It was fitting the skies over Atlantic City wept Thursday. It was bad--make that very bad--day.

Borgata—the gold standard of the town’s gambling and hospitality industry—got things off to a crummy start by announcing a five-percent workforce cut (400 jobs).  Then, just to make a lousy day even worse, Pinnacle Entertainment all but admitted it's plans to build a glittering palace on the site of the old Sands hotel-casino.

For the record, the company’s CEO, Daniel Lee, kept alive the possibility the project--now on "indefinite hold"--could one day come to fruition. He said it could be “years and years and years” before economic conditions are favorable to getting construction on track, and that his organization is willing to wait to ensure a successful endeavor.

But he also said Pinnacle is willing to entertain offers for the parcel of midtown land it purchased a couple of years ago. Which to more cynical ears, sounds like another way of saying, “Goodbye and good luck.”

While the decision appears to be just another result of the nation’s economic meltdown—which has made it almost impossible for casino companies to borrow construction money—Atlantic City’s recent decision to bid out Bader Field certainly had to play a role. Lee has long opposed the concept of allowing casino construction on the 150 Northside acres that for decades housed the town’s pioneering airport, claiming development there would lessen the value of Boardwalk properties, and make such facilities less desirable to visiting gamblers.

And it should be noted the announcement came less than 48 hours after voters in Maryland approved up to 15,000 slot machines for the state.

So, has Atlantic City’s future, which looked so bright as recently as a year or so ago, been snuffed out like a birthday cake candle? It would be easy to think so. But it probably would be premature to write the town’s obituary. Economic conditions are cyclical. The current recession can’t, and won’t, last forever. And Atlantic City has too much to offer people who are looking for more than a few hours at the slot machine. It is a unique, increasingly interesting place that remains a tank of gas away from some 50 million people.

It was raw, wet and windy Thursday down the Shore. But we all know the sun will come out eventually.

Bet on it.

A POSSIBLE BUYER?: On a related note, don’t be surprised if there actually is interest in the Pinnacle site in the days ahead. There is at least one major gaming company—Penn National of Wissinoming, Pa.—that has long made known its desire to be in AyCee. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to suggest Pinnacle would be happy to sell at a bargain price (e.g. a recoupment of money already invested), and Penn National apparently has the cash-on-hand to build on the site.

Stay tuned…

WITHER REVEL?: Also on the minds of many casino industry observers is the fate of Revel Entertainment's grand project adjacent to the Showboat. Unlike Pinnacle and MGM Grand (which recently canceled its plans for a $4 billion development in the Marina District), Revel actually has pillars in the ground. But it reportedly still needs to money to complete construction. Some insiders are speculating current conditions will soon put at least a temporary hold on things there.