As reported by: Courier News Online
Even after a round of ambitious casino expansions in the last few years, there's still room for Atlantic City's gambling world to keep growing, industry insiders say.

That's good news for developers who are working on bringing two new casinos to town and replacing one of the 12 already there.

The latest deal reportedly has a former casino executive joining the former executive director of the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority in an agreement to buy an 11-acre site with plans to put a new casino on it.

One of the partners, Wallace Barr, the former CEO of Caesar's, confirmed the deal Thursday. Neither he nor Curtis Bashaw, who had run the development authority, returned calls Friday seeking details.

Analyst Adam Steinberg, who follows the casino industry for Morgan Joseph & Co., said he expected the gambling hall to be a high-end development and probably one of the smaller casinos in the resort city.

Atlantic City, once known to attract low-rolling gamblers on day trips, has been booming since 2003's opening of the Borgata, which features upscale restaurants and a spa. It was the first new casino in the resort in more than a dozen years.

Since then, several existing casinos have expanded and followed the Borgata in adding high-end dining and shopping options.

"There definitely seems to be a realization now that you can get the younger, wealthier crowds that you couldn't get before," Steinberg said.

In a report he wrote for his company earlier this month on the prospects of more casinos in Atlantic City, Steinberg noted that each new casino in Las Vegas attracts additional visitors while helping the existing ones.

John Payne, the regional president for Harrah's Entertainment, which owns four Atlantic City casinos, agreed that there's plenty of room to grow.


Article By: Courier News Online