The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1 and runs until November 30. Governments, communities, and businesses across the east coast and southeast coast are preparing for Hurricane Florence.
According to Press of Atlantic City, Atlantic City has already sold out its Ocean Resort Casino for Hurricane Florence evacuees.
“Due to the overwhelming response, we are sold out through Saturday, September, 15,” Ocean Resort announced. “However, we will be able to offer rooms Sunday, September, 16 through Thursday, September 20.”
The 57-story casino hotel, which opened in June and has 1,399 rooms, will offer complimentary accommodations for anyone living in the area of the hurricane. Guests seeking rooms were asked to provide a valid driver’s license showing area residency.
“We completely understand the concern for families and the community during times like this, so we want to do our part by providing somewhere safe, warm and dry to those impacted by Hurricane Florence,” added Bruce Deifik, chair of AC Ocean Walk LLC, which owns Ocean Resort.
As far as the gaming is concerned throughout Atlantic City, though the hurricane will likely cause some serious issues, gambling will remain open — especially via the Internet.
The average gamer spends 6.5 hours a week playing online with other players. According to Poker News, online poker and digital gaming caused the Hard Rock Atlantic City to bring in $31.2 million and Ocean Resort to bring in $20.5 million in gaming revenues.
According to Card Player, New Jersey’s three online poker operators have approximately $14.5 million worth of patron deposits in separate accounts. Borgata casino’s 19-page quarterly financial report showed that it held roughly $5.1 million in online gambling player money as of June 30.
“We maintain separate New Jersey bank accounts to primarily ensure the security of funds held in patrons’ Internet gaming accounts,” said representatives of MGM Resorts.
Through June, Borgata had $25.7 million in Internet gaming revenue; Caesars reported $21.8 million; and Resorts earned $22.5 million.
Online gaming isn’t going anywhere and will likely only increase in popularity as sports wagering becomes more commonplace across the gambling industry. Simply adding sports betting in New Jersey this summer alone has resulted in another $5.2 million of revenue. Currently, there are six Atlantic City Casinos that have fully operating sports books: Ocean Resort, Harrah’s, Resorts, Golden Nugget, Bally’s, and Borgata.
“With the new casinos that opened in June and the addition of sports wagering options, including online alternatives, the gaming industry has experienced growth rates in July and August that have not been achieved in years,” added David Rebuck, director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE).
