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Hilton Wagers $1 Billion on a Larger Atlantic City Casino

In the 1980's, the guiding principle for the small Claridge Casino establishment was smaller is friendlier, but having a small establishment was also inviting trouble. Now the Claridge Casino is gone, bumped out by the massive gambling establishments surrounding it.

On April 19, 2007, taking that lesson to heart, the smallest gambling casino in Atlantic City is currently planning a $1 Billion expansion plan, which will enable the casino to compete with its rivals effectively.

The casino in question, the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort Establishment, is planning to construct 1,000 hotel rooms and widen their gambling area to about 120,000 sq ft as well as construct new retail shops, restaurants and a theater which can seat 3,500 people.

They will also make a parking area which can host about 3,000 cars. The regional president of the Hilton Casino and their sister casino, the Resorts Atlantic City commented that as they view the Atlantic City market and the competition that is facing them coming from Pennsylvania and New York, it is in their best interest to remodel their casino to attract more customers.

Rodio commented that Hilton's parent company has not given their final approval for the remodeling and widening plans. The Hilton Casino is managed by the Resorts International Holdings, which is under the Colony Capital LLC. The real estate organization also owns the Resorts Atlantic City and some casinos located in Mississippi and Indiana.

Assuming that the Colony Capital gives their nod of a approval, it could mean a wait of 9 months to a year before the main construction of the casino begins. The last major remodeling project of the Hilton Casino came about 10 years ago when they constructed an additional 300 rooms. Currently, the Hilton Casino has 806 rooms.

Their average customer occupancy rate was around 96.4%, the largest occupancy rate in Atlantic City's 11 casino establishments. Last year was an outstanding year for the Hilton Casino, which saw its gross revenues jump to about 79% or an equivalent to about $51.8 million.

Aside from the Hilton Casino, there are 2 brand new casinos, which are near the Hilton and currently in the later stages of planning.

 

06/28/2007 22:14 PM
Richard Kennedy