Atlantic City: Best of Times, Worst of Times
NEW YORK (
) --
Atlantic City has had a long and sordid history
since it first legalized gambling in 1976.
A faded beach resort decades removed from its gilded glory days, Atlantic City by the mid-1970s was plagued by poverty and crime. The dream was therefore a somewhat desperate one: to revitalize the community through an influx of casinos.
And for a time it seemed to work. The first 10 years of Atlantic City casinos were marked by a boom in casino development. Between the late 1970s and 1990 all but one of the casinos currently in operation on the Boardwalk were built.
Since then? Not so much. Indeed, every hand Atlantic City has played since 1990 -- save for the the opening of the Borgata in 2003 -- has been a metaphorical bust. A run of bankruptcies, delayed construction and most recently, abandonment, has characterized the New Jersey gambling hub in recent years.
And while the region was hurt, like everywhere else, by the recession, it also now faces added pressure from
emerging gaming markets
.
Then again, Atlantic City was able to revive itself once before -- even if it only temporarily -- leaving investors hoping it can do it again.
-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York.
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