“Hopefully, I’m a winner today,” Hammond said, “go home a millionaire.”Īlthough the openings are a boon to Atlantic City’s tourism industry, many small businesses across the city are hoping the good fortune will trickle down to them.

He said he liked what the new owners have done with the building, but he was heading up the Boardwalk to check out the new Ocean Resort Casino as well. “The beauty of what we’re experiencing right now is something that, three or four years ago, we weren’t even in the running ,” said Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam.Ĭrowds packed into the casinos Thursday morning after a quiet opening the night before, eager for front-row seats to the ceremonies and ready to test out the new games of chance at each property.ĭerrell Hammond of Sicklerville, New Jersey, left the Hard Rock winless. Ocean Resort Casino brought thousands of jobs back to the city, too. “We’re paving the way for other Native Americans to do the same thing.”Īccording to company officials, Hard Rock spent more than $500 million to renovate the property and now employs about 3,900 workers there.

“This is something that no tribe has ever done before,” he said of the opening of the new Hard Rock Casino in Atlantic City. “This is a step in history for us,” said Marcellus Osceola, chairman of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which bought Hard Rock International‘s chain of casinos, cafes, and hotels in 2006. The Hard Rock will open in what used to be the Trump Taj Mahal, which closed down in 2016 after a bitter dispute with workers. The Ocean Resort Casino is located in the building that formerly held the failed Revel casino. The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and the Ocean Resort Casino both hosted festivities Thursday to officially open their doors to gamblers and hotel guests. “We believe this project will create a new renaissance in the future, the expansion, the excitement of Atlantic City, going back to being one of the great entertainment cities in the United States,” said Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International.

A few years ago, five Atlantic City casinos closed down, thousands of people lost their jobs, and the state took over the city’s finances.īut on Thursday, city officials and business leaders were hailing what they called a bright spot in Atlantic City’s recovery: the grand opening of two new casinos on the same day.

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