Hotel owner pushes to open new casino in Atlantic City

Curtis Bashaw says his 330-room hotel would be a perfect spot for one of the two new so-called “boutique casinos” envisioned by a plan making its way through the state legislature. The bill which would allow a hotel to open a casino under the “Boutique” branding states that the hotel would only need to have 200 hotel rooms;currently any hotel wanting to open a casino needs 500 rooms.

The only rule is that the hotel would eventually need to have 500 rooms. This is one of the measures state lawmakers are considering now to help the struggling casino industry in Atlantic City which has seen four casino resorts close and the Taj Mahal looking likely to be the fifth. “It’s a boutique hotel; we don’t have room for a big casino. However, the bill that passed prevented us from taking advantage of the opportunity,” Bashaw said in a statement.

He views his proposed casino as a new product that would attract new customers. He envisions hotel guests playing at 25 or 30 tables placed around the hotel’s fifth floor. “It would be a very intimate experience,” he said. “The casino would be a desirable place to go and learn to play and hang out with your friends.”