Blatstein unveils entertainment, food at Atlantic City's Playground

ATLANTIC CITY - As ominous clouds continue to swirl over this seaside resort's finances and its 37-year monopoly on gaming in the state under direct threat, developer Bart Blatstein on Monday unveiled the entertainment, food, and beverage providers supporting the Playground, the ambitious shopping, dining, and music emporium set to open July 4.

Bonfire Entertainment out of Philadelphia, which books the Electric Factory, among others, will provide the live acts for all seven venues of T Street, the Playground's first floor, whose offerings - from rock and jazz to rhythm and blues - will come to rival Beale Street in Memphis, the developer hopes.

Garces Events, which delivers the cuisine and hospitality of chef Jose Garces' restaurants, will provide food and beverage for all the venues of T Street.

"They're both stars in their industries," said Blatstein, who stood beside Garces in making the announcement near the entrance of the old Pier Shops at Caesars.

This isn't Garces' first foray here. He had four restaurants inside Revel - including Armada and Distrito Cantina - for two years before the casino shut down, along with three others last year, wiping out over 8,000 jobs.

"We loved the results that we had here," Garces said. "We're happy to be presented with an opportunity where we can continue to serve more people."

Blatstein's $50 million project to convert a failed mall into an entertainment, dining, and shopping destination is the latest effort to boost the city's retail sector and replace its declining casino industry.

The project, which includes a bowling alley, swimming pool, and several bars, covers 500,000 square feet, comparable to the size of the Tropicana, minus its hotel rooms and garage.

"This gives people something to come down here for other than gaming and creates excitement," said Linda Spagnolo, 52, a manager at B*Iconic, a boutique already open on the first floor. "It's a good thing all around for the city."

Indeed, Blatstein vowed that his project marked a shift away from gambling. "This will be, within a year, the largest nongaming destination in the region," he said. "That's my goal."

"I have a responsibility to deliver now," he added. "It's about Atlantic City getting some good news."

Blatstein gave an abbreviated tour of the first floor to reporters. The second and third floors are targeted for completion by the end of the year.

But soon after the developer held court, North Jersey Democratic lawmakers held a news conference in Trenton to announce a proposal asking voters to expand gambling to that part of the state, thus ending Atlantic City's exclusivity on gaming in New Jersey that it's had since 1978. The proposed constitutional amendment would appear on the November ballot if the Legislature passes it by Aug. 2.

Gov. Christie said last week he was in favor of expanding gambling to North Jersey. Still, Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) expressed doubts that such a measure would get the needed votes this year because of the expected low turnout for the Nov. 3 elections, where all 80 Assembly seats are up for grabs but there are no races in the state Senate or the governor's office.

State legislators are also about to consider a package of Atlantic City relief bills intended to stabilize the city's finances, including legislation that would exclude the casinos here from paying property taxes, and instead pay a lump sum to the city for the next 15 years.

Known as a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) plan, the measure will be voted on by the Assembly on June 11 and by the Senate on June 25

"I think it's completely wrong to be talking about expanding gaming to North Jersey when the focus should be on getting Atlantic City back and putting people back to work," said Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo (D., Atlantic), sponsor of the PILOT bill in the Assembly.