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A New Jersey state agency has cleared the way to begin the long-anticipated bidding process for Bader Field, the 142-acre parcel of undeveloped land that sits a half-mile from the Boardwalk.
Bader Field is an airport owned by the city of Atlantic City that was closed in 2006. The 142 acre site is surrounded on three sides by water and is considered one of the most valuable pieces of open land on the East Coast. Bader Field is for sale. A process has been set up to facilitate competitive bidding for the site. The property is expected to fetch about $1 billion for the city.
The coveted 6.2-million-square-foot Bader Field has attracted the attention of several casino companies and developers, including gambling titan Steve Wynn, who has expressed interest in developing a casino resort there. Penn National Gaming Inc., of Wyomissing, Pa., made a failed $800 million offer earlier this year for the land. Other potential uses for the parcel include hotels or condominiums.
City officials said the land would be leased, not sold, to one or more developers, with a “substantial” percentage of the lease payment to be handed over to the city upfront. The city intends to select a developer — or more than one — by the end of March 2009. Interested developers have 90 days to submit a proposal for the site, a 30-day extension from what was originally projected. The deadline for offers is 5 p.m. Jan. 14.
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Fearing a “fire sale” price would leave nothing left for it after debts are paid, the former owner of the Tropicana Casino and Resort says it will sue to block the proposed sale of the casino to Corsish Co., the Baltimore Developer that was a leading bidder for the casino.
Tropicana Entertainment said that the proposed $700 million sale to The Cordish Company is less than the property is worth. A state-appointed trustee tapped Cordish on Tuesday as a potential purchaser of the Tropicana in a bankruptcy court auction. Other parties can still submit higher bids for the property, which was stripped of its casino license last December after problems with cleanliness, service, and compliance with state gambling rules, a decision which necessitated the sale.
Current economic conditions, coupled with a continuing downturn in the casino industry in New Jersey, and a mid-October deadline for selling the Tropicana, are producing “unreasonably low” offers for the property, said Scott Butera, the CEO of Tropicana Entertainment, which also seeks to reacquire the hotel casino.
Butera appealed the sale of the property in Indiana for $200 million on the same grounds, and the courts sided in his favor, and the sale was rebid. Add to the mix that values up to $1 billion are being bandied about for the Tropicana’s value. Butera said the company still intends to press on with its effort to regain control of the Atlantic City casino, and noted a slew of management changes Tropicana Entertainment has made so far this year, including barring Yung from having any control over it.
The trouble is the process drags on for too long, the longer it takes the more problems in operating stability.Tropicana has been a landmark in Atlantic City and continues to be profitable and attracts thousands of visitors every day. We hope that the bidding ends soon and that the casino stablizes quickly.
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Want to become an elected official in Atlantic City? There might be good news for you.
To safeguard against potential corruption in local government, one of the regulations that state lawmakers adopted in 1977, barres casino workers from holding local elected office. Some 40,000 people live in this city, but more than 8,000 are not permitted to run for mayor or council under this law.The law is designed to weed out the possible taint of conflict of interest.But a new bill aims to lift the prohibition.
According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette,In the 30 years since casino gambling was legalized here, three mayors have left officeunder clouds of suspicion and dozens of city councilmen have been indicted in corruption scandals. Now some state legislators say they are ready to allow casino workers to run for mayor and City Council in Atlantic City. The state Assembly voted 66-11 last week to approve a bill to allow casino workers who live in Atlantic City to hold municipal office there. Casino workers would still be barred from running for state office. The bill is scheduled to be discussed, though not voted on.
Opponents say lifting the ban opens a Pandora’s box of potential favorable treatment for the industry. Still, some worry that without such controls, the well-funded casino industry, the largest employer in the resort, could influence local elections by positioning and funding candidates who would favor gaming.
Under the current law casino employees are not able to run for municipal offices in Atlantic City. Lawmakers did not want such a large employer to exert undue influence on the political process. Yet Local 54 employees are able to run for elected office. The union can also effectively influence the casino licensing process, as they so successfully did with Columbia Sussex and Tropicana.
We think that this is a positive move. Casino employees represent a majority of people in Atlantic City and excluding them from Govt. posts limits the quality of elected officials in the city. Moreover, casino officers understand casino issues better, which represent a big portion of Atlantic City economy. If sufficient care is taken to ensure that that officers follow rules and regulations, this can possibly make Atlantic City Goverment better. We are thumbs up for this move!
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The Cordish Co. is the leading bidder on a $700 million deal to buy the Tropicana Atlantic City Casino & Resort. New Jersey’s Casino Control Commission made this announcement final during the final days of September 2008. The Cordish Co. will finance the deal with cash and securities. During this time of credit crisis, the availability of large sums of cash and securities with Cordish certainly puts it at a heavy advantage.Recently, several casino companies have had to stop new developments due to the unavailability of affordable credit.
The bid by Cordish will be submitted to a bank court judge in Delaware, which will conduct an auction where other companies can submit higher bids if they wish to buy the Tropicana. No time frame was offered for the auction to be completed, although bankruptcy advisers said they typically last between two to three months after the paperwork has been filed.
This is not the first time Cordish is eyeing Atlantic City. They also constructed The Walk, a popular downtown shopping district in Atlantic City that stretches between the convention center and the Boardwalk casinos. The company is also known for redeveloping parts of Baltimore’s popular Inner Harbor, and has done projects in Hollywood and Tampa, Fla.; Charleston, S.C.; Houston and Louisville, Ky.
According to the Atlantic City Press, the declining economy is believed to have lowered the asking price for the Tropicana, which was estimated earlier this year at $1 billion.The highest publicly known bid earlier this year was for $950 million from a New York developer, Joseph Palladino. An $850 million bid was made by Colony Capital LLC, which owns Resorts Atlantic City and the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort.
The Tropicana — which is among a number of Atlantic City resorts plagued by financial woes — is one of the largest hotels in New Jersey, with more than 2,100 rooms and 140,000 square feet of gaming space. The complex sits on 14 acres of land, including 220 yards of oceanfront property.
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Trump Plaza’s 100% PokerPro(R) Poker Room will be hosting a $25,000 Freeroll No-Limit Texas Hold’Em Poker Tournament in December 2008. To qualify for a seat in the $25,000 Freeroll, players must play a minimum of 60 hours of cash/ring games in Trump Plaza’s Poker Room between November 1st and November 30th.
Let’s eat! Atlantic City Restaurant Week is a seven-day celebration of the culinary scene in Atlantic City. For the week of March 1-7, 2009, participating restaurants will offer a multi-course meal for the fixed price of $15.09 for lunch and $33.09 for dinner (not including beverage, tax and gratuity). Restaurant week offers gastronomes and gourmets an extraordinary opportunity to explore some of Atlantic City’s classic restaurants - and some of the city’s newest - to sample a variety of the exceptional dishes prepared by Atlantic City’s chefs at incredibly reasonable rates.
“Atlantic City has had a real boom in fine restaurants in the past few years,” said Jeff Vasser, president of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority (ACCVA), the event’s producer. “Restaurant Week is a great time to sample some of the restaurants you’ve been hearing about, or return to one of your favorites.”
Here is the list so far.
24 Central Cafe - Trump Plaza
6ix A Bistro
Adam Good Sports Bar
Arturo’s
Buddakan
Capriccio
Carmine’s
Casa di Napoli
Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar
DJ’s Steakhouse
Dock’s Oyster House
Gallagher’s NY Steakhouse at Resorts
Game On!
Girasole Ristorante
Harborview
Hard Rock Cafe
Izakaya, A Modern Japanese Pub
Joseph’s Restaurant
Knife & Fork Inn
Los Amigos Restaurant
Max’s Steakhouse
McCormick & Schmick’s Atlantic City
Mia
N.O.W (Noodles of the World)
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
Patsy’s
Peregrines
Phillips Seafood
Plate American Cafe
Polistinas Restaurant
Primavera
Red Square
Reflections Cafe
Rib & Chophouse
RiRa Irish Pub & Restaurant
Roberto’s - Trump Plaza
Royal Albert’s Palace
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Sonsie AC
Teplitzky’s at The Chelsea Hotel
The Cafe
The Continental Restaurant
The Foundation Room
The Melting Pot
The Metropolitan
The Oaks Steak House
The Palm Restaurant
Trinity Pub & Carvery
Tun Tavern Brewery and Restaurant
Wellington’s
Wolfgang Puck American Grille
Fred and Ethel’s Lantern Light Tavern
Historic Smithville Inn
Ram’s Head Inn
Renault Winery & Vineyard Golf at Renault
Seaview Resort & Spa, A Marriott Resort
A Touch of Italy
Atlantic City Country Club
Pistol Pete’s Steakhouse & Saloon
Tre Figlio Restaurant
Manna Restaurant
Steve & Cookie’s By The Bay
Inlet Restaurant
Making it abundantly clear that William J. Yung does not and will not have any influence or control over the company, Tropicana Entertainment, LLC today petitioned the New Jersey Casino Control Commission (CCC) to regain operating authority over its casino and resort in Atlantic City.
According to company CEO Scott C. Butera, Tropicana wants to run the casino because it believes that there is a better chance of reversing the property ’ s 48 percent decline in gross operating profits if it is integrated with a larger organization with the financial assets and human resources to invest in its future. The property has been under the control of a CCC-appointed conservator since last December.
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