Atlantic City Information

Atlantic City City Council passes tax abatement ordinance, giving Island Waterpark five-year tax break - As reported by The Press of Atlantic City, Atlantic City City Council has passed a tax abatement ordinance for Island Waterpark. The waterpark will pay no taxes on improvements in its first year, and payments would phase in with 20% in the second year, 40% in the third, 60% in the fourth and 80% in the fifth.

Atlantic City welcomes tens of thousands for annual boat show - As reported by The Press of Atlantic City, the Atlantic City Convention Center welcomed tens of thousands to the annual Atlantic City Boat Show (February 26-March 2). According to the National Marine Manufacturers Association, boating has a $6.6 billion economic impact in New Jersey, supporting 20,177 jobs and 1,193 businesses.

Beach Bar expansion faces opposition - As reported by The Press of Atlantic City, a proposal to add a beachfront pool to the former Chelsea Beach Bar has faced opposition from neighbors who complain of noise and rowdiness. SECAA LLC has applied to the Casino Reinvestment Authority (CRDA), in its role as land use regulator for Atlantic City's Tourism District, for permission to expand its business ("Cocorico") by extending its deck and adding a 12-by-40-foot pool that would be 3 feet deep for use by bar patrons. Residents of the nearby Ocean Club Condominiums spoke out against the plan citing longstanding issues of noise, traffic and rowdy patron behavior. After hearing testimony from both sides, the CRDA's staff will compile a report on the proposal for the consideration of the agency’s full board.

Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) announces energy efficiency program for Convention Center and Boardwalk Hall - As reported by The Press of Atlantic City, the CRDA has announced the launch of a $77 million energy efficiency program at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall and the Atlantic City Convention Center. The project is expected to save more than $90 million over the next two decades.

Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) approves outdoor stage and an expanded bar for LandShark Bar & Grill at Resorts Casino Hotel - As reported by The Press of Atlantic City, the CRDA has approved Resorts Casino Hotel's plan for an outdoor stage and an expanded bar for LandShark Bar & Grill. The project, expected to be completed for summer 2025, was made possible by a recently completed beach replenishment project in front of Resorts. 

County and State continue to clash over Atlantic City, Casino PILOT payments - As reported by The Press of Atlantic City, state Senator Vince Polistina, speaking at a March 4 county commissioner meeting, said Atlantic County needs to do more to improve Atlantic City if it wants a larger share of future casino payments-in-lieu-of-taxes. County Executive Dennis Levinson, who has been feuding with Polistina and Atlantic County GOP Chair Don Purdy over insurance contracts and more, said improving the city is the state’s job as the governmental entity in charge under the state takeover.

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approves three Brownfield Development Area (BDA) applications in Atlantic City - As reported by The Press of Atlantic City, the DEP has approved three BDA applications in Atlantic City including one for Bader Field. Other areas to receive the brownfield designation are Carson Point and Riverside in Atlantic City and Agassiz Street Properties and Antwerp Avenue Properties in Egg Harbor City. In total, 13 properties in 10 New Jersey towns received the designation. A brownfield is a vacant or underused commercial or industrial site that is suspected to be contaminated, according to the state. The designation allows for municipalities and redevelopment authorities to receive up to $5 million annually in state hazardous discharge site remediation grants, including matching grants that cover up to 75% of remediation costs for any site reuses.

Spirit Airlines rejects third takeover bid from Frontier - As reported by The Press of Atlantic City, budget airline Frontier made a third offer to take over Spirit Airlines. Spirit declined the offer focusing instead on plans to emerge from bankruptcy and stabilize its finances. Further reporting from The Associated Press and CNN.

New Jersey Gaming News

BetMGM reduces staffing at New Jersey headquarters - As reported by Casino.org, BetMGM, which primarily operates sports betting and internet gaming has announced it will terminate 83 positions at its New Jersey headquarters by May 27. 

Borgata introduces dual-play baccarat and roulette games, first in the nation to allow both online and in-person to play together - As reported by The Press of Atlantic City, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has introduced new baccarat and roulette games that let people physically inside the casino play with gamblers betting online. The company says its dual-play baccarat game, which launched Feb. 15 using technology from Evolution, is the first in the U.S. serving a licensed gambling jurisdiction. Dual-play roulette, which launched in August 2024, has proven to be one of Borgata's most popular table games. 

Golden Nugget Atlantic City to again offer free parking to patrons - As reported by The Press of Atlantic City, after years of being the only Atlantic City casino not to charge any patrons to self-park, Golden Nugget began charging a base fee of $10 in August 2024. The casino has now ended that program returning to a free parking model. Further reporting from Casino.org.

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City celebrates record-breaking year with $10 million in bonuses - As reported by The Press of Atlantic City, Hard Rock has been awarding bonuses to union and nonunion workers for the past seven years. In gratitude for a record-breaking 2024, the company handed out $10 million in bonuses to its staff. Hard Rock also demonstrated its commitment to the community by contributing more than $1 million in donations and volunteer efforts over the past year. 

Legislators advance bill decriminalizing underage gambling, imposing a fine - As recorded by the New Jersey Legislature, a bill (A5086/S3972), revising the penalty for underage gambling to be a civil rather than criminal penalty and imposing fines that would be used to fund gambling addiction treatment, has advanced in the Assembly. Reporting by The Associated Press, NJ Spotlight News,The Press of Atlantic City and Play NJ.

'Metropolitan Park' project to bring casino hotel and other amenities to area near New York's Citi Field takes important step forward - As reported by Casino.org, the New York City Planning Commission has voted in favor of zoning changes necessary for the advancement of 'Metropolitan Park,' an $8 billion project to bring a casino hotel and other amenities to the area near Citi Field in Queens. Last November, Queens community boards 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9 voted in favor of the project. Like the other proposals for downstate gaming permits, the project must still go through steps with the New York Gaming Facility Location Board, and is unlikely to move forward if it doesn’t win one of three gaming licenses.

New Jersey Governor proposes higher taxes on internet gambling and sports betting, industry plans opposition - As reported by The Press of Atlantic City and Casino.org, Gov. Phil Murphy has proposed raising taxes on internet gambling and sports betting to 25% (the current tax rates are 15% and 13% respectively). The move, which targets the two fastest-growing parts of the gaming industry, would raise an estimated $402.4 million. In 2024, taxes on internet gambling generated $358.3 million and on online sports betting generated $138.3 million. As reported by The Press of Atlantic City, industry operators are prepared to oppose the governor's proposal. The proposal also includes new or higher taxes and fees on cannabis, alcohol, vapes, drones, guns and ammunition. See The State of New Jersey Budget in Brief for fiscal year 2026. 

Stockton Atlantic City Summer Experience: Live-Work-Learn

 National Gaming News

Domestic iGaming and online sports betting markets could top $41 billion by 2028 - As reported by Casino.org, an outlook report on the U.S. Sports Betting and iGaming markets published by Vixio Regulatory Intelligence predicts combined gross revenue of $26.8 in 2025 and $41 billion by 2028. 

Estimated $6.4 billion wagered on Super Bowl in 2025, $1.6 billion legally - As reported by Casino.org, a report commissioned by Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG) estimated that total online wagers by Americans on the 2025 Super Bowl would reach $6.4 billion. Three-quarters ($4.8 billion) was expected to be wagered illegally. The American Gaming Association (AGA) estimated that Americans would wager a record total $1.39 billion legally on Super Bowl LIX. According to the AGA’s 2024 American Attitudes Survey, 75% of Americans support legal sports wagering in their home state, and 90% view sports betting as an acceptable form of entertainment.

Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) reports record-setting year for state's commercial and tribal gaming industries - As reported by Casino.org, the MGCB announced that 2024 was a record-setting year for its commercial and tribal gaming industries. Michigan is the fourth-richest commercial gaming state in the country behind Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The state's three brick-and-mortar casinos in Detroit, retail and online sports betting, iGaming, and fantasy sports operations contributed $502.4 million in taxes in 2024.

Pennsylvania hits annual gaming revenue record for third consecutive year - As reported by Casino.org, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) announced a third consecutive year of record gaming revenue for state operators. The state realized more than $6.13 billion in gross gaming revenue in 2024, a 7.7% increase over 2023. November 2024 was the best month in history for Pennsylvania’s many gaming operators. Further reporting from Casino.org.

Prediction market exchanges latest threat to legal sports wagering? American Gaming Association (AGA) offers opposition - As reported by Casino.org, the AGA has asked the United States government to prohibit prediction market exchanges from offering event contracts involving sports. The exchanges which allow users to risk money against one another on an array of issues, claim that they offer "derivatives" or financial instruments that are traded as investments. The AGA alleges allowing the trading of “prediction sports-related contracts” would “undermine years of state-led progress in the regulation of sports betting." See AGA President and CEO Bill Miller's Op-Ed published in Sports Business Journal. 

U.S. Commercial Gaming reaches annual revenue record in 2024 - As reported by the American Gaming Association, U.S. commercial gaming operators realized an annual record $71.92 billion in gaming revenue in 2024. This exceeded the previous record ($66.5 billion in 2023) by 7.5% — marking the industry's fourth-consecutive record revenue year. Six of the top 20 commercial casino gaming markets reported revenue growth compared to the previous year, and the Las Vegas Strip, New Jersey, Chicagoland, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., maintained their positions as the nation's top gaming markets by commercial revenue. The commercial gaming industry also set an annual record for tax contributions; operators paid state and local governments an estimated $15.66 billion in gaming taxes, an increase of 8.5% year-over-year.

Hospitality & Tourism News

American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) announces release of 2025 State of the Industry report - According to a Feb. 6 news release, the AHLA has released its State of the Industry report for 2025. Among other findings, hotels are projected to generate a record of $55.46 billion in state and local tax revenue in 2025, up from $53.97 billion in 2024.

CBRE forecasts growth in 2025 - As reported by Lodging Magazine on Feb. 21, CBRE predicts the U.S. hotel industry will see steady growth in 2025. “CBRE forecasts a 2.0% increase in RevPAR growth in 2025, with occupancy improving by 23 basis points and average daily rate (ADR) increasing by 1.6%. This projected growth indicates the continued recovery of the lodging industry, with RevPAR expected to be 16.6% higher in 2025 compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019.” This growth has been attributed to the outperformance of urban locations resulting from improved group and business travel and continued recovery of inbound international travel.

CoStar finds labor costs and inflation slow hotel industry profit growth - As reported by Lodging Magazine, P&L data from CoStar found that U.S. hotel industry profits grew in 2024, but increased labor costs and inflation limited growth

AHLA supports congressional legislation calling for increased transparency in hotel fees - As reported by Lodging Magazine, the AHLA supports the Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2025 (S.314). According to the association's spokesperson: “This legislation is set to establish a single federal standard for mandatory fee display that will ensure guests everywhere can make informed decisions when booking lodging.”

Presidential Executive Order to impact federal employees, corporate and leisure travel - As reported by Travel Weekly, a Feb. 26 Presidential Executive Order “IMPLEMENTING THE PRESIDENT’S “DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY” COST EFFICIENCY INITIATIVE” requires that federal agencies, with assistance from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), “build a system that records approval for federally funded travel for conferences and other nonessential purposes. Once in place, the agency head ‘shall prohibit agency employees from engaging in federally funded travel for conferences or other nonessential purposes unless the travel-approving official has submitted a brief, written justification for the federally funded travel within such system.’” According to industry operators speaking with Travel Weekly, this directive, coupled with layoffs in the federal sector, is likely to have an impact on both corporate and leisure travel.

Staffing shortages persist in hotel and lodging industry - According to a survey conducted by the AHLA and their partners, nearly two-thirds of surveyed hotels continue to report staffing shortages. "More than seven in 10 of the hotels surveyed (71%) said they had job openings they were unable to fill despite active searches. On average, hotels are trying to fill six to seven open positions per property." 

Tour operators express concern that dismissal of National Parks Service employees could impact summer tourism - As reported by Travel Weekly, on Feb. 28, tour operators have expressed concern that the dismissal of 1,000 National Park Service employees may impact their operations during the summer tourism season. According to the Associated Press, between Jan. 20 and Feb. 21, approximately 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees who maintain and clean parks, educate visitors and perform other functions had been fired. Subsequent reporting noted that at least 50 of these jobs would be restored and the park service planned to hire up to 7,700 seasonal positions (an increase over the three-year average of 6,350 seasonal workers). Reduced staffing levels have resulted in some parks reducing their operating hours and closing visitor centers. Operators say this has led to traveler uncertainty, reduced tour bookings and potential cancelations that have a domino effect on the economies of tourism dependent communities that host national parks.