Next month, the two-year-old Revel Casino will shut down. VIGELAND: Well, it did last longer than a year, but not by much. WOINSKI: I think five minutes after I walked into the place, I said, I don't give this place a year.
VIGELAND: And he had to go up a series of escalators just to find the 130,000-square-foot casino. There were empty spaces that tables or chairs or couches looked like they were just thrown there just to take up space. WOINSKI: I couldn't find my way around there. VIGELAND: He says it feels cold and sterile inside, and the layout is just confusing. WOINSKI: It's a much more striking property - the problem is then, then you go inside, and that's when things start to fall apart. VIGELAND: Alan Woinski is the president of the consulting group Gaming USA, in Paramus, New Jersey. The most recent solution - a $2.4 billion resort and casino built along 20 acres of beachfront property. Gaming revenue has dropped steadily over the years so the city has tried to reinvent itself. Well, the chips are down for the place that was once the high-stakes playground for the entire eastern seaboard. Picture Atlantic City, and you probably see the boardwalk, classic casinos, the Miss America pageant, maybe even saltwater taffy, which was invented there. If you're just joining us, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR West.
