July 6, 2015
By Ruben Kramer
...Borgata expects to receive (click here) more than $60 million in property tax refunds and interest for tax years 2009 and 2010 after a state appeals court on Monday affirmed a ruling that slashed the resort’s assessed value by more than a billion dollars.
Spokesmen for the city and its emergency manager did not return requests for comment.
The Atlantic City tax assessor valued the resort at about $2.2 billion for tax years 2009 and 2010. But in October 2013, after a 21-day non-jury trial, New Jersey Tax Court Judge Patrick DeAlmeida slashed the assessments to $880 million and $870 million, respectively, finding that the assessments didn't reflect a profound contraction of the Atlantic City gambling market that was well underway as the aughts ended....
There is investment to add interests of tourism to Atlantic City. I think this is a good focus because if the attractions become too large it would compete with established businesses like "Six Flags Great Adventure" (click here). Great Adventure is already offering discounted tickets and memberships, so they are feeling the pressure of the "Inequality Economy."
Many of these businesses, including the casinos relied on the Middle Class. The Middle Class was a strong presence in Atlantic City as far back as 1950s. That demographic has changed and two to three generations later the disposable income to such attractions is simply not there. A family with some disposable income will concentrate on their children and not their own satisfaction.
July 6, 2015
By Wayne Parry
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A look (click here) at some of the non-gambling attractions in Atlantic City as the resort city tries to move beyond offering just gambling:
— The Playground. Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein's $52 million redo of the former Pier Shops at Caesars project into a music-themed entertainment attraction.
— Borgata Festival Park. $3.5 million outdoor concert facility that can hold 5,000 fans.
— Bass Pro Shops. $15 million outdoors-related superstore in the heart of the city's shopping district.
Donald Trump had decided a long time ago he was over extended in Atlantic City's future. He closed Trump Casino before any others even expected a chronic decline in the interest of Atlantic City. Actually, it wasn't that long ago, it just seems like it.
Trump Casino was open for thirty years. I think there is still the Trump Marina and the Taj Mahal.
September 23, 2014
By Tina Griego
...On the morning of the casino’s closing, (click here) a memorabilia collector parks himself among the rows of blinking, blaring, vacant slots and keeps feeding it titos – ticket in, ticket out – to get one time-stamped as close as possible to the final minute.
But mostly the dealers pack up chips, and cocktail waitresses serve the last of the vodka and coffee, and everyone checks their watches. That evening, they gather by the hundreds at a 24-hour bar where they used to go to decompress. They call out to each other, a parade of Johnnies and Kennys and Joeys and Ritchies and Debbies.
Some left the Plaza years ago for the greener pastures of casinos in other states, but many spent their entire careers there. “We spent 30 years together,” says Debbie Fortier, a cocktail waitress. “We were together longer than most marriages.”...
Trump Properties (click here)
His activities are really diverse. It was set up that way to create a portfolio of financial security. If one aspect of his holdings was doing poorly, the others were earning money. So, he knows what he is going. The Trump Casino being in business for thirty years had no depreciation value and the staff was the only real expense on a regular basis. There are other issues like promoting the business and maintenance, but, that is far less a concern once the building is paid for and the cash flow is good. The issue was obviously the lack of recovery when the US economy went bad. One can only be attached to a business so long before it is obvious things have changed.
The gambling business market in Atlantic City will pick up for remaining casinos as there are some that shut down. But, Atlantic City was an attraction for honeymooners. There is far less than that. As a matter of fact the top ten honeymoon locations according to "honeymoon.com" (click here) are international resorts. The top of most lists is Acapulco. People like to travel and that is promoted by airlines through travel agents and the like. There are some advertisements from resorts such as "Sandals" but all this foreign travel is promoted by the airlines. When listening to any promotion it will nearly always state, "...air travel included."
And, NO, I don't believe Donald Trump decided to run for President to find answers for Atlantic City. He doesn't need to do that. I think he is sincere when he states he is disillusioned with the field of candidates.
From Salon:
July 6, 2015
By Joan Walsh
...I have no sympathy for Trump, (click here) but I can certainly see his point. Why would he have worried about a backlash against his anti-Mexican racism, when corporate America and the Republican Party let him get away with ugly racist birtherism regarding President Obama for years? Frankly, I’m pleasantly surprised by the backlash, but also a little sickened that it took this long.
I’m also surprised the other GOP presidential candidates are getting so much credit for their belated rebukes. The New York Times trumpeted an “indignant Jeb Bush” who “said he takes Donald Trump’s remarks personally.” That would be big headline news if Bush, whose wife was born in Mexico and whose kids are thus of Mexican descent, said it the day after Trump’s ugly outburst. Instead, it took Bush eighteen days to denounce the birther-in-chief. I wouldn’t call that indignant....
And this is it in a nutshell. The Republicans that have been in Trump's corner for years are exactly as bigoted as everyone believes. So, the quandary that is Bush and Rubio is the real fact, they have an anchor to hold back their popularity. They are affiliated with the Hispanic and Cubans. It is a sincere problem for Republicans that actually score elections with voter suppression while attracting racists.
...He’s right; Trump represents a serious segment of the party base, and nobody in the GOP besides the long-shot Pataki was lining up to denounce him until he began losing his corporate support. He’s in second place, behind Bush, in national polling....
Atlantic City (click here) has a negative growth curve because of 2008. It never recovered.When income per capita is reviewed within this same site, the trend was up and continued to increase in any fall off of business.
The demand for businesses to hire employees was always positive stress for the workers' market. The demand was good and the pay ever increasing. But and it is a big but. The number of jobs feel along with the loss of business. The jobs remaining still created demand and those unemployed weren't finding work in Atlantic City so they went elsewhere. Atlantic City was losing ground because of the crash of 2008 and it's deep financial results as well as having to pay good and even increasing wages because the competition for trained workers.
The graph above is the unemployment rate and the graph below is the wage rate. 2008 destroyed the consumer base of Atlantic City. But, the type of business left in Atlantic City required trained and certified/licensed personnel that could find work other than Atlantic City.
I am sure Hurricane Sandy didn't do Atlantic City any favors. The low income housing being replaced is primarily for the elderly. The Sandy funding for low income housing has been distributed throughout the state. Even if there were low income housing in Atlantic City, there are few to no jobs for them and/or are not consumers of the businesses in Atlantic City. The uptick in consumers would be negligible.
Atlantic City was never prepared for what occurred in 2008, but, who was?
Atlantic City - Hammonton, New Jersey (click here)
