Thousands of Atlantic City jobs are at risk as casinos struggle with inflation and New York competition

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Thousands of jobs in the Atlantic City region are at risk as its nine casinos face escalating pressures from the introduction of gambling in New York City, as well as the growth of online gaming, rising operating costs and the impact of inflation on tourism, according to a new economic analysis.

Employment at the resort town’s casinos and hotels fell to 21,172 earlier this year, the lowest figure in at least nine years, according to a report from the Atlantic County Economic Alliance.

Resorts World New York City in Queens debuted live table games in April, making it the city’s first full-scale casino. Two more casinos are expected to open in the city in the next few years. That competition, combined with a possible economic recession, could result in the loss of some 5,100 jobs in the Atlantic City area by 2035, the ACEA analysis says.

In addition, if two proposed casinos are built elsewhere in New Jersey, one at the Monmouth Park racetrack and the other at the Meadowlands Sports Complex, job losses could grow to more than 8,000, and Atlantic City’s casinos could see their revenues drop 44%.

Atlantic City casino operators say they have been preparing for the new wave of increased competition by investing over $1 billion to upgrade their facilities over the past several years. Tourism officials have also been working to diversify the city’s appeal beyond gambling by bringing in more conferences, concerts and other events.

But industry leaders say the state must invest more in the resort’s tourism infrastructure and pause the licensing of new casinos elsewhere in New Jersey to prevent lasting harm to the regional economy.

“We aren’t asking anyone to stop competition,” said George Goldhoff, president of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, in a statement. “We’re asking the state to plan for it responsibly, so that the workers who show up every day to deal cards, clean rooms, and serve our guests aren’t the ones who pay the price for growth happening somewhere else.”

Gaming revenues are up, but casino profits keep falling

By some measures, gaming in New Jersey remains strong. In July, the industry as a whole saw its highest monthly revenues in nearly two years at $678 million, up 11.9% from the same month a year earlier.

Revenues in 2025 were $6.98 billion, 10.8% higher than in 2024. Following an increase in the tax rate on online gambling, the state reaped more than $1.1 billion in casino-related gaming taxes and fees, a 25% jump.

But the growth in those numbers came mainly from online gaming and sports wagering. Revenues from brick-and-mortar casinos have been basically flat as customers move to other types of gambling and entertainment, and their profits have steadily fallen as they spend more on hotel discounts and other enticements to try to bring visitors back.

Casino revenues totaled $3.29 billion in 2025, down slightly from the previous few years. Profits after expenses were $682 million, a drop from $709 million the previous year and about $781 million in 2023.

“It’s not only the costs associated with labor, supplies and energy that have risen,” said Brian Tyrrell, director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute for Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University. “For many of the operators, promotional costs, or ‘comps,’ likely need to be increased or have been increasing to retain and attract business in an ever increasingly competitive environment.”

Many of the casinos have invested in their properties and boosted spending on marketing during a period when inflation has made that work more expensive, he said.

Hard Rock spent $50 million this year to renovate 700 hotel rooms, 60 suites and eight penthouses, and opened two new restaurants. Ocean Casino Resort laid out $50 million last year as part of a five-year, $270 million program of room renovations and new restaurants, including two from restaurateur Stephen Starr.

Tyrrell noted that the casinos have had widely varying results depending on the market they serve. Their reported revenues and profits may also be affected in some cases by earnings and expenses at their internet gaming operations, he said.

The upmarket Borgata reported a 5% increase in revenues last year, to $824.7 million, and a 13.8% jump in profits to $237.4 million. Several casinos saw drops, including Bally’s, which reported a $2.8 million loss, and Caesars, where profits plummeted 40% to $34.1 million.

Those wide disparities reflect a broader “K-shaped” economy in which high-income households are doing well while middle-income consumers see their spending power crushed by inflation, Tyrrell said.

“It might be the case that where they maybe in prior years went three or four times down to the resort, they might only go one or two times, or maybe somebody that would stay three or four days would only stay one or two,” he said.

“Certainly all operators are feeling the current market pressures, [but] those casinos going after the upper part of the K will do well today relative to the rest of the pack.”

A push to diversify

Atlantic City has faced a similar crisis before, after Pennsylvania casinos began opening in 2006 and an economic recession hit in late 2007. Profits plummeted and five casinos closed.

“Maybe we took it a little too lightly when Pennsylvania gaming was on the forefront,” Tyrrell said. “I don’t think that same mistake is being made this time.”

The city and county have been pushing to diversify the local economy, with a focus on healthcare, education and aviation, as well as conventions and events, he said. Those areas could provide an economic cushion and job opportunities if in-person gambling shrinks or a casino closes.

“There is reason to believe that even if casino employment levels decreased, there are opportunities in other segments of the area’s economy, and especially in segments adjacent to the gaming industry and hospitality and tourism, for at least some of those personnel to be absorbed,” he said.

The regional tourism organization, Visit Atlantic City, reported that it hosted 10 large events in the first half of 2026, with more than 100,000 attendees who booked 20,991 nights of hotel stays and generated $36 million in economic impact.

Events that took place this summer included weekly nighttime drone shows in July, a weeklong fishing championship, the New Jersey Cannabis Convention, the return of beach concerts with a performance by Rüfüs Du Sol, a Shakira show and several Fourth of July celebrations.

Regional marketing efforts were consolidated under Visit Atlantic City a year and a half ago, and the organization has worked to change the narrative about the city, CEO Gary Musich said.

“You’ve gone from really what was a negative discussion about Atlantic City … to ‘Wow, look at what they’re doing now. I saw your advertising. I saw your commercials,’” he said during a recent interview for podcast Global Gaming Business. “It’s not the first time we’ve been through this in Atlantic City, but this playbook’s a little bit different for us.”

However, the ACEA report says convention and meeting work could only partially absorb employees who lost their casino jobs, particularly if a proposed Meadowlands convention center and hotels open and compete for conference business.

The report authored by Max Slusher, the group’s director of business development, recommends that the state invest in city and convention infrastructure, continue incentives for casinos and hotels to make more upgrades, and pause casino-hotel expansion elsewhere until preparatory measures are in place for the region.

Those include worker retraining and anti-poverty programs, protections for union jobs and a fix for the state’s Casino Revenue Fund, which uses casino taxes to fund property tax relief, assistance for seniors and other social programs.