Workers Fighting to Keep Atlantic City Casinos Open
It is not a good time to be a casino worker in Atlantic City. Two casinos at the Jersey shore resort, the Trump Plaza and the Showboat, have announced closing dates. Executives at the glitzy Revel — Atlantic City’s newest casino, and the second-tallest building in New Jersey — say it, too, will close if no buyer can be found.
But now the unions for casino workers are fighting to keep at least some of these properties open. The unions are working to see if they can find buyers for the casinos. “We want the world to know that we’re looking for partners — not saviors or messiahs,” Bob McDevitt, president of Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union, told the Associated Press. “We will work with them.”
About 8,000 workers are employed at the three endangered casinos.
Without buyers, Showboat will close August 31st. The same fate is in store for Trump Plaza, which will close September 16th with no buyer. In a letter to employees, Revel said it could close down as early as August 18th, though that is not a firm date.
Caesars Entertainment says it is open to selling the Showboat instead of closing it. Trump Entertainment Resorts attempted to sell Trump Plaza for $20 million last year, but the deal fell through.
