Atlantic City’s business, political, and casino leaders are calling for major state investment to stabilize one of New Jersey’s key tourism destinations and the jobs tied to it.
The officials pointed to a recent report from the Atlantic County Economic Alliance that warns as many as 8,000 jobs in the Atlantic City area are at risk as the nine casinos contend with online gambling, the addition of New York casinos and the potential development of casinos and convention centers in North Jersey.
Online gaming already is reshaping the industry. In 2025, internet gaming surpassed in-person gambling for the first time, helping to push collections for the state’s Casino Revenue Fund to a record $801.5 million. Yet employment has fallen to a nine-year low and profitability is declining, said George Goldhoff, president of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and the Casino Association of New Jersey.
Goldhoff said the state has the resources to reinvest in Atlantic City but has failed to do so.
“I’m asking the governor, I’m asking the legislature, I’m asking the county, and I’m asking the city to act now,” Goldhoff said. “Return Atlantic City dollars to Atlantic City, protect the Casino Revenue Fund, build the projects, train our workers, and give the city the economics that the people have earned.”
The report makes four recommendations: state reinvestment in Atlantic City’s convention and hospitality business, continued incentives for casinos to upgrade their facilities, a halt to any casinos outside Atlantic City, and help diversifying the regional economy to create living-wage jobs beyond gaming and tourism.
New Jersey casinos are allowed only in Atlantic City under a state referendum approved in 1976. Subsequent efforts to expand gambling beyond the one city have been unsuccessful.
In January, state Senators Vin Gopal and Paul Sarlo proposed a constitutional referendum that would allow casino gaming at Monmouth Park and Meadowlands racetracks, an attempt to compete with New York’s expanding casino market. Those bills have not advanced.
Meanwhile, the Sheraton connected to the Atlantic City Convention Center has struggled to stay open, and officials fear a proposed 300,000-square-foot convention center in the Meadowlands could draw business away from Atlantic City.
“It is critically important that the state does not compete with itself as it relates to gaming or as it relates to conventions,” said state Senator Vince Polistina, whose legislative district covers 14 Atlantic County municipalities.
Atlantic City casinos pay an 8% tax on gaming revenue deposited into the Casino Revenue Fund, which supports support state programs for senior and disabled residents. They pay an additional 1.25% to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority for local tourism and community projects.
Employment in Atlantic City casino-hotels has dropped to less than 22,000 from more than 45,000 in 1990. A majority of those employees live in Atlantic County. In 2025, 124 million visitors traveled to New Jersey and spent $51.9 billion; 19% of those people visited Atlantic County, according to a state tourism report.
“We haven’t seen much public investment in Atlantic City for many years,” Polistina said. “We have to get that going again.”
