Harrah’s Atlantic City will become the fourth New Jersey casino to turn 40 years old, when it celebrates its 40th year of operation next year.
The mature gambling industry in the Garden State has been shaken up in recent years by the advent of online casinos, but Harrah’s is still going strong, and has plans for renovations to an existing tower.
A recent Caesars Entertainment press release stated they would be doling out $24 million for the newly rebranded Laguna Tower.
A smaller version of the Harrah’s property opened on November 22, in 1980.
Ron Baumann, who is the regional president for Caesars Entertainment Atlantic City, oversees the three Atlantic City casinos of Harrah’s, Caesars, and Bally’s.
“We are thrilled to introduce our new Laguna Tower to our guests in 2020, which will complete over $86 million in upgrades to our rooms and suites within the last three years,” he said.
“With live entertainment, world-class restaurants, sports betting, exciting nightlife venues like The Pool After Dark, along with the East Coast’s preeminent conference center, Harrah’s truly offers something for everyone – whether staying for work or play.”
Adding in this upgrade Caesars Entertainment has invested almost $300 million into their properties in Atlantic City in the last four years.
Not the Only Member of the 40 Club
Harrah’s Atlantic City is the newest member of the 40-club in Atlantic City, but they were not the first. Resorts Casino is the oldest Atlantic City casino property, as they opened their doors for business in 1978. The flagship Caesars Atlantic City celebrated their 40th birthday in June and Bally’ turned 40 this December.
While the casinos mentioned above are the oldest in Atlantic City they are not the most profitable, as Borgata has that title. Not only do they lead the market, but they have done so by a pretty wide margin. They have a year-to-date gaming revenue of $731.3 million according to the latest figures by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. Harrah’s in the middle of the pack with a year-to-date figure of $287 million.
Overall, the year-to-date gaming revenue for the nine casinos in Atlantic City is $3.02 billion, which is a 15.7% increase from 2018.
Harrah’s Keeps on Improving
In the last four decades Harrah’s Atlantic City has seen major improvements. It was the first of three casinos that opened in the Marina District of Atlantic City Joining the Trump Marina, which is now the Golden Nugget, and the Borgata. 40 years back there was only one tower and had just over 500 rooms.
Harrah’s also did not open their doors with 160,000 square feet of casino floor space for their customers. The enhancement of the Laguna Tower is the newest of the improvement and expansion projects that Harrah’s has gone through.
- In 2018 there was a $56 million renovation, for hotel rooms and suites, in the Coastal Tower.
- In 2015 the $125 million Waterfront Conference Center opened and that is where the home of the East Coast Gaming Congress is.
- In spring of 2019 the Book at Harrah’s started to take wagers and the $11 million investment also included The Book at Bally’s.
- In 2018 Gordon Ramsay Steak opened.
The gambling market in Atlantic City has gone through some tough times over the last 40 years but Harrah’s has survived. 2020 is going to be an interesting year for Harrah’s as well as their owner in Caesars Entertainment, who will be merging with Eldorado in the early part of the new year.