Atlantic City's Luck May Be Mostly Bad in 2009

The Tropicana Casino and Resort has operated for more than a year under a state-appointed conservator, who is trying to sell it in a bankruptcy auction. The Cordish Company, which helped revitalize Baltimore's Inner Harbor and built The Walk, Atlantic City's popular midtown retail outlet shopping district, has been chosen as a potential purchaser at $700 million.

This was the second straight year that casino revenue fell in Atlantic City after 28 straight years of increases.

It began when slots parlors opened outside Philadelphia, which quickly stole some of Atlantic City's most reliable and profitable gamblers, who could now play close to home instead of driving an hour east to Atlantic City. And more competition followed from racetrack slots in New York.

For the first 11 months of 2008, the casinos won $4.2 billion, down 6.7 percent from the same period a year ago.

The decline prompted casino executives to ask Atlantic City to delay a total smoking ban that the City Council had approved in April, saying they couldn't afford to drive away any customers in such a bad economy.

The council agreed, and will revisit the issue in November. Until then, smoking will be allowed on up to 25 percent of the gambling floor.

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