Atlantic City casinos expanding gambling options in search for more revenue

After Tropicana Casino and Resort won state regulatory approval to put slots and table games inside its mall-like shopping and entertainment center, Harrah’s Resort plans to add gambling at The Pool, the dome-covered swimming and nightclub area.

In another quest for gamblers, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino is pushing the affordability theme by introducing two new table games that offer low-stakes wagering. They include a 50-cent roulette wheel and a us$ 3 craps table. Those games are in addition to four us$ 1 blackjack tables previously put into service at Trump Plaza. “In today’s economy, people are looking to stretch their entertainment dollar as much as possible,” Eddie Llambias, Trump Plaza’s general manager, said in a statement last Tuesday.Trump Plaza’s low-stakes roulette and craps tables follow the growing popularity of penny- and nickel-slot machines in Atlantic City. For instance, half of Trump Plaza’s slot machines are penny games. Gamblers have tightened their spending in the weak economy, so casinos are giving more low-stakes alternatives, particularly Trump Plaza. “It’s a volume-based pricing strategy indicative of the demands in the market right now,” said Harvey Perkins, executive vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group, a casino consulting firm.Another emerging trend in Atlantic City is to add gambling to areas that formerly did not have it. In Harrah’s case, the casino wants to place six blackjack tables at The Pool.Don Marrandino, president of the Harrah’s, Bally’s, Caesars, and Showboat casinos in Atlantic City owned by Caesars Entertainment, said poolside gambling would be similar to what is offered at the Las Vegas casino hotels. “There are at least five casinos in Vegas that have blackjack by the pool. I think we should take learnings from there and use them here to make things more unique,” Marrandino said.

Harrah’s is awaiting approval from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement for poolside gambling. Marrandino said he is unsure when it would begin because regulators still are reviewing the plan.Harrah’s already is thinking about adding even more attractions, including swim-up blackjack tables and a floating craps “tub,” Marrandino said. That way, gamblers could enjoy the gaming action without getting out of the water or their bathing suits.The Pool pulls double duty at Harrah’s Resort. It is a popular daytime hangout for the swimming crowd and also serves as a nightclub. Poolside nightclubs that also have gambling have become a hit on the Las Vegas Strip, particularly at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. “I think nightclubs and table games go hand in hand. I know it worked at Hard Rock,” Marrandino said.

Atlantic City’s casinos are trying to invent new amenities to drive business in the sluggish economy. Competition from surrounding casino states has put additional pressure on Atlantic City to create must-see attractions.Cory H. Morowitz, a casino analyst and chairman of Morowitz Gaming Advisors, believes it makes “perfect sense” for the gaming industry to use high-energy areas such as pools and shopping complexes as gambling attractions. “I think the gaming industry is evolving,” Morowitz said. “There’s a need to make the pure gambling experience a richer experience, so putting tables and slots into a different type of environment is a natural progression. You see it in Las Vegas.”Last week, the Division of Gaming Enforcement gave Tropicana approval to place 11 slot machines and two electronic blackjack tables inside The Quarter, the casino’s shopping, dining, and nightclub complex.Gambling is expected to begin in The Quarter by Thanksgiving weekend as part of a 90-day pilot program. Tropicana plans to expand to as many as 100 slot machines and add live table games if the test run proves successful.

“I think it’s incumbent upon each operator to look for new avenues of revenue,” Tony Rodio, Tropicana’s president and chief executive officer, said of the new trend of utilizing formerly nongaming areas for gambling. “When you have something as successful as The Quarter at Tropicana or The Pool at Harrah’s, a natural progression is to add gaming amenities to that space to make it even more of an attraction.

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Gaming at The Quarter represents an unprecedented expansion of gambling on the landward side of Pacific Avenue. Previously, all gambling in the Boardwalk casino district has been confined to the ocean side of Pacific Avenue.Harrah’s Resort, on the opposite side of town in the Marina District, had plans to add blackjack tables to The Pool well before Tropicana was granted permission for gambling at The Quarter, Marrandino said. “We’ve had this in the works for months. We want to get moving on it,” Marrandino said.Revel Entertainment Group, which will open its us$ 2.4 billion Atlantic City casino in May, has partnered with a company that manages poolside nightclubs in Las Vegas to oversee its entertainment attractions. However, Revel has not yet disclosed whether its link-up with Angel Management Group will lead to poolside gambling or gambling inside the casino’s nightclubs.

Yogonet.com / PressofAtlanticCity.com