Hard Rock Casino Atlantic City to Offer Private Flight Services
Hard Rock Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey is planning to begin a private flight service beginning July 16th from eight locations, offering round trip travel, overnight accommodations and gambling related discounts for customers. Ultimate Jet Charters will operate the flights with 30 seat aircraft transporting VIP’s from Baltimore, Cincinnati, Farmingdale, Latrobe, Norfolk, Richmond, Scranton and White Plains.
Joe Lupo, president of Hard Rock Atlantic City, said:
“We are confident Hard Rock Air is going to take our VIP guest experience to new heights and offer a convenient, seamless getaway that is unmatched in the market.”
The Hard Rock Atlantic City is one of nine currently operating casinos in the city that has had gambling since 1978.
With the additional competition from the increase in legal gambling throughout the United States, there is no longer as much unique appeal to Atlantic City that it once enjoyed as the east coast version of Las Vegas. The Hard Rock Atlantic City is looking to improve the appeal of the destination to spark renewed growth in its casino industry and is investing over $20 million in upgrades to the facility.
Originally opened as the Trump Taj Mahal, the hotel and casino operated under that name from its opening in 1990 until it closed in October, 2016. The Seminole Tribe of Florida, which owns the Hard Rock International Brand, spearheaded the purchase of the facility and it reopened under its current name on June 27, 2018.
Atlantic City’s Future
Atlantic City’s proximity to New York, Philadelphia, the Washington, D.C. area and the Hampton Roads region of Virginia should make it a popular destination, but it has struggled for many years to keep up with the growth of casino gambling in the United States. Whether it’s due to mismanagement, poor marketing or the lack of other infrastructure in the city, it still appears the ocean front gambling mecca faces a number of challenges.
Legal sports betting was implemented in 2018 and so far has been a huge success and casino based sportsbooks could be a big shot in the arm for Atlantic City. The effect may be mitigated to a certain extent with the retail locations having to compete with mobile sports wagering applications that are available for use within the state of New Jersey.
Virginia recently approved both sports betting as well as casino gambling, so one of the biggest markets for Atlantic City’s casinos will soon be presenting competition for them. There has been tremendous year over year growth in revenues at many casinos, but that’s a bit misleading since it’s coming off Covid-19 reduced 2020 gambling figures.
The question is whether flying in high rollers from cities in the region to one of nine casinos can have a big enough impact on the overall strength of the casino industry to bolster Atlantic City’s viability as a gambling destination. Beginning July 16th we may have an answer to that question as casino and sports gambling continues to grow in the rest of the United States.
