The Atlantic City Convention Center is expected to have thousands of newly laid-off casino workers turn up for a mass unemployment filing, the Associated Press reported. The unemployment session will be the most visible manifestation of the nearly eight-year downturn plaguing Atlantic City's casino industry.
More than 5,000 employees from the Showboat and Revel casinos faced a brutal weekend of losing their jobs. Wednesday morning's session will accommodate the newly jobless dealers with more than 100 work stations, cocktail servers and other workers.
Specifically, displaced workers will be assisted by officials from the state Department of Labor and the main casino workers' union, Local 54 of Unite-HERE to file for unemployment, including receiving information on signing up for health insurance and other benefits.
By mid-September, four of the 12 casinos with which Atlantic City started the year will have closed, putting almost 8,000 people out of work. With the Atlantic Club having shut down in January, Trump Plaza will close its doors on Sept. 16.
Meanwhile, New Jersey's casino revenues have fallen from a high of $5.2 billion in 2006 to $2.86 billion last year due to ever-increasing competition in neighboring states. The immediate cause of the decline was the advent of casinos in neighboring Pennsylvania, which has since surpassed Atlantic City as the nation's second-largest casino market after Nevada, according to the AP.
The contraction in Atlantic City, while painful to workers and government finances, is a necessary response for the pressures faced by the market, analysts and many casino executives said, predicting that the remainder of eight casinos will fare better results with less competition.
In July, two masked thieves robbed Ceasars casino at the New Jersey-based resort at gunpoint, making away with over $180,000 in cash.
The assistance to laid-off workers will continue for two weeks, and then be moved to a different location in mid-September after Trump Plaza closes.
