Christie says NJ State should take over Atlantic City

Atlantic City gambling revenue has been in a free fall since 2006, when it reached a peak of $5.2 billion. So New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has taken a brief break from his Presidential campaign to announce his new strategy for saving Atlantic City: a state takeover.

If approved by the state legislature, Christie’s plan would see the city’s $240 million in debt restructured over the next five years. Unfortunately, doing so would mean cutting some of the city’s $100 million annual budget, which also means layoffs and benefit slashes for local government employees. But in Christie’s eyes, this is a better option than declaring bankruptcy.

“Bankruptcy is always a last resort,” said Christie. “That would not be good for the city of Atlantic City and not something we would want to engage in.”

As Bloomberg reports, financial woes aren’t the only problem facing Atlantic City. The once-proud gambling mecca must also figure out how to reinvent itself when the path to success is very unclear.

Kevin Lavin, who was appointed by Christie as the city’s emergency manager in 2015, believes that Atlantic City could become a popular second-home market.

“The beach and the boardwalk make it a great place for people who may want a second home,” said Lavin. “You can go into town for entertainment, good restaurants, a play, or a concert and maybe stop by a casino. But casinos won’t necessarily be the central attraction.”

Atlantic City has seen its casino market share dwindle greatly amid increased competition from surrounding states. Christie, who took office in 2010, has since tried various means to restore the area to its former prominence, including trying to develop more non-gambling entertainment options, and getting United Airlines to direct straight flights from Chicago and Houston to Atlantic City. The latter effort failed miserably due to low demand, and United eventually canceled the direct flights.

Things may continue getting worse if the state approves two casinos in northern New Jersey. The idea here is to have casinos closer to the state’s New York and Pennsylvania borders to better compete with out-of-state competition. However, these two potential resorts could cannibalize Atlantic City somewhat.

Atlantic City is currently working on a large sports complex that would host amateur athletic tournaments – something that would provide a different draw for the town. However, it remains to be seen if this complex can slow the rapid decline of the city.