“We’re disappointed with Atlantic City”
Hard Rock International Chairman Jim Allen says the company is “disappointed with Atlantic City” and its conditions following its US$500 million investment.
US.- It seems that Hard Rock International is not happy with the condition of Atlantic City. Jim Allen, company chairman and CEO of Seminole Gaming voiced his discontent with the city.
“Candidly, we’re disappointed with Atlantic City,” Allen told Global Gaming Business magazine. “There’s no other way to say it. It’s a shame that they did not rise to the occasion of a company coming in, putting US$500 million into that city.”
Allen was talking about the US$500 million-plus investment to reopen a Boardwalk casino.
His comments got a quick response from Mayor Marty Small Sr. He said he understood Allen’s position and thanked Hard Rock for creating nearly 3,000 new jobs. Moreover, for “bringing life back to that end of the Boardwalk.”
“I’ve been in government for 16 years, but I’ve never had the opportunity to be mayor,” Small said, as quoted by The Press of Atlantic City. “Going on what is 60 days (in office), I can only speak to the direction that I’m taking the city (…) and all of the things that we’ve done in a short period of time. We’re just getting started. I’m excited and optimistic that this administration will change how he feels about the City of Atlantic City.”
Atlantic City wants a cut of sports betting
Marty Small, mayor of Atlantic City, is asking for a share of the sports betting tax in New Jersey. The Mayor argues that Atlantic City should get 1.25% of the taxes on sports betting generated by racetracks that East Rutherford and Holmdel get.
Current state laws establish that Atlantic City’s cut goes to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which then uses that money to market the city’s resorts, AP reported. Small believes that the city should not be excluded from receiving these taxes.
“Say a person comes to Atlantic City, checks in and buys an alcoholic drink: he pays a luxury tax that we don’t get a penny of,” Small said. “He stays in a hotel from Wednesday through Sunday; that’s a hotel tax we don’t get a penny of. He parks his car for four days in a casino garage; that’s a parking tax we don’t see a penny of. And he bets on sports while he’s here — and we don’t get a penny of that? How is that fair?”
