Operator News
Union warns of falling footfall to Atlantic City’s nine casinos
By Phil - 5 April 2024
Donna DeCaprio, President of Unite Here Local 54, Atlantic City’s biggest casino workers union, has warned that ‘alarm bells should be ringing in Atlantic City’ over visitation to New Jersey casinos.
In February, the state’s nine casinos generated $211.6m from in-person gambling, marking a fall of 1.6 per cent from February last year, which Ms DeCaprio ‘confirms what those of us have been warning about over the past year; that attendance in our brick-and-mortar buildings is going in the wrong direction.’
As reported by the Atlantic City press, Ms DeCaprio said: “It is incredibly troubling to see that six of the nine gaming properties have posted declines of casino-win compared to February 2023 and year-to-date compared to 2023. As lawmakers continue to proceed with the annual state budget process, representatives in the New Jersey Legislature must understand the perilous economic situation at hand for my members, and indeed all workers in Atlantic City. Not only is the overall in-person revenue troubling but the size of the declines at some of the individual properties portends some serious instability for thousands of workers. The legislators need to take this into consideration as they consider policies that could compound the downward trends.”
Mark Giannantonio, President of the Casino Association of New Jersey, sagreed, adding: “This is not the time to enact laws, such as a full smoking ban, that will further erode customer visitation and revenues to our properties. It is time for the City of Atlantic City and the State of New Jersey, in its oversight capacity over the City, to address the issues that are preventing economic growth and develop solutions that will increase visitation to Atlantic City.”
