ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The troubled Atlantis Casino Hotel closed the doors on its casino forever early Monday, becoming the first gaming hall to fail in 11 years of legalized gambling in New Jersey.
The casino was shut down at 4 a.m. EDT by an order of the state Casino Control Commission, which last month denied the Atlantis a license renewal because of its deteriorating financial situation.
'We are all a little bit numb, because we have been up for a long time to make sure the closure went smoothly,' said Bruce McKee, vice president of finance at the Atlantis.
'General morale is low,' McKee said. 'It's a bit of a depressing sight to look at the casino this morning and see it entirely empty.'
But the shutdown was completed with 'no hitches whatsoever,' McKee said.
Frederic Gushin, an assistant attorney general with the Division of Gaming Enforcement who supervised the termination of gaming operations, agreed with McKee's assessment and credited Atlantis employees with handling a difficult job competently.
'We started closing down some of the casino pits and slot machine zones at 10 p.m. (Sunday), so by the time 4 a.m. came around, there were just a couple tables and a couple of hundred slot machines open,' Gushin said.
'People were upset and sad, but they acted very professional and they closed it in a very competent manner,' Gushin said.
The Atlantis, owned by Elsinore Corp. of Las Vegas, plans to keep the hotel portion of the 22-story Boardwalk facility in operation. Elsinore is trying to sell the Atlantis to rival casino owner Donald Trump, whose $63 million sales contract calls for the hotel to be open upon consummation of the sale.
The Trump deal will be the subject of a Casino Control Commission hearing tentatively scheduled for Friday.
Joseph Nolan, the Atlantis's commission-appointed conservator, wants the deal canceled so he can seek higher bids for the property.
The Atlantis had been the industry's loss leader since it opened as the Playboy Casino Hotel in 1981. It sought bankruptcy court protection in November 1985 and emerged from Chapter 11 in September.
Officials said it could take a couple of weeks to completely dismantle the three-level casino at the Atlantis.
While the first order of business was to account for all the chips and money on the casino floors, officials said it would take more time to inventory all the equipment, seal the machines and make sure all the cards and dice are stored properly.
A job fair was scheduled for Tuesday at the Atlantis to help some of the 1,100 displaced employees find new jobs. In addition to personnel representatives from other Atlantic City casinos, the state Department of Labor will be on hand to help with employment services.
