All 11 Atlantic City casinos reopen following Hurricane Irene

The storm washed out a potentially lucrative late-summer weekend for an industry still struggling in a sluggish economy. The casinos are now looking to the Labor Day weekend as the starting point for a post-Irene recovery. “This was a major hit financially,” said Dennis Gomes, CEO of Resorts Casino Hotel. “It was a us$ 3 million loss for Resorts. You can’t recoup it, so we’ve got to hope that the rest of the year will be good.”

Gary Loveman, chairman and CEO of Caesars Entertainment, estimated the company’s four Atlantic City casinos lost more than us$ 25 million in revenue. Marrandino said it probably won’t be until midweek that hotels begin filling up and things start returning to normal. “I would think that by Wednesday we’ll be back in action. Fortunately, the weekend looks very strong,” Marrandino said.

Already, casinos are offering special promotions and hotel packages to entice customers back to Atlantic City. Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno made a stop Monday at the Boardwalk entrance of Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort “to remind residents and tourists that the Jersey Shore is a great place to visit following Hurricane Irene,” a news release from her office states.

The hurricane, plus a reported tornado, capped a bizarre week that included a rare East Coast earthquake last Tuesday that sent casino customers heading for the exits until the all-clear was sounded. “We had an earthquake, tornadoes, and now a hurricane. What’s next, pestilence?” Gomes said in a biblical allusion.

The weekend shutdown was just the third time in Atlantic City’s 33-year history of legalized gambling that the casinos closed. Hurricane Gloria forced them to close in September 1985, while a New Jersey budget crisis was responsible for a three-day casino shutdown in July 2006.

With Irene long gone Monday, the casinos were given the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement’s approval to reopen. State gaming officials went through a checklist of items to make sure each property complied with the regulations. Inspections also were conducted for possible structural damage to the casinos, but none was found, DGE spokeswoman Lisa Spengler said.

There were initial concerns that employees would have difficulty returning to work Monday. However, casino executives said most employees returned to work as scheduled. Gomes feared that casino customers in the Pennsylvania, New York, and North Jersey feeder markets might think that Atlantic City suffered a much bigger hit than it did and would postpone their trips. The resort town generally fared well, avoiding major damage and widespread flooding. “One more day. I think it’s going to take people that long to figure out that everything is fine here,” Gomes said.