Tropicana to add gambling at its mall, the Quarter

ATLANTIC CITY - The Tropicana Casino here is taking a gamble by putting slot machines and electronic table games in its popular retail and entertainment mall, the Quarter.

The move to place gaming devices in a nongambling area of the casino typically reserved for something else is a first at the struggling resort, according to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, which approved the test phase in mid-August.

It takes mixing retail, dining, entertainment, and gambling to the next level. Other casinos in town are likely to do the same.

"For the first time in gaming history, expansion of gaming operations has extended into an area located on the city side of Pacific Avenue," said David L. Rebuck, acting director of the Division of Gaming Enforcement.

Rebuck said his agency would continue to work with the Tropicana to ensure regulatory compliance in areas of surveillance, security, and casino operations. Starting next month, assuming all such approvals are granted, the casino will debut 11 slot machines and two electronic blackjack table games (those without a live dealer) in the central fountain area that sits just outside Carmine's and Cuba Libre restaurants and a few feet from the retail mall.

The $280 million Quarter, modeled after the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, opened in late 2004 as a 200,000-square-foot entertainment complex with more than 20 restaurants, 20 retail shops, 14 bars and lounges, two pools, an IMAX theater, and a spa. The complex is typically packed on weekends with patrons in their 20s and 30s. The casino hotel offers 2,078 rooms and suites.

"It's a natural progression of the Quarter," Tropicana president and CEO Tony Rodio said about introducing gambling there. "It's extraordinarily popular, and people are waiting for reservations. It just gives people another entertainment option.

"We don't want to do anything to change the look and feel of the Quarter," he said. "We don't want to turn it into another casino. But we definitely want to take advantage of the crowds that come in there."

Rodio said he wanted to have the slots and virtual blackjack tables ready by Thanksgiving. Rodio said that if the program passes muster after 90 days, he would seek approvals from state gaming regulators to add more slot machines and dealer-staffed table games.

Rodio gave no estimate on how much revenue the new machines and tables could generate but said he expected them to "outperform our house average and allow us to expand beyond this initial test phase." Next month's launch would coincide with Tropicana's 30th anniversary. The Boardwalk casino debuted Nov. 23, 1981.

The last five years have been brutal on Atlantic City. Since late 2006, when the first Pennsylvania casino opened, Atlantic City gambling revenue has fallen more than 30 percent, or $1.6 billion, to $3.6 billion.

Revenue figures Tuesday from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board underscored the damage. Pennsylvania's 10 casinos generated $51.4 million in gross revenue from blackjack, poker, and other games in September - revenue that likely would have been spent in Atlantic City before the state legalized casino gambling.

Other casinos nationally have placed gaming areas in their retail-dining complexes. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., is one.

"This is one more indication that Atlantic City operators are thinking outside the box to differentiate their product from others in the highly competitive Mid-Atlantic market," said Joseph Weinert, an analyst with Spectrum Gaming Group L.L.C., of Linwood, N.J.

But it won't be applicable at all A.C. casinos, said Joe Lupo, senior vice president of operations for the market-leading Borgata. He said he didn't think the concept could work at his casino, where the retail and food-and-beverage areas were much smaller and closer to the casino floor than at Tropicana.

But Don Marrandino, Eastern division president for Caesars Entertainment Inc., which owns Bally's, Showboat, Caesars, and Harrah's Resort here, said he planned to implement the idea first at the Pool - a nightclub and entertainment venue at Harrah's Resort.

"The new model will give us the ability to react to the dynamic business environment," he said.

A key issue, Rodio said, was ensuring that the gaming area at the Quarter would be constantly monitored to prevent underage gambling. He said a security guard would be posted full time in the area.