For a city that has suffered seven straight years of declining casino revenue, Atlantic City in the US appears to be drawing considerable attention from prospective casino operators.
The main reason for this is the coming of internet gaming, which requires operators to own an AC casino. There is speculation that Steve Wynn might be interested in buying the Atlantic Club, the property he originally built as a Golden Nugget.
The speculation began after Wynn applied for an AC online gaming licence, which is interesting in that he doesn't have an online operation. A possible complication is that Wynn has also applied for the second Philadelphia casino licence and Pennsylvania regulators shut out AC operators when they awarded the first Philadelphia licence to Neil Bluhm's SugarHouse Casino.
Elsewhere, gaming giant Genting is rumoured to have at least looked at AC, having avoided it in the past. The coming of online gaming and the ability to cross-market with its Resorts World slots casino in New York City could have changed some minds.
Also, the parent company of the current Golden Nugget is exploring the possibility of selling the casino or its i-gaming rights after being approached by investment bank Houlihan Lokey.
Landry’s purchased the former Trump Marina casino in 2011 for $38m and spent over $150m on renovations. And British i-gamer 2UP is reportedly close to finalising the purchase of an undisclosed Atlantic City casino. 2UP is partnering with MidOil, a New York-based investment group, on the deal that also involves an undisclosed Asian company.
The partnership has $330m lined up to buy and extensively renovate the casino, which MidOil said is located on the boardwalk. A price has been agreed on and the group is just waiting on a final agreement, MidOil said. One possibility is Trump Plaza, which Trump Entertainment has put up for sale.
Source: Fantini’s Gaming Report
