by Tom Bastek
Last updated: 2:30 PM ET, Mon June 1, 2015
Photo Courtesy of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority.
Wall Street analysts gave a whole ballroom full of casino management professionals more bad news this past week at the East Coast Gaming Congress, saying they expect more casinos to close down.
Press of Atlantic City reported the bad news last week.
"I predict that more will go and I think that's a good and healthy thing," said Adam Rosenberg, managing director at the investment firm Fortress Investment Group.
With rumors of another Philadelphia Casino coming and the possibility of a Meadowlands racino coming in the next few years, Atlantic City's future may not look so bright. Gaming revenue in the city has nearly halved since 2006 when it peaked at $5.2 billion.
"If we do see a continued contraction in revenue I'm not sure they'll be able to cover their costs," Edward King, managing director at Morgan Stanley said. "I can't say which ones are going to close."
This isn't necessarily new news for Atlantic City, as Deutsche Bank had predicted a Resorts Casino Hotel and Trump Taj Mahal closure in the next few years.
POAC reported that, "After Thursday's Wall Street Panel, John Maxwell, a debt analyst for Jefferies, said those properties 'have strong equity partners' in Morris Bailey, who majority-owns Resorts and Carl Icahn, who's taking control of the bankrupt Taj."
Icahn however, doesn't mind sitting on a shuttered property as he has with the Fontainebleau project in Las Vegas since 2010. The building, which is estimated to cost $1.5 billion to finish, was stopped at the 70 percent completion point in 2007. It is one of the largest buildings in Las Vegas with over 3,800 rooms, and there are currently no additional details as to when (if ever) the building will open.
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