
Caesars Atlantic City Hit in $181K Heist. Two thieves robbed at gunpoint
Things aren’t great right now in Atlantic City. Gambling enterprises are closing, revenues are dropping and profits are drying up after month month. It’s a time when resorts are carefully monitoring every dollar that will come in and out of their balance books. In a nutshell, it’s concerning the worst time possible for a six-figure sum to go missing in one of this city’s casinos.
According to police, two masked thieves walked out of Caesars Atlantic City with additional than $180,000 on Monday after a raid that is smash-and-grab the casino. The robbery reportedly took place on Monday early morning, though police did not immediately release information that is much the facts of the crime. According to USA Today, trooper Alina Spies said that police were investigating the matter, but which they did not want to supply any information that might hinder the investigation that was underway.
Early Morning Robbery
Neighborhood media, citing police sources, stated that the robbery involved two suspects whom entered Caesars Atlantic City around 6 am. One or more of them had a gun and pulled it before stealing two plastic boxes that contained the stolen cash. They then fled the scene in car at approximately 6:20 am, according to a police bulletin.
The truth is being investigated by the New Jersey State Police Gaming Bureau, which suggests that the robbery occurred inside the casino. If the crime had happened in a resort or other general public area, it would be customary for city police to manage the matter.
While $181,000 may possibly not be much in the grand scheme of things for a casino that is majorCaesars earned $28.8 million in income during June alone), the theft comes at the worst possible time for an Atlantic City venue. The town has been struggling seemingly on all fronts, and that’s mostly driven by struggling casino properties. Revenues at the town’s gambling enterprises have been falling for decades, and also as many as four casinos could find yourself shutting throughout the span of 2013.
August one of those casinos, the Showboat, is operated by Caesars and is scheduled to close at the end of. Others include the Atlantic Club, which closed in January, the Trump Plaza, which is planned for closure later this season, and also the Revel, that will be currently in bankruptcy court and might close in cases where a customer is not found.
Caesars Atlantic City occupies a large, high-rise building that takes up a block involving the famous boardwalk that runs along the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Avenue between Arkansas and Missouri avenues. It’s unclear how the perpetrators entered or exited the building.
Casino Heists Not Unheard Of
While casino security is virtually second-to-none, that does not mean it’s impossible for crooks to pull a heist occasionally. The schemes, nevertheless, are rarely as complex as something you’d see in Ocean’s 11.
For instance, this year, a gunman wearing a motorcycle helmet dashed in to the Bellagio in the Las Vegas Strip. He proceeded to take chips from a craps table while brandishing a handgun, fleeing on his motorcycle. The thief, Anthony Carleo, had been fundamentally caught months later and had been sentenced to prison.
Atlantic City Casino Struggles Hurting Regional Economy
Atlantic City’s beaches may help attract tourists who’ren’t enthusiastic about gambling. (Image: ACHotelExperts.com)
As Atlantic City watches casinos close left and right, officials acknowledge that the populous city has to locate methods to diversify as gambling revenues continue steadily to tumble. Additionally they acknowledge that this isn’t going to be a transition that is easy the city has gotten used to relying on the gaming industry, and which is a hard habit to split. But what might not be immediately obvious is the amount of this shift in priorities could hurt the Jersey that is entire shore.
Atlantic City’s casinos have long brought tourists to the location, gamblers and others who will spend time at then other venues over the shore. But it’s more than that: according to a 2008 study by Rutgers University, some 100,000 jobs in New Jersey were associated with the gaming industry in one way or another. That accounts for slot pokies lightning link around two percent for the state’s total workforce.
‘When Atlantic City suffers, the area that is entire,’ said David Breeden, administrator for the city of Barnegat.
Several Casinos Closing This Year
Up to four Atlantic City casinos that have been operating in 2013 may be closed by the end of in 2010. The Atlantic Club closed in January, while the Showboat plus the Trump Plaza are both expected to close in the next few months. The Revel could also close this if a buyer can’t be found year.
With casino revenues under great pressure from rivals in neighboring states (particularly Pennsylvania, which recently surpassed New Jersey in terms of gaming revenues), Atlantic City is now attempting to locate other methods to attract visitors outside of slot devices and table games. That does not mean abandoning the casinos entirely, but visitors that are rather giving reason to end with a city that is seemingly regarding the decline.
That could mean more tourist attractions for families, bringing larger conventions to the city, and making certain amenities are there for folks who are only casual gamblers. But that’s likely to just take some right time to perfect, therefore the change is anticipated to be rough.
‘It’s coming at a bad time,’ said Stafford Mayor John Spodofora. ‘There are not many big corporations that hire people down here. The casinos are a boon for individuals down here.’
A Painful Transition
Even if Atlantic City does manage to rebound, it’s unclear as it was in its gaming heyday whether it will ever be the same. New companies may create jobs, but there is no guarantee that they’ll function as same types of high-paying opportunities afforded by the casinos.
‘We will endure the pain sensation that comes with transitioning from an economy extremely reliant on a single industry,’ said Atlantic City mayor Don Guardian.
The city does still draw about 27 million visitors each year, so there’s certainly plenty of disposable income to go around if the city can find the right way to capture it on the bright side. There are also plenty of resources that may help Atlantic City make this type of transition: there is still the world-famous boardwalk, therefore the beaches are still a fantastic draw through the summers.
But while wanting to squeeze more out of tourism will help, some certainly professionals believe Atlantic City should try to find other possibilities for development too.
‘I’m all for wanting to increase the size for the non-gaming cake, not just hospitality and tourism,’ Deborah M. Figart, teacher of education and economics during the Richard Stockton university of New Jersey, told The Star-Ledger. ‘Cities that have diverse economies, that aren’t a one- or two-industry town, those metropolitan areas have a tendency to prosper and prosper even in times of recession.’
Nevada Casinos Could Ban Smoking in Near Future
More casino areas are getting smoke-free, and a ban that is total Nevada casinos could be not far off. (Image: Mel Evans/AP)
The public image of the casino floor was one of smoke-filled tables and a cloudy haze throughout the halls in the old days of gambling. Within the years, that vision has mainly changed: enter any major casino, and there will tend to be large swaths of smoke-free areas for patrons who would prefer a slightly more gambling experience that is breathable. Still, at least in Nevada, there has nevertheless been room for smokers and non-smokers alike.
But based on some analysts, that might be changing soon. Many states with casino gambling have previously outlawed smoking in gambling enterprises, and Macau is currently about to implement a ban later this year. That and other indications have led Deutsche Bank video gaming analyst Andrew Zarnett to predict that a cigarette smoking ban could come to Nevada within the next two years.
Zarnett cited a mix of the move by Macau, which could now be a market trendsetter, as well as the study that is continued of problems of second-hand smoking cigarettes as factors leading him to believe that this type of ban could possibly be coming sooner in place of later.
Smoking Ban Could Be Expensive
But he also warned that such a ban could cost Nevada casinos large amount of cash. He pointed out that other states have seen significant income decreases after passing such laws within the past: Delaware’s casino revenues fell 11.3 % following a 2002 ban, while Illinois saw a 20.9 percent drop after their own 2007 ban. He predicted that Nevada could see perhaps a 7.5 percent decline if it were to accomplish exactly the same.
That might mean that such a ban wouldn’t be complete, and would still give smokers a place where they could sneak in a few good puffs. In Macau, smoking cigarettes would still be permitted within the high-end areas where VIP gamblers congregate, and you will see special cigarette smoking rooms with segregated ventilation systems. The latter is really the solution now set up in Las Vegas’ international airport, McCarran, where smokers sit inside large lucite-surrounded free-standing ‘rooms’ that are completely closed off from the airport that is main, where smoking cigarettes is forbidden.
The Macau ban will go into effect on October 6, just after the Golden Week holiday ends. Any smoking areas which are built in casinos must take into account not even half associated with overall gaming area in each venue.
No Immediate Push for a Ban
According to officials in Nevada, there’s no push that is immediate ban smoking in gambling enterprises anywhere in the state, and there is no general public groundswell to do so. But even if it were to happen, it may not be the surprise to the system it sounds like it could possibly be. In 2006, Nevada voters banned cigarette smoking in all places that are public than casino floors. And some casino areas are already smoke-free, including poker that is many and activities books. The whole planet group of Poker had been played in a smoke-free environment this 12 months.
And while those projections of major losings may be frightening, not everyone agrees that smoking bans are directly associated to casino profits.
‘Bad weather, gas prices, market saturation, competition, casino financial obligation, the recession that began in 2008 that severely impacted all video gaming revenues, including Vegas, will be the other cards missing out of this deck,’ said Stephanie Steinberg, chairwoman of Smoke-Free Gaming of America. ‘Smoking bans are not the reason for income declines, rather, it’s bad business preparation.’
And even if the casinos aren’t planning to place a ban into place right away, Steinberg agrees so it shall come eventually.
‘Casino smoking bans are everywhere and inevitable,’ she said. ‘Nevada is next and the video gaming industry understands it.’
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