{"id":8203,"date":"2014-10-25T16:04:47","date_gmt":"2014-10-25T16:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2014\/10\/25\/loveman-touts-meeting-center-mum-on-casino-closings\/"},"modified":"2014-10-25T16:04:47","modified_gmt":"2014-10-25T16:04:47","slug":"loveman-touts-meeting-center-mum-on-casino-closings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2014\/10\/25\/loveman-touts-meeting-center-mum-on-casino-closings\/","title":{"rendered":"Loveman touts meeting center, mum on casino closings"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"\"
\n\tGary Loveman, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, signs a ceremonial beam at the construction site of Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014, in Atlantic City, N.J. during a topping off ceremony. It is due to open next summer to help Atlantic City increase its 1 percent share of the northeast meetings market. (AP Photo\/The Press of Atlantic City, Vernon Ogrodnek)<\/span><\/p>\n

\tBy WAYNE PARRY
\n\tTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS
\n\tATLANTIC CITY \u2014 The CEO of Caesars Entertainment said Wednesday a new $125 million meeting center his company is building will help define Atlantic City\u2019s future, even as he pointedly refused to say whether his company is done closing casinos there.<\/p>\n

\tGary Loveman said the center next to Harrah\u2019s Resort Atlantic City will be ready by next summer and should help Atlantic City expand its minuscule 1 percent share of the $16 billion northeast business meetings market.
\n\t\"\"
\n\tConstruction continues on the site of Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014, in Atlantic City, N.J. It is due to open next summer to help Atlantic City increase its 1 percent share of the northeast meetings market. (AP Photo\/The Press of Atlantic City, Vernon Ogrodnek)<\/span><\/p>\n

\tBut he also would not say whether his debt-laden company is considering closing any more of the three casinos it still owns here. Caesars closed the Showboat on Aug. 31, and after a topping-off ceremony Wednesday for the steel skeleton of the meeting center, Loveman seemed to put Bally\u2019s on notice.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe challenge in Atlantic City is not simply revenue but cost,\u201d he said. \u201cGiven the balance of revenue we enjoy at Bally\u2019s, we need to make money there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAsked whether his debt-laden company is finished closing casinos in Atlantic City in the next one to five years, Loveman would only say, \u201cI can\u2019t comment on something that might happen in one to five years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tHe added a large part of his company\u2019s future plans for Atlantic City will await the recommendations of a study commission Gov. Chris Christie empaneled last month to consider the resort\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cFor the time being, we\u2019ll wait and see,\u201d Loveman said.<\/p>\n

\tIn a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the casino company said last week that it has reached out to some of its creditors \u2014 namely bank lenders \u2014 to find ways to ease pressure on its $24.2 billion debt. Many analysts believe a bankruptcy filing is likely.<\/p>\n

\tLoveman also heartily endorsed New Jersey\u2019s efforts to offer legal sports betting. A judge is expected to decide this week whether the state\u2019s latest effort \u2014 scheduled to start Sunday at a Jersey shore horse racing track \u2014 should be allowed to proceed. The major sports leagues want a court to block it, saying it still violates federal law.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI\u2019m always interested in sports betting,\u201d Loveman said. \u201cAmericans over 21 ought to be able to bet on sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tLoveman said the investment his company is making in the meeting center shows its faith in the next iteration of Atlantic City.<\/p>\n

\tThe center is designed to complement \u2014 not compete with \u2014 the existing Atlantic City Convention Center, which Loveman said is more suited to industry trade shows and exhibitions. His new center should appeal to Fortune 500 companies planning business meetings. Rick Mazer, general manager of Harrah\u2019s, next to which the center is being built, said the new structure has already booked $6 million worth of meetings, with another $8 million pending.<\/p>\n

\tLoveman acknowledged the very real pain Atlantic City\u2019s transformation is causing; so far this year, four of its 12 casinos have closed, and the Taj Mahal could become the fifth next month.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBut we are playing for what comes from it: a vibrant, appealing market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Gary Loveman, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, signs a ceremonial beam at the construction site of Harrah’s Waterfront Conference Center, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2014, in Atlantic City, N.J. during a topping off ceremony. It is due to open next summer to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-casino-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8203\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}