Atlantic City is hurting. I was in the Taj Mahal last night, and the place was practically empty. I know it’s a week night in the winter, but it was eerie.

Revel, which is building a fancy new casino just north of the Showboat, announced yesterday it is laying off 400 construction workers. No, they’re not abandoning the project, just slowing it down. They’ll continue to work on the exterior, but interior work was placed on hold. But if you’ve been in the area lately, you can see the project is coming along nicely and will be a class operation when it finally opens.

The Hilton reportedly laid off all or most of its hosts. They also shut their Destination Club booth, meaning people have to go to the casino cage to get a players card. The cashiers really don’t know what they’re doing in that deparmtment, so getting anything more than basic service will be difficult.

Sister property Resorts hasn’t made a mortgage payment since October, and the lender is asking to foreclose on the property. No one’s sure if they would run it (which would require a license from the Casino Control Commission) or close it.

Better times will come. But it will be interesting to see who’s left standing by time the recession ends.

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