More Northeast casinos, more Atlantic City closures

[Monsieur G]

ATLANTIC CITY — A Wall Street firm predicts a new wave of casino expansion in the Northeastern U.S. will lead to more casino closings in Atlantic City.

Moody's Investors Service said in a report Monday it expects the eight new casinos, altogether worth $5 billion, that will be opening in the region over the next three years will further stress business in Atlantic City, where four of the 12 gambling halls went out of business in 2014. The closings were due in large part to ever-increasing competition in the region.

Moody's did not predict how many will go belly-up, but said the Trump Taj Mahal, Caesars and Bally's "are already on the brink." Each is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

"As the number of casinos shrinks, some of the remaining casinos have seen revenues increase," Moody's wrote. "But we expect increased competition will keep the heat on incumbents, and that number of casinos in Atlantic City will likely continue to shrink. We expect more casino closures to occur in Atlantic City as some struggle to grow their business and face additional competition."

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