Atlantic City and Las Vegas Futures Uncertain
December 22, 2013 2:08 pmWith casinos springing up all around the US and online gambling legislation expected to be embraced by numerous states over the next few years, the once flourishing gambling resorts of Atlantic City and Las Vegas face an increasingly uncertain future.
In addition to occupying an integral part of American culture, these two places have also long been considered the ‘adult playground of the world,’ and been able to endure stiff competition from their gambling rivals. This has included enduring the opening of Native-American casinos starting in 1979, as well as the threat emanating from ‘Racinos, with these combined race track and casinos now legal in ten states across the USA, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Delaware, Louisiana, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Maine, New Mexico, and West Virginia.
However, posing the biggest threat to Atlantic City and Las Vegas’s once dominance of the gambling market is the rise of Macau as the world’s biggest gambling hub, and the expansion of the American casino industry as states try to weather a severe economic downturn. As one local Las Vegas resident pointed out;
“The reality is, people just won’t fly to the middle of a desert to play some slots, watch shows and sit down for some blackjack when they can drive right near their town or city, or play legally online.”
The last point, legal online gambling, could also put the final nail in the coffins of Las Vegas and Atlantic City as major gambling and entertainment hubs. Although, Nevada, Deleware, and New Jersey are thus far the only states to embrace internet gambling, other states are expected to follow suit before too long, including California, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Texas.
The evidence would therefore seem to suggest that the unique niche Atlantic City and Las Vegas have occupied as gambling and entertainment destinations for decades could soon be reduced to just a footnote in history.