$2bn Atlantic City casino plan under threat
28th February, 2008
Las Vegas-based gaming operator Pinnacle Entertainment has confirmed that current market conditions are forcing it to reconsider the viability of its planned $2 billion (£1 billion) casino in Atlantic City.
The firm purchased the Sands Casino Hotel in America's Playground and demolished it last October, intending to pave the way for a massive new casino-hotel resort on the boardwalk.
Citing concerns about the difficulty of securing credit under current economic conditions, however, Pinnacle chairman Daniel Lee acknowledged that the future of the project now looked uncertain.
"I've been asked, 'How the hell are you going to build in Atlantic City?'" he said in an interview with the Associated Press. "The answer is if credit markets don't improve, we won't build. We're not going to go broke building in Atlantic City."
He added: "The credit market is essentially closed. We have competitors with half-built buildings that they can't finish."
The latest revenue figures out of Atlantic City also show that the one-time casino gambling mecca appears to be losing its reputation as an east-coast rival to Las Vegas, with takings falling ten per cent in 2007.
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