Atlantic County Economic Alliance Says Conventions Key to Atlantic City’s Future

A report from the Atlantic County Economic Alliance (ACEA) identifies five key pressures facing the future of Atlantic City and the nine casino resorts that drive the local economy.  

The ACEA, a nonprofit economic development corporation established in 2017 for business attraction, retention, and marketing efforts in Atlantic County, has released the Greater Atlantic City Casino-Hotel Employment Exposure. The 70-page analysis concludes that more than 8,000 jobs in Atlantic County are at risk if the city’s brick-and-mortar casinos continue to see declining profits.

Atlantic City casino employment is at a nine-year low, with the nine resorts directly employing 21,172 full- and part-time workers as of April 2026. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the same nine resorts had almost 30,000 people on payroll. Inflation since then has contributed to higher overhead and labor costs.

The ACEA says gamblers’ continued shift to online platforms (iGaming revenue in New Jersey is now exceeding in-person casino revenue in Atlantic City), three casinos coming to New York City, New Jersey’s consideration of casinos at the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park racetracks, and a possible recession threaten the state’s Casino Revenue Fund and thousands of jobs in Southern New Jersey.

“History has taught us that Atlantic City is resilient and can absorb one shock at a time. But the region cannot absorb five monumental challenges stacking on top of each other unless we develop a plan,” Slusher said.

Convention and Non-Gaming Hospitality

The ACEA is recommending that Atlantic City, with help from the state, strengthen its convention and non-gaming tourism product. The ACEA also advises investing in improvements and beautification throughout Atlantic City.

The goal, according to the ACEA, is to make casino gambling one attraction among many, rather than the sole foundation of the destination.

The alliance suggests that casinos be incentivized to reinvest in their gaming floors, convention spaces, and hotel rooms through the existing Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA).

The CRDA is a state agency that facilitates economic and community development in Atlantic City. The agency collects 1.25% of each casino’s brick-and-mortar gross gaming and sports betting revenue, and 2.5% of iGaming.

Convention Lifeline

The ACEA study concludes that investing in the convention sector is a sound bet, as meetings are the only major segment of the Atlantic City casino economy that is growing. The economic organization also says the convention market would be the main channel for absorbing casino jobs.

“If thousands of casino-hotel jobs are put at risk, the next practical question is: where can workers go? The honest answer is that not all of them have an obvious place to land. The strongest local absorption channel is the convention and meetings market inside and around the Atlantic City casino hotels,” the ACEA reported.

“Convention and meeting work is still physical, local work. Banquet servers, culinary staff, room attendants, audio-visual technicians, transportation workers, and front-of-house staff can move into convention and meeting work more readily than into online gaming platform jobs,” the study added.

If New Jersey voters support casinos outside Atlantic City through a statewide ballot referendum, the Meadowlands is the front-runner to become a gaming resort. The ACEA says a Meadowlands casino would compete for Atlantic City’s conventions; therefore, modernizing exhibit halls and large-scale event spaces in Atlantic City would be a prudent investment.