A lot of Atlantic City casinos are in deep financial doo-doo. Some will probably not survive this recession.

Yesterday, the Casino Control Commission gave Resorts a two-week reprieve on foreclosure. The casino hasn’t made a mortgage payment since October, and the lender wants to take over. Casino management is arguing that the lender doesn’t have a license to run a gaming hall. Meanwhile, despite the run-down appearance of the 31-year-old casino and Civil War era hotel, Resorts remains one of the best bargains in town. Their comps and cashback are good for video-poker players, while other properties are reducing theirs to almost nothing. Room rates are cheap, and the new Rendezvous Tower is nice. Even the old Ocean Tower rooms have a retro charm.

The three Trump properties declared bankruptcy this week – for the third time. Of course the dealmeister Donald managed to keep his personal wealth out of the proceedings. It’s his creditors who will suffer. All three properties are like ghost towns, and they’ve cut back on promotions to keep the players away.

Vegas casino magnate Carl Icahn has emerged as the prime bidder for the Tropicana, that has been in receivership since the Casino Control Commission yanked its license more than a year ago. If he wins, that doesn’t bode well for remaining casino employees at the Trop. Icahn took over the Sands, ran it for a while, and then flipped it to Pinnacle Entertainment, which promptly shut it down and imploded it.

We’ll wait for the numbers to come in, but the Presidents Day weekend looked like a disappointment to me. Saturday was pretty crowded, but not the major traffic jams you usually see on a holiday weekend. All casino hotel rooms were sold out for Saturday night, which was also Valentine’s Day. But I went to Resorts and the Hilton on Sunday, and both were more like a normal weekday in good times. Monday afternoon, I saw no traffic tie-ups on the outbound Atlantic City Expressway. I remember when it was tough to find a parking space in Atlantic City on Presidents Day itself, so this is not a good sign.

But spring is coming, and hopefully the crowds will come back with the warm weather.

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