It’s happening at Atlantic City Hotels and Casinos

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.

Related Links:

• Cordish co in talks to buy Atlantic City’s Tropicana Casino for $700M

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What’s the main reason people go to Atlantic City versus any other gambling destination? You might be surprised that it’s not the glamorous slots, or the luxurious spas.

A new survey by the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority finds gambling ranks seventh on a list of why people choose to come to the resort. Easy parking topped the list, followed by the convenience of getting to Atlantic City, the ease of getting around within the city, dining options, hotel room availability, and the beach and Boardwalk. At AtlanticCity.com , we are proud to be a part of the hotel availability options for Atlantic City, offering the lowest price guarantee since 1995.

Jeff Vasser , the authority’s president, says the yearlong survey of more than 3,000 visitors shows that Atlantic City’s efforts to transform itself into a destination resort where gambling is only one of the attractions are working. The survey states that for some people, even if they have options closer to home to play a slot machine they prefer to come to Atlantic City as Slot machines are not the compelling reason moreover it’s the shopping, the dining, the entertainment - the whole package, with easy parking and stress-free hotel reservations and availability.

Visitors to Atlantic City declined last year to 33 million from 34 million in 2006. That’s only a 3% decline compared to almost 15% decline at Las Vegas. The survey also offers evidence of some of the challenges facing Atlantic City. More than a third of those surveyed also say they gamble regularly elsewhere, including Las Vegas (31 per cent), Pennsylvania (20 per cent), Connecticut (15 per cent), Delaware (8 per cent) and New York (8 per cent). More hotels and resorts like Borgata will help establish our status as the entertainment destination.

Related Links:

• Parking the top draw for Visitors to Atlantic City
• Atlantic City Recreation

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