Three Atlantic City Casinos Will Go Dark This Month

Three casinos will close this month in Atlantic City, N.J., signaling that this metropolis of neon lights and blinking slot machines can no longer bet on gaming revenues.

More than 5,000 workers will be out of a job when the casinos Showboat and Revel close this weekend, the Associated Press reports. Even more will lose their livelihoods when the Trump Plaza cuts its lights on Sept. 16.

The expected closure of the three casinos, one of which is just two years old, is the latest slap to this city, coming just eight months after the Atlantic Club ran out of luck. By the end of September, more than 25% of the city’s casino workforce, or 8,000 people, will be out of work, the New York Times reports.

When New Jersey legalized gaming in 1976, casinos were marketed as a sure bet for economically battered Atlantic City, the AP reports. But the regional gaming market has since become flush with competitors, with casinos in New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania claiming chunks of the once prodigious profits flowing into Atlantic City. Even Massachusetts, a once gaming-averse state, is eyeing a share of the rewards, as it flirts with inviting three casinos to the state.