The Rise and Fall of Atlantic City

The Rise and fall of Atlantic City

Nicholas LaRotonda

Fairleigh Dickinson University

Chapter I

Introduction

History of Atlantic City before gaming

Many historians consider the roaring 1920s as Atlantic City's golden age. During Prohibition, people flocked to Atlantic City to consume liquor and partake in illegal gambling regularly in the back rooms of nightclubs and restaurants. Prohibition was unenforced in Atlantic City, allowing alcohol to be smuggled into the city. The city’s famous Mayor from the TV series “Boardwalk Empire” Nucky Johnson's was involved in the smuggling of alcohol into the city Nucky was known for taking part in the illegal activates and also taking kickbacks from the suppliers for allowing illegal liquor, gambling, and prostitution to operate in the city. The 1930s through the 1960s was a time of great success for nightclub entertainment in Atlantic City. Many famous venues include the 500 Club the Clicquot Club, and the Jockey Club. On the south side of the city, home to African Americans in the racially segregated city, a black entertainment district reigned on Kentucky Avenue. Four major nightclubs Club Harlem, the Paradise Club, Grace's Little Belmont and Wonder Gardens drew both black and white patrons. During the summer tourist season.

History behind the inception of gaming in Atlantic City

  In 1974, New Jersey voted down the legalizing of casino gambling statewide. Two years later they approved legislation to legalize casino gaming only in Atlantic City. Before 1978, Nevada and the Caribbean were the only jurisdictions for legalized gaming activity for most Americans. People traveled great distances to play their favorite slot machine or table game (Harris, S. (2008, July). Stateside. Casino International. p. 10).

Now Atlantic City would become the second city in the country to allow casino gaming. Nevada was the first state to allow casino gaming statewide in 1931. On May 26, 1978, crowds of people lined up on the world famous Atlantic City Boardwalk as Resorts International opened its doors for business. People waited hours for a chance to play the 84 table games and 893 slots within the 33,735 square feet of casino space. Singer Steve Lawrence, accompanied by Gov. Brendan Byrne and other dignitaries, threw the first dice at Resorts Casino Hotel to open New Jersey’s first legal gaming hall. Resorts casino floor was open from 10 am and 4 am, except on Saturdays, Sundays and Federal Holidays when it remained open until 6 am. June 26, 1979, Caesars Boardwalk Regency becomes the second casino to open its doors on the world famous Atlantic City Boardwalk. Atlantic City rapidly grows from 1 casino in 1974 to 12 by 2014.

The spread of gaming nationwide

 The first Indian casino was built in Florida by the Seminole tribe, which opened a successful high-stakes bingo parlor in 1979. Other native nations quickly followed suit, and by 2000 more than 150 tribes in 24 states had begun casino or bingo operations on their reservations. In the 1990s, riverboat casinos were legalized in Louisiana and Illinois. Now today, 18 states have commercial casinos, and a total of 30 states offer legalized gambling of any kind (commercial or tribal). Some of the latest states to join the ranks of those that allow commercial gaming include Maine, Ohio, Kansas and Maryland. As of 2012, 48 states in the U.S. operated some form of legalized gaming including, have not yet legalized gaming (Greenlees, 2008). Casinos have dramatically expanded in many U.S. regions, including the U.S. Mid-Atlantic area, which encompasses Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. Since 1995, the area has seen the opening of 18 casino facilities (Condliffe, 2012; Dadayan & Ward, 2009). These expansions put a halt to the monopoly Atlantic City had for decades (Condliffe, 2012). In 2011, with 12 casino properties, Atlantic City was the second oldest and largest, by annual revenue terms, retail casino location in the U.S. following Las Vegas (American Gaming Association, 2012). In 2011, Atlantic City had the second highest commercial casino revenue of all U.S. markets with $3.3 billion, while Pennsylvania ranked third with $3.02 billion despite only five years of casino operations (American Gaming Association, 2012). However, in 2012, Atlantic City dropped to the third behind Las Vegas and Pennsylvania (Southwick, 2013).