Tropicana CEO Tony Rodio is the eternal optimist when it comes to Atlantic City.
Atlantic City casino revenue dropped more than 12 percent in February compared to the same month last year. Revel, the $2.4 billion lifestyle and gaming resort that was supposed to kick-start Atlantic City?s road to financial recovery, filed for bankruptcy less than one year after it opened. And, due in large part to inaccurate reporting by television networks and news channels, there?s still a lingering perception throughout the country that Atlantic City?s Boardwalk was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.?
But Tony Rodio is the eternal optimist, a glass-half-full-kind of guy. Despite the ominous signs, Rodio actually sees a glimmer of hope in February?s casino gaming numbers.?
Rodio, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey and chief executive officer of the Tropicana Casino and Resort and its parent company, Tropicana Entertainment, said he sees signs that Atlantic City?s casinos are rebounding from the effects of the October storm. Even with three fewer days and weather that negatively impacted feeder markets in Philadelphia and New York, gaming revenue from the city?s 12 gaming halls in February was collectively up $7 million over January.?
?The signs that I?m seeing ... indicated that I think the momentum is moving in the right direction,? Rodio said during an interview from his Tropicana office.?
But as he travels around the country between the eight casinos owned or operated by Tropicana Entertainment, Rodio said he?s amazed to find people who still believe that Atlantic City was devastated by the storm. However, the numbers of those people are beginning to dwindle, he added.?
?I do think we are getting that perception behind us and beginning to see some positive improvement,? he said. ?
A 30-year veteran of the casino industry, Rodio feels business will only increase now that federal disaster assistance funds are beginning to flow and construction to repair or rebuild infrastructures in areas severely impacted by the storm shift into high gear. He said a similar trend was observed in Louisiana and Mississippi in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.?
?There was actually a positive lift as the workers got back to work, and hopefully that?s what we?ll see [in Atlantic City] as we get into spring and summer,? he said.?
The key to Atlantic City?s economic recovery from the storm and the effects of regional competition isn?t to add more casinos or gaming floor space but to increase the number of diverse non-gaming attractions. That will continue to set the city apart from casinos and slot parlors in neighboring states that rely primarily on customers who live close by, the so-called ?convenience? gamblers who once had to travel to Atlantic City to feed the slots or sit down at a table game.?
Tropicana is doing its part by adding several new restaurants, including a branch of Chickie?s & Pete?s, the sports bar chain that?s expected to debut around Memorial Day. ?
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Source: http://www.atlanticcityweekly.com/arts-and-entertainment/Rodio-Optimistic-About-13-200285021.html
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