The 9 casinos in Atlantic City, United States, have brought the employment total of the city’s gambling industry to over 30,000. The number is the largest in 4 years.
Two new casinos, Ocean Resort Casino and Hard Rock Atlantic City opened along the Boardwalk in June, creating 7,741 jobs. This increased the total employment of Atlantic City’s gaming sector to 29,604. The two new properties were described as “saviours” of the Boardwalk, an area that had been downtrodden in the past couple of years. Back between the years 2014 to 2016, 5 New Jersey casinos closed down one after another, marking the Dark Ages of the Boardwalk.
By July 2018, Ocean Resort Casino and Hard Rock Atlantic City accounted for 8,184 jobs, occupying 27% of the gambling industry’s total employment. The Borgata, who had generated 5,938 positions that took up 20% of the total labour force, remained as Atlantic City’s largest casino employer. According to statistics released by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, the 9 casinos in the city have employed a sum of 30,217 workers in July, with both full-time and part-time employees included.
The newfound popularity of the Boardwalk has presented Atlantic City with plenty of opportunities to attract new visitors while drawing the attention of people who left the Boardwalk a few years ago.
“… with the creation of these new jobs, the hope is that these individuals, and new participants in the casino labour market, will come back into the region. These employees are or will become residents, stimulating the local economy through their purchase of consumer goods and services,” said Rummy Pandit, executive director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality & Tourism at Stockton University.
