Article “Atlantic City fears darkness after casinos close” reports:
“Before summer ends, Revel, Trump Plaza, the Showboat and the Atlantic Club will be shuttered ex-casinos, leaving Atlantic City officials looking for a way to avoid having dark, empty shells on its signature Boardwalk.
“Analysts and entrepreneurs tell The Associated Press that a glitzy corporate headquarters, condos or timeshares, entertainment-related rentals or even student housing could be among the new uses for them…
“ [Israel Posner, head of a gambling study institute at Richard Stockton College] envisions Revel succeeding as a top-flight corporate center, possibly with a mix of retail and residential uses. The building, with a slanted roof and giant ball on top, ‘is the most interesting structure that was built in the eastern U.S. in the last decade,’ he said.”
WATCHDOG: Mr. Posner may know casino gambling but we question his expertise concerning real estate development. These buildings are built for specific purposes in very special market places. The practicality of their re-use for any other purpose is highly doubtful.
Hope springs eternal and some investors may delight in buying in at half or a third of cost of initial construction. But the buildings only have value to the extent that they can earn money. So unless somehow they can be returned as profitable casinos, they are destined to simply lead to further major losses.
It is very sad. The investors simply did not take into account the amount of competition that would come on stream from new gambling venues in Pennsylvania, New York and surrounding states.
In the long run the only solution may be demolition.
