Atlantic City’s Showboat Casino to close

The Showboat Atlantic City Hotel and Casino will tell workers Friday that it is closing, says Bob McDevitt, president of Unite HERE Local 54. “I know that the workers are getting issued WARN Act notices tomorrow,” he said. “We were notified by the company today and we began notifying the workers immediately.” The casino had more than 2,100 workers as of June 2nd.

The WARN Act is the federal law requiring that companies give notice to employees if a business plans to close.“The fact that Caesars would close a casino that continues to be profitable … is a criminal act upon the citizens of Atlantic County,” he said.

“I know that the workers are getting issued WARN Act notices tomorrow,” Bob McDevitt, president of Unite HERE Local 54, said Thursday, referring to the federal law that requires companies to give notice to employees if a business plans to close.

“We were notified by the company today and we began notifying the workers immediately,” he said. The casino had more than 2,100 workers as of June 2.“The fact that Caesars would close a casino that continues to be profitable … is a criminal act upon the citizens of Atlantic County,” McDevitt said.

The casino, one of four in Atlantic City owned by Caesars, generated just shy of USD 2 million in gambling gross operating profit for the quarter ended March 31.State Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, said “It’s very disappointing and very frustrating, and I feel terrible for the people who will be losing jobs.”

Assemblyman Chris Brown, R-Atlantic, echoed that sentiment, calling it “painful news.” “My heart goes out to the over 2,000 families who will be hurt by this decision,” he said. “We are not talking about debits or credits on a spreadsheet, we are talking about human beings who get up every day and work hard to provide for their families.“Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo, said it’s a shame that more than 2,000 people are going to lose their jobs, and the closure will hurt the whole area.
“It certainly will not help the percentage of unemployment. These kinds of jobs will be hard to find, (the employees) would have to get out of the area to find work,” Mazzeo said. “We have to find a way to bring back a positive feel to Atlantic City.”

Chris Ireland, of Northfield, said he’s tended bar at Showboat for more than 28 years. He called the situation “an absolute travesty.” “Showboat is still a profitable company. It’s not the same situation as Revel or Atlantic Club,” he said.

Last week, Revel Casino Hotel announced that it would shut and terminate its nearly 3,200 employees by September 1 if it can’t find someone to buy it. The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, which was bought in a bankruptcy auction by Caesars and Tropicana Entertainment, closed in January, causing 1,600 workers to lose their jobs. “We’re looking at options to continue to reduce the cost of doing business here,” said Caesars spokesman Gary Thompson at the time. “One option is to reduce capacity, as we did with the closure of Atlantic Club.”

Ramanlal Patel, of Atlantic City, said he’s worked in Showboat’s housekeeping department for nine years. He said rumors about a closure have swirled for months. “We never believed it,” he said. Showboat has swelled to more than 1,300 hotel rooms and more than 122,000 square feet in gaming space since opening in 1987.