Bettor Believe It! Atlantic City Casinos and Hotels Are Open Again

November 6, 2012 at 9:19 AM | by ASchechter | Comments (0)

Last we heard, Atlantic City had completely shut down in preparation for the storm, ordering casinos to terminate gambling and hotel guests to be evacuated. That was last Sunday.

Over a week later, much of the Jersey Shore has been devastated, and the Atlantic City boardwalk has all but disappeared, but casinos and hotels are starting to open up once more.

For starters, Revel re-opened on Saturday at noon, with the following words:

"Revel sustained minimal damage and although our team is fully ready, we have elected to reopen tomorrow to allow for residents to return to their homes. We are grateful to our staff for their continued support"

The 740-room Golden Nugget, which recently completed a major $150 million renovation in April, was the first casino to re-open after the storm. In fact, owners were so anxious to get gamblers back in the building that the doors were flung open within hours of Governor Chris Christie's official go-ahead on Friday.

Following suit, The Borgata was open by 4pm on Friday, and others (the Tropicana, both Trump casinos, Bally's, Caesars) all eventually did the same. The last one to re-open today was the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel.

Rates are looking reasonable, with rooms at Revel going for $149 and at Caesars for $79/night.

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Despite one hotel reassuring us that the damage to AC isn't as bad as the media has shown, from the sound of this Time article published on Thursday, we're not entirely convinced:

"Atlantic City is a shell of itself. The dozen towering casinos weren�t too damaged by the storm, but they sit closed until the gamblers with deep pockets roll back in.
The streets are littered with tree branches, apartment siding and smaller debris that was picked up by the surge as it moved inland, but cleanup crews are clearing more paths every few hours."

Sad, sad, sad.

Things did turn out well for at least one visitor to The Borgata, who reportedly won a $1.5 million jackpot on a penny slot machine. Talk about a silver lining! We'll be hopping over soon to take a look with our own eyes, though.

What about you? Does this news make you want to jump in the car and blow a few hundred dollar bills at the blackjack table? Or are you going to wait it out 'til AC is in better shape? Share your thoughts below!

[Photos: HotelChatter; Matt Slocum / AP]

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