Tag: Atlantic City

You Can Now Bid on Auction to Blow Up Trump’s Casino

Posted on by Grant Mahon

Formerly owned by former President, Trump Plaza is to be demolished in 2021. You have a chance to be the one to press the button. For that to happen, all you got to do is bid the highest bid at the auction.

The Trump Plaza demolition auction has already attracted a lot of media attention, with comedians like Jimmy Fallon talking about it in their shows.

However, the auction wasn’t meant to be a dig at the former President. Instead, the purpose of it is to raise money for charity. As announced by Atlantic City Mayor Marty Smalls Sr., the city is going to give all the proceeds from the auction to the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City.

Atlantic City is Auctioning the Demolition of Trump Plaza

Atlantic City officials have put an independent auction house in charge of the auction regarding the destruction of Trump Plaza. Bodnars Auction is the name of the organization that will take care of the auction, which has already started on the internet.

Anyone with a couple of hundred thousand dollars to spare can enter the online auction through this link. At the moment of writing, the highest bid is $28,000, with 11 people taking part so far. However, the Trump Plaza demolition auction has only just started this week, with more than a month left to go.

The auction will end on Tuesday, January 19, 2021, just 10 days before the previously-planned date of demolition. However, as confirmed by Atlantic City Mayor, the implosion of the 39-floor building (the 15th-highest building in Atlantic City) is going to be postponed for a couple of weeks. The most likely time for it to happen is mid-February.

The End of Trump’s Reign in Atlantic City

At one point, Donald Trump owned some of the most successful casinos, not only in Atlantic City but the entire country. However, those days are long gone, with the ex-US President offloading some of his New Jersey businesses, while others fell apart on their own.

One of those that belong to the latter category is Trump Plaza. Located on the iconic Atlantic City boardwalk, it was Trump’s first investment in the casino business. The year was 1984 when it was launched, just a couple of years after Atlantic City became East Coast’s gambling hub.

After the initial success of Trump Plaza, Trump’s Castle was opened. In, 1990, Trump and his associates decided on an even bigger project – the construction of Trump Taj Mahal. In fact, their ambitions didn’t end there. They launched Trump World’s Fair six years later.

At one point, almost half of all casinos in Atlantic City had something to do with Donald Trump. The problem was that they turned out to be each other’s competitors. When profits started dropping, Trump decided to sell Trump’s Castle (renamed Trump Marina in 1997).

For the other three casinos, he decided to file for bankruptcy. Trump Taj Mahal closed down in 2016 (reopened as Hard Rock Casino in 2018). Trump World’s Fair was demolished in 1999, and the same faith awaits the last remaining Trump-branded casino in Atlantic City.

Grant Mahon

Grant is the self-professed casino madman and reporter that brought this eclectic team of dedicated and talented writers together from around the world to proudly build an humble empire of authentic casino news.

Atlantic City Casinos Expecting a Big Thanksgiving Feast Despite COVID-19 Worries

Posted on by Grant Mahon

This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated all aspects of life, including leisure and entertainment. Once again, the virus is in the news, with the outbreak threatening to cancel Thanksgiving celebrations in the United States. A number of states have already decided to go with new measures, some of which include shutting down non-essential businesses such as land-based casinos.

New Jersey, however, still does not belong to those states. According to Governor Phil Murphy, the state has no plans of shutting down the Atlantic City casinos. Gaming fans will be welcome at all nine AC casinos, but there won’t be any turkey on the menu. At least not in the evening as bars and restaurants in casinos now have to close every night at 10 pm.

Governor Phil Murphy Backing Atlantic City Casinos

With the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 going up in New Jersey, a question arose regarding shutting down Atlantic City casinos. Governor Murphy shut them down on March 18 and kept them closed until July 2, but this time, he believes there’s no need for such a measure.

Even though the number of new COVID-19 cases per day is considerably higher than it was in March when casinos ended up closed, Murphy thinks these sorts of venues do not add to the coronavirus risk.

“We believe, based on the evidence that we have, that they’ve been able to responsibly manage their casino floors” – Murphy said during a briefing with other state officials.

The thing is that Atlantic City casinos seem to be doing a very good job keeping the environment coronavirus-free. Furthermore, recent stats show that casinos rank #44 in the list of places where you’re most likely to catch the disease.

Atlantic City Casinos Would Not Survive Another Lockdown

Another incentive to keep the Atlantic City casinos open is the local economy. The gambling industry has suffered big losses as a result of the outbreak, especially in parts of the United States that rely on this industry.

Atlantic City definitely belongs to this category, as the city’s gaming revenue is keeping the local economy healthy. At least it was in the times before the pandemic. Since COVID-19 came to Atlantic City, the gaming revenue plummeted.

As evident from the figures released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, Atlantic City casinos generated $186.1 million in revenue this October, which is an 8% decline compared with October 2019.

Not everything is doom and gloom in New Jersey’s gaming world. Online gambling sites have been making a lot of money during the pandemic. Last month, online casinos and sports betting sites generated $118 million.

As a reminder, New Jersey is one of only four US states where online casino gaming is legal and regulated at the moment of writing. The other three states are Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia.

Grant Mahon

Grant is the self-professed casino madman and reporter that brought this eclectic team of dedicated and talented writers together from around the world to proudly build an humble empire of authentic casino news.

Borgata to Develop $11m Betting Lounge in Atlantic City

Posted on by Kat Orlov
  • Borgata develops new $11m sports betting lounge in Atlantic City
  • Chief Operating Officer (COO) Marcus Glover welcomes the move
  • Borgata was the first property in New Jersey to accept sports wagers after PASPA’s defeat in May, 2018

Borgata Hotel Casino Resort & Spa will cough up $11 million for a new on-site sport betting facility, making a committed rush into the newly-regulated segment.

Borgata Enters the Sports Betting Race with $11m Upfront

New Jersey defeated the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 in May, 2018. Since then, sports betting has been steadily gaining traction around the United States. While not all states are on track to get their own legalized industries, many are already joining.

Pennsylvania Grants First Sports Betting Licenses

Located in Atlantic City, NJ, Borgata benefits from the mild local regulatory climate and the high demand for sports betting opportunities. The future betting lounge, however, will not rely exclusively on individuals’ taste for placing wagers.

The facility will feature a bar as well as other amenities designed to accommodate the casual and committed punter. On the occasion of the announcement, Borgata president and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Marcus Glover, commented:

Since Borgata arrived in the Atlantic City market more than 15 years ago, we have maintained a steadfast dedication to property growth and development, with our new concept exemplifying this objective

Mr. Glover lauded the efforts of Borgata for having stayed “at the forefront of legalized sports betting in New Jersey”. The latest development plan, according the official press release, was an attempt to advance the company’s product with “an innovative gaming and entertainment experience”.

Borgata Makes History with Mobile Betting

In July, 2018, Borgata became the first casino to take a legal sports wager following the resounding success in the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS), doing away with the federal betting ban PASPA. Following the approval of Governor Phil Murphy, Borgata seized the opportunity to make history.

Borgata also launched playMGM, the mobile betting platform to arrive after the freshly-regulated market. The platform was launched with the help of GVC Holdings, another giant on the U.S. sports betting market looking to gain more traction.

The solution offers much of what can be found on branded website casinos, including quick banking options, such as deposits and withdrawals.

Borgata draws on the MGM International’s experience in the sector, with MGM having been involved in various sports betting initiatives in the past 25 years, specifically in Nevada. According to the official data released in the press release, MGM sports wagers in Nevada alone reach 4 million placed units yearly and the sports handle reaches north of $1 billion. MGM has ongoing partnerships the NBA and WNBA, NHL, MLB, as well as the New York Jets.

Kat Orlov

Newcomer Kat is our newcomer poker aficionado whos skill not only lives on the table but flourishes on the site as through her many sources she never fails to be the first to hear of any important or exciting poker news around the world.