Economics
The politics of it all
Apparently, Atlantic City NJ is going from 12 casinos to 8 casinos by the end of 2014. When Donald Trump starts closing down his businesses, you know something can't be right. What's going on? What happened to the economic revival and shovel ready jobs that Obama promised us? Hey Harry Reid, you should get out of the game before the collapse of Las Vegas is on your hands. In the bigger picture, "Obamas Economy" has become an obvious cancer on the body that is the Congressional Democrats (and some Republicans). Come 2016, most Americans better have got their eyes open and th eir heads out of the sand because we as a nation cannot survive 8 years (because the next POTUS will be a 2 term one) of this economic depression and societal oppression.
I've been wondering how many people caught this scary trend. I don't know who else has publicly said it, but I'll say it here and maybe I'm the first to say it. I believe that Atlantic City NJ will end up like Chicago by 2018. What does that mean? Well the city will effectively see the majority of it's tax base leave for states like South Carolina, Texas and Tennessee. The remaining residents will be the poverty stricken and city employees who think that their Union will save their jobs and livelihoods. Crime will sky rocket and then more businesses and people will leave. I really don't have the heart to continue this paragraph but please, we don't need another Rahm Emmanuel authoritarian utopia.
I came across an article about a Connecticut casino, Foxwoods. Foxwoods Article
From the second paragraph:
"The Mashantucket Pequot (mash-ehn-TUHK'-eht PEE'-kwaht) Tribal Nation has reportedly been selling off land near its reservation in southeastern Connecticut. And in a report this week, credit rating agency Standard & Poor's lowered its rating for the tribe and said the chances of a debt default appear to be growing."
It's one thing when a government (state local or federal) is so deeply in debt that recovery is likely not a reality, but when a private business is in this situation, the only salvation possible is either a gov't bailout or being bought out by another company or an investment group. Unfortunately, nobody is investing their money and resources in an industry that only thrives when economies are booming and when there is a strong middle class. Governments are too big to fail unless the populace takes action to completely reform and rebuild their government. Employees can picket, protest, and plead all they want, if you work for a Casino, you should start looking for other employment before 2016.
More than just blackjack and video poker
It's not just casinos that are going to be negatively impacted. Remember the domino effect? What about the gas stations and convenience stores that sell to tourists and travelers who are going to the casinos? What about the coach bus companies that millions of Americans use to get to and from the casino? There are more than just game tables and slot machines at casinos. There are restaurants, shops and even arenas. I've been to Mohegan Sun twice and I loved it; I can't imagine what CT would look like if both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun closed down.
I would like to know if the number of employees that are going to get let go are the total number of people who work at the casino, or just the people who are employed by the casino. In Atlantic City NJ, 5,000 people lost their jobs when the Showboat Casino and Revel closed this (or last) week. Are those 5,000 employees of the casinos, or are they employees of the casinos and the franchised businesses that are located in the casino? Casinos are like shopping malls. Someone owns the building and leases spots (or whatever you'd call it) to franchises and other retailers. If the people who own the building run out of money and need to close down the building, that means all the businesses that are in the facility will need to relocate and there is a possibility that many business will not relocate at all.
Local Impact
When any major business closes down, it usually results in a portion of the local population leaving for work. Maybe that only applies in failing states like Connecticut and New Jersey that are deeply in debt, over tax their residents and have little to offer anyone who wants to live the American Dream. You've heard about the old Gold Rush ghost towns right? Once all the gold has been panned, people move out in search of a new location. An entire town, built only because of the discovery of a massive amount of gold in the ground. There are many towns in America that are thriving today thanks to a local military base. Parts of North Dakota are booming because of the discovery of natural gas pockets. If you have about 30 minutes, I want you to look into the economic boom in Williston ND that is grossly under reported by the Media. I may live in the NW corner of CT, but I know that many residents of NJ are scared and worried because of the casino closures in Atlantic City. Again, domino effect.
The future of Casino Cities
If the American economy stays its course, you will see 8 casinos turn to 6 casinos and then 6 casinos turn to 3 casinos. You will see a population of 10,000 turn to 7,000 and then from 7,000 to 4,000. City spending will not really decrease but tax revenue will go down exponentially. In due time, Chicago will just be one of those many failed cities in America on some website top 10 worst places lists.
Thanks for reading.
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