendance was sparse. Gaming officials believe it will be another day or two before casino attendance returns to normal levels.This was a major hit financially, said Resorts Casino CEO Dennis Gomes. It was a $3 million loss for Resorts. You cant recoup it, so weve got to hope that the rest of the year will be good. The casino industry is now looking at the coming Labor Day weekend as key to recovery from the tropical storm. To help bring customers back, some casinos are running special promotions. In addition, Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno visited the city on Monday to remind residents and tourists that the Jersey Shore is a great place to visit following Hurricane Irene.
