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Investors Looking for Clues to End Casino Woes in Atlantic City

Investors will be looking Thursday morning into clues that will determine whether the New Jersey state government is on the way to resolving the budget impasse that was responsible for the closure of 12 casinos in Atlantic City.

The shutdown has affected the shares of casinos nationwide in the stock market, affecting Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. the most, which owns three Atlantic City casinos. Trump shares fell 3.8 percent to $19.50 on the first day of the shutdown.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc., which has four of its 39 casinos in Atlantic City, fell about 1 percent on the stock market. Boyd Gaming Corp. and MGM Mirage, which jointly operate the Borgata, each fell between 1 percent and 1.5 percent.

Meanwhile, Aztar Corp., which obtains 54 percent of its revenue from the Atlantic City Tropicana, fell less than 1 percent Wednesday.

The casino industry in Atlantic City casinos may possibly lose more than $20 million a day in gambling revenue, according to an industry executive.

The indecision over the state budget of New Jersey translated into the state government withdrawing nonessential government services which includes the state appointed gambling inspectors that monitor the casino operations. Casinos cannot be allowed under state laws to continue operations without such figures.

The closure was ordered at 8 a.m. Wednesday.