Hard Rock AC (pictured) employs over 4300 and Ocean Resort Casino employees over 3,800.
For the first time since 2014, Atlantic City casinos are employing over 30,000 workers. One would have to go back to the August 2014, before Showboat and Trump Plaza closed, to see a time when AC casinos employed a combined 30,000 workers.
According to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, Atlantic City’s nine operating casinos employed 30,217 workers in July 2018. The addition of Oceans Resort Casino and Hard Rock Atlantic City pushed the total number of employees over the 30k mark.
The figure includes full-time and part-time employees.
James Plousis, chairman of the Casino Control Commission, lauded the makeup of the employees hired in the past few months. Many former AC casino workers were rehired in the process, ending a long draught of employement for many Atlantic City residents. As part of a program by Hard Rock International, casinos took care to hire armed services veterans, as well.
Chairman Plousis said, “I think everybody in the entire industry as well as the whole region can be very encouraged by those numbers.”
Hard Rock AC’s Employment Figures
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City employed 4,393 people in July. The newly-opened casino sits on the site of the former Trump Taj Mahal. Hard Rock International, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, bought the casino early last year from Carl Icahn and launched a $500 million renovation.
The number of employees hired by Hard Rock AC might increase over the coming months, as the concert schedule rolls out. The casino hopes to have 200 live shows in the next calendar year alone — which requires significant event staff.
Ocean Resort Casino Employees
Ocean Resort Casino, on the site of the former Revel Casino, employed 3,791 people in July. Ocean Resorts Casino had its grand opening on the same day as Hard Rock, June 28.
Between the two new casinos, they employed a total of 8,184 jobs — or 27% of the total casino workforce in the city. Only MGM Resorts’ Borgata Casino & Spa, which had 5,938 employees in July, employed more casino workers in the city.
Atlantic City’s Recovery
It is a far cry from late-2014 to early-2018, when Atlantic City’s job markets was one of the worst in the United States. Over a 9-month period in 2014, four Atlantic City casinos closed: The Atlantic Club, The Showboat, Trump Plaza, and Revel Casino. A fifth casino, Trump Taj Mahal, declared bankruptcy and nearly close (and eventually would in October 2016).
Atlantic City has a population of around 40,000 people, so when 4 casinos closed in 2014 (costing 8,000 jobs), it was a devastating blow for the resort destination city.
Not only did Atlantic City lose a huge portion of its tax base from everyday workers, but the four closed casinos meant the property taxes collected also cratered out. Eventually, then New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation to bail out the city and sent financial experts to take control of Atlantic City’s finances.
2018 Atlantic City Casinos
Now it appears that the casino city is recovering. People still wonder if Atlantic City can sustain 9 full casinos. Several factors are in their favor, though. In 2018, Atlantic City casinos can operate sportsbooks. The online casino and poker sites are more developed and healthier than in 2014. Each casino can open an bookmaker betting operation, too.
Beyond that, Atlantic City received infrastructure and investment cash from the state to diversify the economy. AC has been developing non-gaming revenue in the time. Also, the United States has undergone 93 months in a row of economic growth, so the economy is better overall.
The casino companies in the city are stronger, too. Caesars Entertainment, which owns three AC casinos, is out of its CEOC bankruptcy troubles. MGM Resorts is back from a 5-year exile, replacing Boyd Gaming as Borgata’s owner. The Seminole Tribe of Florida, which has a large porfolio of casinos, owns Hard Rock/Trump Taj Mahal instead of Carl Icahn. Bruce Deifik’s group — with its strategic partnerships with Hyatt and William Hill — is a more stable ownership group than Polo North. Overall, the picture is healthy.
