‘Boutique’ casino bill approved in Atlantic City

Boutique casinos would create new construction jobs and boost tourism in Atlantic City’s sagging economy, supporters said. The city’s economic crisis has seen four casinos close down so far this year, with Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort threatening to shut its doors on Dec. 20.

“As we work to help Atlantic City gain financial stability and to help the casino industry recover, we have to be resourceful and creative. By definition, this bill addresses a small-scale casino license, but it can help, so we should get it done,” said Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a prime sponsor of the new legislation. “Allowing renovated buildings to be used for a smaller, boutique casino just makes good sense economically.”

The new legislation also removes a requirement that at least one of the two boutique casinos would have to eventually expand into a larger facility having at least 500 hotel rooms. Currently, Atlantic City’s casinos must have a minimum of 500 rooms. The boutique casinos could have as few as 200 rooms.

Bashaw said smaller, club-style casinos would break the mold of the large, “one-size-fits-all” properties that have dominated the Atlantic City gaming market since the late 1970s.

“Atlantic City needs new tools in its tool chest,” he said.

This will be the second time Atlantic City has pushed the idea of smaller casinos as a catalyst for growth. The original bill failed to produce any boutique casinos, although Hard Rock International proposed one project before killing it in 2012. Supporters hope that by loosening the bill’s original requirements, new development will follow.

Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, noted that boutique casinos have been recommended by a governor’s advisory panel studying ways to revitalize Atlantic City. The amended boutique casino bill was approved by a 4-0 vote Thursday by the Senate’s state government, wagering, tourism and historic preservation committee chaired by Whelan. Bashaw was in the audience for the committee vote in Trenton. Whelan, a former Atlantic City mayor, noted that Bashaw had signed up in favor of the legislation. “I’ve always been interested in doing this,” Bashaw said.

Bashaw is a prominent Jersey Shore hotel owner whose portfolio includes the historic Congress Hall in Cape May. He formerly served as the executive director of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the state agency that uses funding from the casino industry for housing projects and economic development in Atlantic City.

In 2009, he was part of a development group that scrapped plans for a $1.5 billion to $2 billion megaresort at the southern end of the Boardwalk. The project was doomed by the faltering economy.

Bashaw said he has no further aspirations to develop a major casino, preferring instead to convert the Chelsea’s fifth floor into an intimate gaming area that would complement the hotel’s dining attractions and nightclub.

The new bill would let casinos be established in existing buildings.