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Few in the mood to play at Atlantic City casinos

ATLANTIC CITY - Nearly a week after the dozen casinos here reopened, you wouldn't know it to look at the rows of idle slot machines and gaming tables inside.

Anearly empty Borgata Casino floor on Wednesday  November 7, 2012 in Atlantic City, NJ  Photo: Tom Briglia/PDN
Anearly empty Borgata Casino floor on Wednesday November 7, 2012 in Atlantic City, NJ Photo: Tom Briglia/PDNRead moreTom Briglia/PDN

ATLANTIC CITY - Nearly a week after the dozen casinos here reopened, you wouldn't know it to look at the rows of idle slot machines and gaming tables inside.

Hurricane Sandy's devastation of communities in North Jersey and New York is clearly having a negative effect on business.

Susan Mayer, 62, of Millsboro, Del., was the lone wolf on a virtually empty gaming floor Wednesday at the Borgata, Atlantic City's top-grossing casino.

"It's not surprising," Mayer said as she worked a quarter slot machine. "They got hit pretty bad up there. They just want electricity."

North Jersey and New York provide almost half of Atlantic City's customers - and they're a huge reason why South Jersey lawmakers have fought the push to add a casino at the Meadowlands Complex in East Rutherford, arguing that it would kill the Shore casinos.

Peeking inside the gambling palaces six days after Gov. Christie lifted his evacuation order revealed just how much the main industry here relies on those markets.

There were no lines for the valets or the buffets, or at hotel check-in at any of the casinos. By midafternoon, deteriorating road conditions because of the approaching nor'easter made getting here more difficult.

"With the number of people still without power to the north, the gasoline ban, and massive cleanup, the ramp-up from this storm will take some time," said Joe Lupo, executive vice president of operations at Borgata. "We were happy to see the many customers come visit over the weekend, but it was slower than typical, as to be expected."

With business volume way down, Borgata and several other casinos are tending to their employees. Almost all have established funds or relief events or set up donation drives for workers adversely affected by Sandy. Atlantic City's casinos employ about 36,000 people and generate more than $1 billion in wages, with another $1 billion in ancillary services from local businesses.

On Monday, Moody's Investor Services issued a report on Sandy's impact on the resort. Pre-hurricane, Atlantic City was already getting hammered by regional gambling competition. Then, the casinos lost four-plus days of business after Christie ordered them to close as the storm approached.

"We expect Atlantic City revenues to be down 25 percent both this quarter and next," Moody's said. "Earnings could decline 40 percent to 50 percent in both quarters. Gaming operators with just one property in Atlantic City, such as Revel Entertainment Group L.L.C. [owner of Revel] and Marina District Finance Co. [owner of Borgata], are most at risk."

Early Wednesday, the Holland Tunnel reopened to commuter traffic for the first time since Sandy struck. On an average weekday, about 91,000 vehicles use the tunnel between New York and New Jersey. But casino executives say they don't expect visitors driving to Atlantic City from New York in droves anytime soon.

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The Inquirer and Chuck Darrow

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Hotel occupancy at the Tropicana last weekend was about 10 percent, said general manager Steve Callender, down from more than 90 percent on a typical weekend.

"We are just trying to concentrate on our employees," he said. "We are trying to schedule as many of them as possible to get to work."

Tropicana management set up a fund drive and a human-resources desk to help with obtaining FEMA assistance. The casino also donated old furniture and bedding from its renovated West Tower.

Although her rented ranch house in Little Egg Harbor Township was flooded and she lost all her furniture, Barbara Popek, 55, came in Wednesday to make a $25 donation to the Tropicana employee fund.

"I feel as though when you give, you receive," said Popek, a cage cashier there for 24 years. "There are people in worse situations than me."

Caesars Entertainment Inc.'s four venues (Caesars, Bally's, Showboat, and Harrah's Resort) created a relief fund for their employees and asked vendors for donations. The company also is housing 80 to 100 families at the Claridge Hotel Tower.

at 215-854-2855 or sparmley@phillynews.com.