Resorts Casino

Resorts Casino – ATLANTIC CITY – As recently as five years ago, the Resorts Casino Hotel was near death, struggling to survive against Atlantic City’s larger and newer casinos.

But four competitors have since gone out of business — while the resorts have grown and become profitable by adding amenities, giving casino management knowledge of the Mohegan Indian tribe and keeping prices lower than rivals. are

Resorts Casino

On Wednesday, Resorts broke ground on a $9.4 million expansion of meeting and conference space to capitalize on an urgent need in the struggling gambling resort. It also served as a celebration of how far casinos have come against some formidable odds.

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“It was dead and it’s back to life,” said Resorts President Mark Gianantonio. “The year I started here three years ago, this place lost $12 million. Last year we made $2.5 million. And this year we’re going to do a lot better than that.”

In December 2009, the resorts’ then-owners, Colony Capital, were within hours of handing over the keys to creditors and walking away from the casino. Months later, veteran casino executive Dennis Gomez and New York real estate investor Morris Bailey bought it for $31.5 million and set out to restore it, the first casino to open in the United States outside of Nevada.

When Gomez died in February 2012, Bailey steadfastly continued to write checks to keep the resorts afloat, confident that better days lay ahead.

“We had a moment of truth: quit or move on,” Bailey said. That is why we decided to stay. We believe in Atlantic City. The key was making a financial commitment.

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Severely lacking Gomez’s experience in running a casino, Bailey signed an agreement with gamblers from the Mohegan Indian tribe to handle the day-to-day affairs of the resorts, in exchange for a 10 percent ownership stake and a membership fee. The agreement that allows resorts. Access to the customer database of casinos operated by Mohegan in Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

In May 2013, the resorts opened the $35 million Jimmy Buffett-themed Margaritaville restaurant, bar and entertainment complex, which helped boost gambling revenue and is one of the Boardwalk’s most popular attractions.

Data released Monday by New Jersey casino regulators showed the resorts posted a gross operating profit of $4.8 million in the second quarter, up 153 percent from the same period last year.

Before a long-awaited deal to join forces with Resorts, the world’s largest online poker website PokerStars, took effect. Bailey said Wednesday he expects a licensing decision within “weeks, months.”

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David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, said the resorts have “shown what it takes to succeed in Atlantic City today.”

“They’ve reinvested in their property, giving people a reason to come,” he said. “Mohegan’s management has given them an experienced team and greater promotional reach. The combination of investing in non-gaming attractions and providing value to those wanting to gamble in the Atlantic City mines will pay off.

Steve Norton, who was the resort’s vice president when it opened in 1978, said Margaritaville and the expanded meeting space are positive developments for the resort. But he remains worried about his future.

“To me, more physical improvements will not help the resorts, and like Bali and the Taj Mahal, (it) will probably close in the near future as gross gaming profits from our same-day markets continue. Inevitable decline.” , said Norton, who runs a casino consulting firm in Indiana. Atlantic City needs direct air service from the rest of the country, he said.

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“We are increasing our market share and are profitable,” he said. “We’re very happy with the way things are going.” The Star-Ledger featured The Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City in October. The union representing casino service workers is encouraging employees to apply for food stamps.

ATLANTIC CITY – The new owners of the Resorts Casino Hotel saved it from near death, cut everyone’s pay, sued the oldest female employee twice, opened Atlantic City’s first gay bar and a nude circus. announced the project.

It’s been six months since the nation’s first casino opened outside of Nevada. It has now culminated in a permanent casino license for the new government.

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission today credited the resorts and its co-owners, Dennis Gomes, a former Nevada casino regulator, and Morris Bailey, a real estate investor, with helping to drive the crowds out of Las Vegas. . Licensed to real estate in New York. . .

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“I’m just excited and very happy,” Gomez said. “I can’t wait to get back in the casino and kick some ass.”

The resort was within days of closing last December when Gomez and Bailey took over. Gomez said the casino was in a hole so big it rivaled the Grand Canyon.

When it opened its doors on May 26, 1978, the resort became the nation’s first casino outside of Nevada. For years, it was spectacularly profitable. But as more casinos opened in Atlantic City — there are now 11 — the resorts’ market share declined. By the time casinos began opening in suburban Philadelphia in late 2006, the resorts were already in deep decline, an afterthought for anyone but the old slot player on the bus who remained a customer.

Gomez has had a long career in the casino industry, with management jobs at the Tropicana Casino and Resort (where he turned Tic-Tac-Tac-Tac-Toe Chicken into a lottery ball), the Trump Taj Mahal Casino and Resort, the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas and Hilton Nevada properties. And his tenure as Nevada’s lead casino corruption investigator was featured in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film Casino.

Resorts Atlantic City To Adopt 1920s Theme In Nod To ‘boardwalk Empire’

So when the resorts’ former owners, the Los Angeles hedge fund Colony Capital LLC, defaulted on their mortgage payments and handed over the keys to the casino to their creditors in 2009, Gomez saw an opportunity where others would die. Saw a pit of money stuck in a circle. He and Bailey, who was looking to open a casino in Pennsylvania, bought the resorts in 2001 for $31.5 million, a fraction of the $140 million Colony paid for it in 2001.

One of the first things he did was to cut costs, especially wages. 2,000 workers on the payroll were forced to reapply for their jobs. Ultimately, more than 200 were laid off and nearly 500 others had their pay cut by up to 52 percent.

When Gomez took over, it quickly became clear how far things had fallen at the resorts. Casino revenue from slots and table games fell 19 percent year-over-year. Grossing less than $436,000 a day, down from $538,000 a day a year ago, it ranked 10th among Atlantic City’s 11 casinos.

Resorts posted a gross operating loss of $18.5 million last year, up nearly 41 percent from 2009.

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The first step was to dream up a new identity for the resort, which was widely considered a liability — its 90-year-old building dwarfed by its most successful casino — and trying to turn it into a plus. was Gomez and his staff rebranded the resorts to a Roaring 20s theme, in part to capitalize on the success of “Boardwalk Empire,” HBO’s hit series about Prohibition-era Atlantic City. Since the space was built in the 1920s, no changes were needed to fit perfectly with the new theme: marble floors and polished brass fixtures are luxurious reminders of that bygone era.

It doesn’t go completely smoothly; Two groups of female cocktail servers sued casinos after they were fired, allegedly because they didn’t look sexy enough in their tight new suits. Celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred is representing some of them.

The casino is still losing money, though Gomez says he expects to break even soon. In June, it was one of only four Atlantic City casinos to increase its monthly revenue compared to June 2010. It was about 1 percent.

Resorts Chief Financial Officer Timothy Ebling said the casino expects to be cash flow positive in July and August.

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Gomez said the casino hopes to add new restaurants, fix up the old roof and possibly build a year-round glass-enclosed beach bar.

The resorts’ new license is considered permanent under new rules New Jersey passed earlier this year. It will be reviewed every five years by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, but will only need to be renewed if a major problem arises.

If you purchase a product or sign up for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. By browsing this site, we may share your information with our social media partners in accordance with our privacy policy. Guests arrive at hotel resorts in Atlantic City. The has announced that it will no longer have an online sportsbook, and will instead allow its iGaming partners to handle such online betting activity. (Photo: Getty)

Effective today, February 14, Resorts is no longer taking action through the Resorts.com sportsbook. The platform’s interactive slots and table games, as well as live dealer offerings, will continue to operate. But the website’s sportsbook is closed.