Atlantic City Casino Has Now Been Converted Into College Dorm

The gambling industry in New Jersey has been in decline this past year and the slump could very well lead into 2015. The online gambling industry and the live casino industry have reported diminishing revenues and gambling establishments have been winding down their New Jersey operations. Betfair and Ultimate Gaming shutdown their online operations, while four brick and mortar casinos in Atlantic City have closed in 2014 and a possible fifth casino could also shutdown before the end of 2014.

New Jersey gambling regulators are desperate to revive the industry and turn the garden state into a gambling paradise that it was known to be. New Jersey authorities want to make full use of the closed casino buildings but have not been very successful in finding vendors who could utilize these establishments. One of the reasons for this is because most gaming companies have added a clause in the contract limiting deed restrictions that prevent new owners from re-opening the purchased properties as casinos. This was done mostly to prevent new competition and ensure the casino buildings will not be used for gambling.

The Richard Stockton College decided that the Showboat Atlantic City casino resort which is owned by Caesars Entertainment Corp would be an ideal acquisition in helping the college to expand and create a new dormitory. The college recently announced that it had successfully completed the acquisition of the casino for $18 million. The casino will be turned into a branch campus and a dormitory. The casino is spread across 28 acres of beachfront property and has a total of 1,329 hotel rooms. The college will convert some of this space into a dormitory and use the rest of it would be used to construct office buildings, auditoriums for dance, music and play acting.

In a statement, CEO Gary Loveman of Caesars Entertainment said

The diversification of activities available in AC stands to benefit all of the city’s stakeholders

The college will mostly look to keep the hotel feel to the new dormitories as it plans to convert the dorms back into hotel rooms and rent it out during the summer months when the students go back home.

New Jersey state officials are happy that the new building will be put to good use and are looking for similar acquisitions that will convert the remaining casino infrastructure into useful establishments that will further benefit the state of New Jersey.