One hotelier plans to buck the trend and open a new casino in struggling Atlantic City.
The owner of the Chelsea Hotel, Curtis Bashaw says his 330-room hotel would be the ideal place for one of the two proposed ’boutique casinos’ being considered by state lawmakers.
A bill being looked at would allow two hotels with as few as 200 rooms to operate a casino, one of several measures designed to help the faltering AC economy.
If granted, it would be the first casino opening since the ill-fated Revel which closed down this year after just two years in business.
Part of the new bill now allows a casino to be built in an existing hotel building rather than a new self-contained construction, a rule which had prevented Bashaw from applying for a gaming license in the past.
"We have always been interested in the idea of adding a gaming amenity to The Chelsea. It’s a boutique hotel; we don’t have room for a big casino but the bill that passed prevented us from taking advantage," Bashaw said.
"We don’t want to compete with the mega-gaming halls. We want to give the customer an opportunity to broaden the experience; people are always looking for different experiences. It would be a very intimate experience and would be a desirable place to go and learn to play and hang out with your friends."
Four of the city’s 12 casinos have gone bust so far during 2014 with a fifth, the Trump Taj Mahal, likely to join them next week.
