Atlantic City Casinos Coping With Heavy Snow Blizzard
December 27, 2010 11:32 amDespite there being a state of emergency in New Jersey due to the snow blizzard currently ravaging the Northeast, Atlantic City casinos have said they are coping well with the extreme conditions.
Atlantic City’s casinos, along with the rest of southern New Jersey, have been affected by around two feet of snow falling which has wreaked havoc with the state’s transport and travel network.
Consequently, scores of flights going to the Northeastern states have been cancelled with many potential customers changing their gambling plans and heading to warmer weathered Las Vegas, instead.
Las Vegas has been quick to capitalize on this unexpected customer bonanza, with The Cosmopolitan hoping for thousands of extra visitors after booking Jay-Z at the last minute to perform at their New year’s Eve celebrations.
This has all added up to some very bad news for Atlantic City’s casinos which are now desperately hoping for the snow to clear up ahead of Friday’s New Year’s festivities.
On the plus side, however, Atlantic City has reported strong occupancy rates as snowed-in guests have provided a captive audience for the city’s numerous hotels, casinos, restaurants and bars. Also, hotels reported many guests arriving earlier than expected in order to reach their destinations ahead of the storm.
Commenting on the occupancy level at the 2,000 room Trump Taj Mahal Casino, director of security Shep Stein said:
“We think it will get to about 1,600 to 1,700. We’re busy. We’re going to be about 75 percent occupancy. People like being snowed in at a casino. Because of the holiday weekend, they are not worried about getting back like they would on a normal weekend. A lot of people are on vacation and just making the most of out it.”
Other businesses have reported similar situations, but on the negative side have had to cope with fewer members of staff as employees are unable to make it into work.
In the meantime, there have been reports of traffic jams and vehicles being stranded overnight between Atlantic City and New York, as other casino goers tried to make their ways back home on the NJ highway on Sunday.