Atlantic City is already the third most popular gambling destination in the world, behind Las Vegas and Macau, Hong Kong. Mr. Christie has lost many supporters in the education sector since his 2010 inauguration when he confronted the teachers' union with a merit pay system reduced educational spending. But while he looses fans elsewhere, his recent declaration that, "…one of my highest priorities is the revitalization of the economy in South Jersey," falls on favorable ears in the gaming sector. Mr. Christie's involvement may have quelled fears that currently underachieving casinos will suffer once Revel opens its doors. Recently, international investment group Houlihan Lokey was hired to find potential buyers for the Hilton casino. Gomes Gaming bought Resorts, Atlantic City's oldest casino. The Trump Marina was sold to Landry's Inc for a reported $38 million. Landry's has since announced a $150 million renovation project on the venue before it is rebranded as the Golden Nugget: the original name of the Hilton. The Christie proposal includes the creation of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority that will oversee a nearly 400-acre area in the city center, dismantling the city-managed Casino Control Commission. 258 of the 261 CCC employees had received lay-off notices by March 7, as oversight duties transfer to the Division of Gaming Enforcement. Casino regulations are also dissolving in the takeover: gone is the rule that requires a minimum number of employees on the casino floor, which ensures job security. This deregulation threatens the size of casino workers paychecks, or their employment altogether. A high-ranking manager at one of the city's more successful casinos, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, predicted that roughly 3,000 positions reduced or laid-off altogether. So while the still-unfinished Revel project could eventually hire as many as 7,000 employees, it's likely that a large majority of those employees will be previous casino layoffs.
Local and statewide government corruption in recent years by Governors Jim Florio and Jon Corzine make it more difficult to have faith in Mr. Christie's initiatives. Five of the past nine Atlantic City mayors have faced corruption charges, and their governments have behaved even worse: in 2008, City Council President Craig Callaway was sentenced to three years in prison term after setting up rival councilman Eugene Robinson with a prostitute in a motel room. The most recent mayoral corruption came in 2007 when then-Mayor Bob Levy resigned after he lied about his military service to collect veterans' benefits.and went missing for two weeks. If Mr. Christie's agenda, and government, stay corruption-free, many believe the city could be at the beginning steps to a more financially stable future. Atlantic City's columnist and local legend Pinky Kravitz believes the city is ready to turn the corner. "I love this area and I believe that we can move forward," he said in a recent interview. "If we could only take off our blinders and see it."
