Where Did Taj Gamblers Go?

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When workers from the Trump Taj Mahal went on strike in July, other casinos in Atlantic City had an opportunity to move in on its customers. So where did those gamblers go? Tropicana increased its gaming market share the most, to 13.7 percent in the second half of last year – the period that coincided with the Taj’s strike and closure – compared to 12.5 percent in the second-half 2015. Over that six-month period, Tropicana’s casino revenue increased 13 percent to $190 million from $166 million in the year-earlier July-December period. Much of the muttering on the far end of the boardwalk during the strike centered around suspicion of a plan by Icahn Enterprises, the Taj’s owner, to close the casino in order to boost revenue at Tropicana, Icahn Enterprises’ other property.

More about: Business, Borgata, Caesars Entertainment, division of gaming enforcement, Resorts, trump Taj Mahal

State Could Use Water Authority Advisor’s Blueprint For Valuation, Sale

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In May last year Atlantic City’s water authority hired advisory firm Acacia Financial Group to craft a concession agreement that would help the authority both retain its independence and stave off a state takeover of the city. Acacia Financial helped draft two 100-page-plus documents chock-full of inside information and financial details but just a few months later it abruptly ended its $20,000 contract with the water authority because it had accepted another contract – with the New Jersey department that held state-takeover powers. New Jersey, now tasked with plucking Atlantic City from its financial death spiral, is sitting on a detailed plan that would help potential buyers put a price on one of the casino resort’s few remaining assets: its water authority. What’s more, the plan calculates the future water-rate rises that might be possible for the authority. “Their analysis sets forth what a combined rate structure could be, given a concession model,” said Bruce Ward, executive director of the Atlantic City Municipal Utilities Authority said in an interview last month.

More about: Government, Watchdog Journalism, Acacia Financial, ACMUA, Atlantic City, bruce ward, Capehart Scratchard, Commissioner Richman

Tax Filing Shows ACDevCo Had No Staff, Little Income In 2015

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The non-profit development company behind the $206 million project to build Stockton University an Atlantic City campus was little more than a shell company in 2015, with no staff and a tiny revenue eked out from parking fees, according to its latest tax filing. The Atlantic City Development Corp, founded in February 2015 by New Brunswick Development Corp’s President Chris Paladino and three colleagues from the Governor’s Commission on New Jersey Gaming, Sports and Entertainment, lost money in its first year and its only revenue came from charging the Knife & Fork restaurant $7,500 for the lease of a parking lot. Route 40 requested the filing from Paladino’s office last year. The ACDevCo did, however, hold land worth $11.7 million, including a 9.5-acre package it acquired in 2015 for the Stockton project. “One of the lots had been leased to the owner of the Knife and Fork for restaurant parking for a number of years,” Paladino explained in an email.

More about: Watchdog Journalism

Gordon’s Alley and Cardinal Bistro – Friday’s Roundup

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Gordon’s Alley
South Inlet booster and super-dynamic A.C. Press reporter Hannah Schweder has an adorable profile that old Atlantic City hands will appreciate, on Shirley and Milton Gordon, who celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last week. They started the businesses that became Gordon’s Alley. Shirley’s father had a hotel that was urban renewal-ed out of existence by Pauline’s Prairie. Now Gordon’s Alley is being urban renewal-ed out of existence by the CRDA! Sorry.

More about: Roundup

Still Empty After All These Years, Kmart & Sonic Booms – Thursday’s Roundup

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Still Empty After All These Years
Route 40 dug into the story of a vegetable patch, a South Jersey power broker, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and the Atlantic City property tax crisis, and this was the result – a long read that will tell you all you need to know about why the South Inlet is so resolutely empty. So long, Pleasantville Kmart
The Pleasantville Kmart is among the victims of a nationwide Kmart Kull, according to The Press of Atlantic City. “They’re going to be sadly missed,” said the Pleasantville mayor. The closure will leave a large hole in a strip mall along the Black Horse Pike, where the John Brooks Recovery Center recently opened an outpatient clinic. Meanwhile, just up the road, Mercedes Benz and Porsche dealerships are moving in. There is another story to be written, some time, about the madness of piecemeal development in South Jersey suburbs…

More about: Roundup

Decade-Long NJ Casino Tax Slump Reverses, Thanks To Online Gaming

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Atlantic City casino properties have closed, but the resort city’s biggest industry paid more into state coffers last year as its revenue increased. New Jersey’s tax revenue from the casino industry increased last year, as online gaming helped reverse a 10-year slump in casino taxes. Casinos paid the state $210.4 million in taxes and fees in the last fiscal year (July 2015-June 2016), up slightly from $206 million in the previous 12-month period, according to a Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) report published last month. The tax turnaround is a thin silver lining for New Jersey, which has seen its casino tax revenue eroded by more than two thirds from $500 million in 2006. Signs that Atlantic City’s main industry might be stabilizing after a 10-year freefall will also be scant consolation to the beachside town’s taxpayers, now facing a state takeover of the city’s finances that has already raised homeowners’ taxes after NJ legislators cut casinos a sweetheart property tax deal earlier in the year. Although online gaming is just a fraction of total casino revenue, it helped lead the turnaround for the fiscal year 2016, according to data recorded by the DGE.

More about: Business, caesars interactive entertainment nj, casinos, cienj, division of gaming enforcement, internet gaming, new jersey gaming, online gaming

A Believer Rescues An Atlantic City Apartment Building

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Mark Callazzo might just be the walking embodiment of everybody’s favorite car magnet around here. “AC – Don’t Stop Believing” appears to be the unspoken motto of the guy behind The Iron Room bar and restaurant, who is now close to completing the refurbishment of an entire building the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority had been set to demolish. Studio and one- and two-bedroom Apartments at 1 N. Boston Ave will be available in January, Callazzo said when he took us on a tour of the building earlier this month. You can watch our video from the tour below. “I like Atlantic City, I believe in its future,” Callazzo said, as he walked us around the building, which has views of the Atlantic ocean on one side and the bay on the other.

More about: Atlantic City, Business

Downbeach Construction Boom Slows, Shifts Uptown

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The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy launched a private construction boom that is just starting to fade in the wealthier southernmost towns of Absecon Island, while the slow trickle of FEMA money now starting to come in means more construction and demolition is shifting to the northern end of the island. Certificates of occupancy for new homes are down in Margate and Longport this year through September, while data from state permits show demolition and construction has picked up this year in Ventnor and Atlantic City. You can download – for a small fee – here our full data set showing construction, demolition, certificates of occupancy and residential additions in Ventnor, Margate and Longport since 2010. !function(e,t,n,s){var i=”InfogramEmbeds”,o=e.getElementsByTagName(t),d=o[0],a=/^http:/.test(e.location)?”http:”:”https:”;if(/^\/{2}/.test(s)&&(s=a+s),window[i]&&window[i].initialized)window[i].process&&window[i].process();else if(!e.getElementById(n)){var r=e.createElement(t);r.async=1,r.id=n,r.src=s,d.parentNode.insertBefore(r,d)}}(document,”script”,”infogram-async”,”//e.infogr.am/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js”);
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Ventnor has seen an unprecedented spate of new construction in the last 18 months, while new certificates of occupancy have slipped in Margate and Longport since last year. Jimmie Agnesino, construction code official in Ventnor, said the pickup in construction in the town is mostly due to the fact that FEMA money is now starting to reach homeowners.

More about: Business

Atlantic City Wrecking Ball and Our Decaying Water System – Thursday’s Roundup

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Demolition is on the rise in Atlantic City, for the first time since the financial crisis. It could possibly – just possibly – be a positive sign that some more private construction projects are coming soon. But most of the demolition has been carried out by public agencies. Read the Route 40 story here. NJ Spotlight takes a look at New Jersey’s water infrastructure, which leaks an unbelieveble amount – almost a third – of its water before it even reaches the tap.

More about: Roundup

Atlantic City Demolitions Climb, Reach Highest Since Financial Crisis

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Atlantic City has demolished 79 housing units this year through September, more than double the rate of demolition in any year since the financial crisis. Public agencies tore down the most buildings, but state data show there have also been some private demolitions, which could indicate more construction will be starting in the city. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) has demolished more than half of the units as part of its ongoing city-wide demolition project. Another chunk of the units were demolished by the Atlantic County Improvement Authority (ACIA), through an agreement with the city to clear abandoned buildings. The number of units demolished by the public agencies, however, is below the total number of units demolished year to date, which suggests there has also been some private demolition work.

More about: Atlantic City, Business