Atlantic City on the edge of default
The announcement was made after Puerto Rico’s governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, declared the island’s default this Monday.
US.- Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian revealed yesterday that the casino hub could default on US$1.8 million debt payment at the end of the week. The most popular city in New Jersey has been going through casino revenues decline since the last 10 years.
“We’re down to a couple million dollars on any given day,” Guardian told The Wall Street Journal. He added that the cash levels are so disappointingly low that Atlantic City could not face the next bond payment. Whilst the authorities of the State bet on take over the city, Guardian responded by accusing the plan as “a fascist dictatorship.” He explained that his plan is to hack away the city budget and reach new residents by offering free land and abandoned houses.
Meanwhile, Atlantic City has been suffering the shutdown of four of its 12 casinos. Chris Christie, New Jersey’s governor, rejected a rescue package of US$30 million and determined that the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa could avoid its taxes payment to the city until the authorities set a refund of US$160 million for property taxes they owed to the casino operators.
