Editing Atlantic City, New Jersey (section)

====Legalized sports betting====
[[File:Borgata.jpg|thumb|[[Borgata]], Atlantic City's highest-grossing casino]]
On June 27, 2017, the [[United States Supreme Court]] agreed to hear ''[[Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association]]'' and heard oral arguments in December 2017. Then, on May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that the [[Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992|Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act]] (PASPA) was unconstitutional. The act was overturned, allowing New Jersey to move ahead with plans to implement legalized sports betting.

Despite being the state to initiate the landmark ruling, New Jersey was actually the third state to legalize sports betting after [[Nevada]] and [[Delaware]]. In June 2018, [[Governor of New Jersey|New Jersey governor]] [[Phil Murphy]] signed the legislation into law, and several New Jersey–based casino brands subsequently opened [[sportsbook]]s, especially in Atlantic City.

With the redevelopment of the [[Las Vegas Strip]] and the opening of [[Foxwoods Resort Casino]] and [[Mohegan Sun]] in [[List of casinos in Connecticut|Connecticut]] in the early 1990s, along with newly built casinos in the nearby [[List of casinos in Pennsylvania|Philadelphia metro area]] in the 2000s, Atlantic City's tourism began to decline due to its failure to diversify away from gambling. In 1999 the Atlantic City Redevelopment Authority partnered with Las Vegas casino mogul [[Steve Wynn]] to develop a new roadway to a barren section of the city near the Marina. Nicknamed "The Tunnel Project", Steve Wynn planned the proposed 'Mirage Atlantic City' around the idea that he would connect the $330&nbsp;million tunnel stretching {{cvt|2.5|mi}} from the [[Atlantic City Expressway]] to his new resort. The roadway was later officially named the [[Atlantic City-Brigantine Connector]], and funnels incoming traffic off of the expressway into the city's marina district and the city of [[Brigantine, New Jersey|Brigantine]].<ref>Kraft, Randy. [https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mcall/access/79645003.html?dids=79645003:79645003&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+02%2C+2001&author=RANDY+KRAFT+Of+The+Morning+Call&pub=Morning+Call&desc=Atlantic+City+is+gambling+on+a+brighter+future&pqatl=google "Atlantic City is gambling on a brighter future"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315174650/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mcall/access/79645003.html?dids=79645003:79645003&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+02%2C+2001&author=RANDY+KRAFT+Of+The+Morning+Call&pub=Morning+Call&desc=Atlantic+City+is+gambling+on+a+brighter+future&pqatl=google |date=March 15, 2013 }}, ''[[The Morning Call]]'', September 2, 2001. Accessed January 13, 2012. "Another major improvement is the $330&nbsp;million Atlantic City- Brigantine connector project, locally known simply as the tunnel. The new 2.5-mile (4.2&nbsp;km) long highway with a 2,200-foot (670-meter) tunnel opened on July 31. A toll free extension of the Atlantic City Expressway, which links Atlantic City and Philadelphia, it connects the south end of the expressway to casinos in Atlantic City's marina district as well as to neighboring Brigantine."</ref>

Although Wynn's plans for development in the city were scrapped in 2002, the tunnel opened in 2001. The new roadway prompted Boyd Gaming in partnership with MGM/Mirage to build Atlantic City's newest casino. [[Borgata]] opened in July 2003, and its success brought an influx of developers to Atlantic City with plans for building grand, Las Vegas-style mega casinos to revitalize the aging city.<ref>via [[Associated Press]]. [https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21886619 "Atlantic City to be transformed by 2012; Luxury mega-casinos to change the face of New Jersey's gambling capital"], [[MSNBC]], November 20, 2007. Accessed October 15, 2015.</ref>

Owing to economic conditions and the [[late 2000s recession]], many of the proposed mega casinos never advanced further than the initial planning stage. One of these developers was [[Pinnacle Entertainment]], which purchased the [[Sands Atlantic City]] for $250–$270 million and closed it on November 11, 2006 with plans to replace it with a larger casino.<ref name=parmley>{{cite news|title=Pinnacle to buy Sands, adjacent Boardwalk site|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|author=Suzette Parmley|date=September 6, 2006|url=http://articles.philly.com/2006-09-06/business/25414027_1_pinnacle-entertainment-aztar-smallest-casino|access-date=2014-12-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061052/http://articles.philly.com/2006-09-06/business/25414027_1_pinnacle-entertainment-aztar-smallest-casino |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="PoA"/> The following year, the resort was demolished in an implosion, the first of its kind in Atlantic City. While Pinnacle Entertainment intended to replace it with a $1.5-$2-billion casino resort, the company canceled its construction plans and sold the land for $29.5 million.<ref name="PoA">Bogdan, Jennifer. [https://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/former-sands-casino-hotel-site-sells-for-million/article_bf1a74a4-46fa-11e3-b57a-0019bb2963f4.html "Former Sands Casino Hotel site sells for $29.5 million"], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', November 6, 2013. Accessed March 18, 2020.</ref> [[MGM Resorts International]] announced in October 2007 that it would pull out of all development for Atlantic City, effectively ending its plans for the MGM Grand Atlantic City.<ref>[[Gary Rivlin|Rivlin, Gary]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/business/11casino.html?_r=0 "MGM Plans Casino Resort to Rival Best of Las Vegas"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 11, 2007. Accessed October 15, 2015.</ref><ref>[http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=101502&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1060878&highlight= "MGM Mirage Announces Plan for Multi-Billion Dollar Resort Complex on 72-Acre Site in Atlantic City"], Investor Relations, October 10, 2007. Accessed October 15, 2015. "MGM Mirage (NYSE: MGM) announced today the company's Board of Directors has approved the development of a major resort casino project at Renaissance Pointe in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The new resort will have a budget in the $4.5–$5 billion range, not including value of the land and associated costs."</ref>

In 2006, [[Morgan Stanley]] purchased {{cvt|20|acres}} directly north of the [[Showboat Atlantic City]] for a new $2-billion-plus casino resort.<ref>Stutz, Howard. [http://www.lvrj.com/business/heads-butt-over-plan-for-boardwalk-bounceback-89350382.html "Heads butt over plan for Boardwalk bounceback"], ''[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]]'', March 28, 2010. Accessed January 13, 2012.</ref> [[Revel Entertainment Group]] was named as the project's developer for the [[Revel Casino]]. Revel was hindered with many problems, the biggest setback occurring in April 2010 when Morgan Stanley, the owner of 90% of Revel Entertainment Group, decided to discontinue funding for continued construction and put its stake in Revel up for sale. Early in 2010, the New Jersey state legislature passed a bill offering tax incentives to attract new investors and complete the job, but a poll by [[Fairleigh Dickinson University]]'s [[Fairleigh Dickinson University#PublicMind|PublicMind]] released in March 2010 showed that 60% of voters opposed the legislation, and two of three of those who opposed it "strongly" opposed it.<ref>[[Alexandra Berzon|Berzon, Alexandra]]. [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304620304575166102780084846 "How Odds of Success Got Longer for Morgan Stanley's Casino Plan"], ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''. April 5, 2010. Accessed October 22, 2024. [https://archive.today/20211101042811/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304620304575166102780084846 Archived] November 1, 2021, at [[archive.today]].</ref><ref>[http://publicmind.fdu.edu/revelbailout/ "N.J. Voters Disapprove of Revel Bailout"], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604155123/http://publicmind.fdu.edu/revelbailout/ | date=June 4, 2010}} Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind. Accessed October 22, 2024.</ref> Ultimately, Governor [[Chris Christie]] offered Revel $261&nbsp;million in state tax credits to assist the casino once it opened.<ref>via [[Associated Press]]. [http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/02/revel_entertainment_gets_over.html "Revel Entertainment gets $1B financing to finish Atlantic City casino"], ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', February 17, 2011. Accessed January 13, 2012. "Revel Entertainment said Thursday that it has secured the final $1&nbsp;billion-plus it needs to finish its half-built casino on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, a project that is widely considered the best chance for the nation's second-largest gambling market to recover from four years of plunging revenue&nbsp;... Gov. Chris Christie has committed $261&nbsp;million in state tax credits to help Revel once it's open"</ref>

Revel  completed all of the exterior work and had continued work on the interior after finally receiving the funding necessary to complete construction, and had a soft opening in April 2012 before being fully open the next month. Ten months later, in February 2013, after serious losses and a write-down in the value of the resort from $2.4&nbsp;billion to $450&nbsp;million, Revel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It was restructured but still could not carry on and re-entered bankruptcy on June 19, 2014. It was put up for sale, however as no suitable bids were received the resort closed its doors in September 2014. The property was bought by AC Ocean Walk, LLC for $200&nbsp;million in 2017, and reopened in 2018 as Ocean Casino Resort.<ref>{{cite web |website=[[NJ.com]] |first=Jeff |last=Goldman |title=Shuttered Revel casino in Atlantic City sold, could reopen next year |url=https://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2017/12/revel_in_atlantic_city_expected_to_be_sold_and_re-.html |url-status=live |date=2017-12-11 |orig-date=last updated 2019-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101034345/https://www.nj.com/business/2017/12/revel_in_atlantic_city_expected_to_be_sold_and_re-.html |archive-date=2021-11-01 }}</ref><ref>Staff. [http://www.atlanticcitynews.net/index.php/sid/225274051 "Thousands out of work in Atlantic City as big casinos shut doors"], Atlantic City News.Net, September 1, 2014. Accessed October 15, 2015. "Showboat, which has operated on the city's boardwalk for 27 years shut its doors on Sunday. On Tuesday the glittering new $2.4&nbsp;billion Revel Casino will close. Later in September Trump Plaza will close its doors. On 13 January this year the [[Atlantic Club Casino Hotel|Atlantic Club]] which was completed in 1980 as the Golden Nugget, which then became the Bally Grand, and a Hilton was the first of the four major casinos to close this year."</ref>

In the wake of the closures and declining revenue from casinos, Governor Christie said in September 2014 that the state would consider a 2015 referendum to end the 40-year-old monopoly that Atlantic City holds on casino gambling and allowing gambling in other municipalities. With casino revenue declining from $5.2&nbsp;billion in 2006 to $2.9&nbsp;billion in 2013, the state saw a drop in money from its 8% tax on those earnings, which is used to fund programs for senior citizens and the disabled.<ref>Young, Elise; and Dopp, Terrence. [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-09-08/n-j-considers-ending-atlantic-city-s-gambling-monopoly "N.J. Considers Ending Atlantic City's Gambling Monopoly"], ''[[Bloomberg Business]]'', September 8, 2014. Accessed October 15, 2015. "Voters may be asked as soon as November 2015 to overturn an almost 40-year-old law that gave Atlantic City a monopoly on gambling in New Jersey.... With as many as five of Atlantic City's 12 casinos closing this year, some lawmakers say allowing gambling in other towns is crucial to reclaim revenue that has gone to New York and Philadelphia."</ref>

On October 29, 2012, "[[Hurricane Sandy|Superstorm Sandy]]" struck Atlantic City and caused flooding and power-outages but left minimal damage to any of the tourist areas.<ref>via [[Associated Press]]. [http://www.nj.com/atlantic/index.ssf/2013/05/most_finally_believe_that_sandy_didnt_destroy_atlantic_city_boardwalk.html "Most finally believe that Sandy didn't destroy Atlantic City boardwalk, poll says"], ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', May 28, 2013. Accessed July 7, 2013. "Due to Sandy's track, Atlantic City suffered minimal damage and reopened for business five to seven days after the storm."</ref> The storm produced an all-time record low barometric pressure reading of 943 mb (27.85") for not only Atlantic City, but the state of New Jersey.<ref>[[Tom Skilling|Skilling, Tom]]. [http://chicagoweathercenter.com/blog/historic-sandy-landfalls-8-pm-monday-evening-near-atlantic-city-with-lowest-barometric-pressure-of-any-storm-on-record-in-new-jersey-chicago-being-blasted-by-powerhouse-circulation-on-storms-west-s "Historic Sandy landfalls 8 pm Monday evening near Atlantic City with lowest barometric pressure of any storm on record in New Jersey; Chicago being blasted by powerhouse circulation on storms' west side"], [[WGN-TV|WGN-9 Chicago Weather Center]], October 30, 2012. Accessed October 15, 2015. "Sandy came ashore with an ear-popping central pressure of 943 mb (27.85″) at landfall—a reading MUCH lower (nearly 30 mb lower)than the 972 mb (28.70″) pressure at the center of the so-called October 1991 ''Perfect Storm'', immortalized in the Sebastian Junger book which was later made into a film."</ref>

In 2019, the Atlantic City area had the highest rates of foreclosures in the nation.<ref>[https://www.attomdata.com/news/market-trends/foreclosures/attom-data-solutions-2019-year-end-u-s-foreclosure-market-report/ "U.S. Foreclosure Activity Drops to 15-Year Low In 2019"], ATTOM, January 14, 2020. Accessed March 14, 2023. "Among 220 metropolitan statistical areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in 2019 were Atlantic City, New Jersey (1.33 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Trenton, New Jersey (0.91 percent); Jacksonville, Florida (0.85 percent); Rockford, Illinois (0.82 percent); and Lakeland, Florida (0.81 percent)."</ref> This has disproportionately affected Black residents in neighborhoods segregated by [[redlining]], a legacy that is mirrored by the values of properties on the Monopoly game board.<ref>[https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/njisj/pages/689/attachments/original/1588358478/Erasing_New_Jersey's_Red_Lines_Final.pdf?1588358478 ''Erasing New Jersey's Red Lines''], New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Accessed March 14, 2023.</ref><ref>Pilon, Mary. [https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/02/racism-your-monopoly-board/618098/ "The Prices on Your Monopoly Board Hold a Dark Secret; The property values of the popular game reflect a legacy of racism and inequality."], ''[[The Atlantic]]'', February 21, 2021. Accessed March 14, 2023. "Take a good look at a Monopoly board. The most expensive properties, Park Place and Boardwalk, are marked in dark blue. Maybe you've drawn a card inviting you to “take a walk on the Boardwalk.” But that invitation wasn't open to everyone when the game first took on its current form. Even though Black citizens comprised roughly a quarter of Atlantic City's overall population at the time, the famed Boardwalk and its adjacent beaches were segregated.... The impact of the decisions made during Monopoly's heyday is still felt today. Atlantic City is a 'redlined epicenter' of the state, according to the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, and it leads the state in foreclosures."</ref>

After several casino closures and the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey|COVID-19 pandemic]], strikes and pickets were being threatened in June 2022 by casino employees which were short-staffed and wanted pay raises.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sainato |first=Michael |date=June 29, 2022 |title='We want to be able to survive': Atlantic City casino workers to strike over wages |pages=2–4 |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/29/atlantic-city-casino-workers-strike-wages-union |access-date=July 7, 2022}}</ref>