ATLANTIC CITY — Joan Burke gazed at row after row of empty slot machines that surrounded her at Caesars Atlantic City and admitted feeling a bit lonely.
“There’s no one around,” she said. “I’m playing all by myself.”
Burke, 75, of Ventnor, was one of the few gamblers to trickle into Caesars early Monday afternoon after the Boardwalk gaming hall — along with the rest of the Atlantic City casinos — reopened for business following a weekend shutdown caused by Hurricane Irene.
Sparse crowds were reported around town. Gaming executives predicted it will be another day or two before the casinos fully ramp up. Altogether, the 11 casino hotels lost an estimated $40 million to $45 million in gaming revenue because of the three-day shutdown.
“It’s horrible,” said Don Marrandino, president of the Caesars, Bally’s, Harrah’s Resort, and Showboat casinos owned by Caesars Entertainment Corp.
The storm washed out a potentially lucrative late-summer weekend for an industry still struggling in a sluggish economy. The casinos are now looking to the Labor Day weekend as the starting point for a post-Irene recovery.
“This was a major hit financially,” said Dennis Gomes, chief executive officer of Resorts Casino Hotel. “It was a $3 million loss for Resorts. You can’t recoup it, so we’ve got to hope that the rest of the year will be good.”
Gary Loveman, chairman and CEO of Caesars Entertainment, estimated the company’s four Atlantic City casinos lost more than $25 million in revenue. Marrandino said it probably won’t be until midweek that hotels begin filling up and things start returning to normal.
“I would think that by Wednesday we’ll be back in action. Fortunately, the weekend looks very strong,” Marrandino said.
Already, casinos are offering special promotions and hotel packages to entice customers back to Atlantic City. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno made a stop Monday at the Boardwalk entrance of Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort “to remind residents and tourists that the Jersey Shore is a great place to visit following Hurricane Irene,” a news release from her office states.
The hurricane, plus a reported tornado, capped a bizarre week that included a rare East Coast earthquake last Tuesday that sent casino customers heading for the exits until the all-clear was sounded.
“We had an earthquake, tornadoes, and now a hurricane. What’s next, pestilence?” Gomes said in a biblical allusion.
The weekend shutdown was just the third time in Atlantic City’s 33-year history of legalized gambling that the casinos closed. Hurricane Gloria forced them to close in September 1985, while a New Jersey budget crisis was responsible for a three-day casino shutdown in July 2006.
With Irene long gone Monday, the casinos were given the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement’s approval to reopen. State gaming officials went through a checklist of items to make sure each property complied with the regulations. Inspections also were conducted for possible structural damage to the casinos, but none was found, DGE spokeswoman Lisa Spengler said.
There were initial concerns that employees would have difficulty returning to work Monday. However, casino executives said most employees returned to work as scheduled.
Gomes feared that casino customers in the Pennsylvania, New York, and North Jersey feeder markets might think that Atlantic City suffered a much bigger hit than it did and would postpone their trips. The resort town generally fared well, avoiding major damage and widespread flooding.
“One more day. I think it’s going to take people that long to figure out that everything is fine here,” Gomes said.
Gomes said there weren’t many customers when Resorts reopened at 9:30 a.m.
Over at Caesars, James D’Amico, of Egg Harbor Township, tried entering shortly before the casino reopened at noon and was politely shooed away by a security guard.
“I wish I didn’t have to wait 10 minutes before I can start gambling again,” D’Amico said.
A small crowd that had gathered on the Boardwalk let out a slight cheer when another Caesars security guard opened the doors and invited everyone inside. D’Amico parked himself in front of a penny slot machine and began to play.
“Now I can relax,” he said.
The few customers who ventured inside Caesars had their pick of the slot machines and gaming tables. Burke, the 75-year-old slots player from Ventnor, said she hoped to begin winning jackpots again.
“Last week, I won $700 at Caesars,” she said. “It’s great to be back. Where else am I going to be at my age?”
The gaming floor at neighboring Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino was somewhat desolate early Monday afternoon. Rows of slot machines were devoid of customers. Dealers were standing alone at some of the table games, waiting for gamblers.
“Emptiness” was the way Trump Plaza customer Ashley Latham described the scene. She was playing a slot machine alongside her mother, Laura, in an otherwise quiet part of the casino.
The Lathams were vacationing in Atlantic City from their home in Taunton, Mass. They expected the post-hurricane tourism scene to be a little slow but were surprised to have a large part of a casino virtually all to themselves.
“We like to be among other people to talk and socialize. But there’s really no one here,” Laura Latham said.
Contact Donald Wittkowski:
609-272-7258
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