Starting September 4, casinos in Atlantic City were able to offer indoor dining at 25 percent capacity and with six feet between each table. Masks must be worn indoors unless people are eating and drinking at a table. The reopening of in-house dining also included alcoholic beverage service on the casino floor. Drinks must be ordered from a server and consumed in a seat.
Smoking, although initially approved in the executive order issued by Governor Phil Murphy, will not be permitting inside any casino, including in previously designated smoking areas. Patrons will need to step outside the smoke.
Under the Department of Health’s Health and Safety Standards, food or beverage establishments offering in-person service must limit seating to a maximum of eight customers per table (unless they are from a family from the same household).
Bob McDevitt, president of Unite Here Local 54, said most of the union’s restaurant workers “are just sitting out there, waiting” and less than half of his members are back to work.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City President Joe Lupo is glad dining resumed. “It allows us to bring valued team members back to work,” he said “We’ve seen a tremendous success with our outdoor dining venues, although weather variables have been a real challenge.”
Jane Bokunewicz, coordinator of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University, said “having restrictions lifted before Labor Day is a decision that is certainly welcomed by the (casino) industry.” In the third quarter of 2019, food and beverage produced more than $163 million in revenue for the casinos in town.
“Although food and beverage revenue represented only 17.5 percent of total revenue, having indoor dining will make a visit to the casinos more attractive, especially to visitors who may have postponed their summer vacation plans,” Bokunewicz said.
A number of properties will continue offering outdoor dining, weather permitting. Resorts Casino Hotel is “prepared and ready to safely welcome guests back to dine indoors at our award-winning restaurants,” and the casino is “committed to providing a clean and safe experience for customers,” said Mark Giannantonio, president and CEO of Resorts, which will offer both indoor and outdoor options.
“We’re hoping for more of a resurgence of the bread-and-butter patrons,” McDevitt said.
Meantime, a public-private coalition consisting of the Casino Association of New Jersey, Local 54, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, and city and state governments expects to shift some several hundred casino jobs currently staffed by temporary foreign workers on J-1 visas to local residents. The group will also develop vocational training programs to prepare residents for jobs. The training could start this month with workers ready for employment by next spring or earlier.
Employment aside, the pandemic’s impact on the casino industry and the subsequent restrictions on activities on reopening will cost millions to the city itself next year. Instead of paying property taxes on assessed value, casinos pay based on annual gaming revenues thanks to a 10-year program known as PILOT—payment in lieu of taxes—enacted in 2016.
The 2020 bill expects to fall far short of the $150 million paid last year based on $3.2 billion in total gaming revenue. Casino win, or revenue generated from table games and slots, is down more than 58 percent through July, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
“DCA projects that 2020 gross gaming revenues will be lower, which will result in lower PILOT payments to the city of Atlantic City in 2021,” said Lisa Ryan, spokeswoman for the state Department of Community Affairs, which oversees Atlantic City’s finances. “DCA believes there will be enough of an IAT (investment alternative tax) offset so that casino payments in 2021 don’t appear to present any dramatic concerns for the city’s budget.”
Not everyone agrees.
“I think the casinos are going to have a tough time even meeting the amount that they have to pay (for 2021),” said Michael Busler, a public policy analyst and finance professor at Stockton University. “Atlantic City is going to be in for some very difficult financial times, at least for the next year, and I’m not sure how they’re going to get out of it.”
If the legislature does not modify the PILOT program for the benefit of all sides, city and county residents can expect higher property taxes, a reduction in municipal services or a combination of both.
In related news, after a temporary try-out of an open-container policy in the resort, Governor Murphy has signed into law a bill to permit public consumption of alcohol within the boundaries of the Atlantic City Tourism District.
The legislation identified acceptable areas as parts of the beach, Boardwalk and other locations determined by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. Within these designated areas pedestrians may carry and imbibe containers of alcoholic libations, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
“Despite the economic hardship that this pandemic has levied on our casino and hospitality industries, the Atlantic City community has once again proven its resiliency and readiness for a strong future,” Murphy said. “By permanently allowing outdoor consumption of alcoholic beverages in certain areas of the Tourism District, we can extend short-term support to small businesses that need it.”
CRDA Executive Director Matt Doherty gave kudos to Murphy.
“This will also allow the hospitality industry, which has been severely impacted by Covid-19, to more effectively compete,” he said.
Prohibiting such a practice proved outdated, sponsors Senator Chris Brown, Assemblymen Vince Mazzeo and John Armato, and Assemblywoman Carol Murphy said in a statement. “It’s time we revamp Atlantic City’s own laws to match this trend while continuing to keep the tourism area a safe and welcoming place to visit.”
Mayor Marty Small Sr. signed an executive order in early June permitting open containers on a temporary basis.
