Following weeks of speculations, Atlantic City is set to welcome Hard Rock International and Ocean Resort Casino into its preexisting casino line up. The two Casino franchise has set June 28th as their preferred launch date. However, both establishments are not new to the city. Ocean Resort Casino is taking up what was previously known as Revel. Despite being in the industry for a minute, Revel has seen plenty of rough days that led to its closure. Several handshakes pasted on before Ocean Resort could get its chance on the property piece.
The same goes for Hard Rock International that has now home-ground its iconic rock and roll memorabilia into the former Trump Taj Mahal towers. This Florida-based gaming and hospitality mogul paid only a fracture of the original prize of what was termed as the eighth wonder of the world by its founding owner. There were hints that the two Casino stars would open their doors on the same date. However, it was until recently that confirmation of the June 28th date reached doors. Plenty of reactions surround the launch date; nevertheless, the two companies are optimistic as the set date borders the July 4th holiday – one of the busiest days in Atlantic City’s casino calendar.
According to industry experts, Hard Rock Atlantic City casino is expected to draw the most traffic as it is the main event focused on. Regardless, Ocean Resort Casino will still get a following as it will feed on the influx and have its grand entrance. The debut would be special to the City as it also marks this year the 40th Anniversary of its longest-established Casino on the Boardwalk. Atlantic City currently has seven operational casino properties and the additional two would either mean a catastrophe or major boost in its peaking gaming industry.
It’s only recently that the Atlantic City gambling scene has experienced a gain in its casino revenue growth following a devastating decade of losing that saw most of its facilities shut down. The downfall resulted from the rise of new competition from neighboring states that brought the once second highest grossing gambling hub down to her knees. For the longest time, Atlantic City ruled the East Coast gaming industry as it was the only place where commercial gambling was legal. But the turn of events in 2006, that so the legalization of commercial gambling on several member states led to the city’s crumble.
According to some of the industry’s maestros, Atlantic City gambling industry is yet ready for such an expansion. The two year’s in a row of consecutive gains in revenue growth from the seven pre-existing casino establishments does not mean we should automatically expect success. However, enthusiastic analysts take the move as a silver lining and see the opening as somehow a recovery in the City’s gambling business. Nevertheless, the attention is set on what the two companies are set to offer the city.
The question yet remains on how the opening of the two Casinos impacts the city’s industry? And if there would be a clash of the Titans on the scheduled D-day? Time will only tell.
