Another Casino to Close in Atlantic City

The year began with 12 casinos operating on the Atlantic City boardwalk. By the end of the year, there will be only seven.

The Trump Taj Mahal is the latest New Jersey casino to announce a shutdown, with the closing date expected sometime in November. Bankruptcy papers are already being processed and Trump Taj Mahal employees are expected to receive official layoff notices as early as this week, CBS Philly reported.

The Atlantic Club was the first casino closing of 2014 back in January after a bankruptcy auction the previous month. The Revel and Showboat casinos shut their doors two days apart over the Labor Day holiday last weekend. The closing of Trump Plaza is only about one week away on Sept. 16.

Revenues have been declining in Atlantic City's gaming industry since reaching a peak of $5.2 billion in 2006. Casino expansion in neighboring states is the culprit, decimating a once proud and burgeoning casino enclave on the Eastern Seaboard.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has scheduled a summit for Monday, Sept. 8, at which officials from all levels of government in collaboration with casino executives will discuss ways to stop the bleeding. That bleeding includes former Atlantic City casino workers numbering five digits being forced into the ranks of the unemployed.

Christie signed his name to online poker and gambling legislation in 2013 in hopes of offsetting revenue losses at Garden State casinos and revitalizing the industry. That igaming revenue, a collective $10 million in the month of July, certainly helps. But there is no legislation that can stop casino expansion in nearby Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York.