Giants MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment announced plans this week to build a casino together in Atlantic City, United States. Although they made no formal announcement through the company’s channels, the CEOs of both met in a meeting with the governor of the state of New Jersey, where Atlantic City is located, to discuss partnerships, changes in legislation and the new casino project. The governor was willing and excited about the proposal.
Crisis in the region
Since the easing of betting regulations in the states bordering New Jersey, Atlantic City, whose appeal was partly because it was the only area where bets were settled and housed large casinos, it has suffered from the closure of four developments, the last of them having been the Trump Taj Mahal, a casino opened by the now President of the United States Donald Trump in 1990 and closed by its last owner.
So, with declining revenue and rising unemployment due to the exit of the casino and gambling industry, it is not surprising that Governor Chris Christie is excited to attract the new MGM-Caesars operation. In addition to this, another group of casinos (among them the operator Hard Rock International, from the famous Hard Rock Cafe) are also planning to invest in the city. The group bought the recently closed Trump Taj Mahal and plans to invest more than $ 300 million in renovations.
While casinos are not expected to solve Atlantic City’s problems alone, they will certainly contribute to the region’s economic recovery.
MGM and Caesars in Atlantic City
In addition to the new joint project announced, both the giant MGM and Caesars Entertainment already have operations in Atlantic City.
MGM, a company started in 1987 and famous for its main casinos in Las Vegas, such as Mirage, MGM Grand and Bellagio (also known for being the casino that appears in “Eleven Men and a Secret”), operates the casino most Atlantic City – Borgata.
Caesars Entertainment is famous for operating, among others, the Caesars Palace casino, themed in Ancient Rome and one of the most respected and known casinos in the world. In Atlantic City the company operates Caesars Atlantic, Harrah’s and Bailey’s.
Casino income in the region has grown by about 30% in recent years. Companies attribute at least part of that to government improvements in the region. Governor Chris Christie’s relationship with industry companies also looks good.
At his meeting with MGM Grand CEO James Murren, the governor announced that he will “make changes to the legislation in order to update it for the 21st century”. Casinos also see the need for this update, but reiterate: “We will work together with our friends at Caesars to find out how to improve Atlantic City even more. It won’t be easy, but we will accept the challenge, ”said James Murren.
