An excessive amount of Atlantic in Atlantic Metropolis: Seashore erosion has casinos desperately looking for sand by summer time

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The ocean and seashores have all the time been part of Atlantic Metropolis’s identification: from salt water taffy to Miss America bathing beauties to the title of the place itself, the town has been marketed as a spot to have enjoyable by the ocean.

However there’s a little an excessive amount of Atlantic in Atlantic Metropolis this 12 months because the essential summer time season approaches. Weeks of winter storms have badly eroded seashores within the northern part of city, leaving little if any sand on which to play throughout all however the lowest tides.

Executives with the three northernmost casinos: the Ocean On line casino Resort, Resorts and Laborious Rock, are urgent the federal and state governments to expedite a seashore replenishment venture that was imagined to have been finished final 12 months.

However beneath the present best-case situation, new sand will not be hitting the seashores till late summer time, in line with the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers, the company that oversees such initiatives.

And that has the casinos involved about not having an important ingredient of their tourism enchantment. Atlantic Metropolis has lengthy stated its seashores set it other than the plentiful playing choices elsewhere within the area and the nation. With out them, it could possibly be a tougher promote in attracting vacationers and gamblers.

“One of many highlights of coming to Atlantic Metropolis has all the time been the seashores and the Boardwalk,” stated Mike Sampson, basic supervisor of the Laborious Rock on line casino. “It is going to be a problem.”

Laborious Rock misplaced its widespread seashore bar to repeated winter storms.

“It was completely destroyed,” Sampson stated. “Components of it washed out to sea; particles remained on the seashore and needed to be disposed of.”

He stated Laborious Rock is hopeful it could nonetheless hire out seashore cabanas and umbrellas this summer time, albeit on a smaller seashore.

Sampson stated that “until somebody can intervene, it is in all probability going to be a post-summer fill.”

Something that may make individuals much less prone to come to Atlantic Metropolis is dangerous information for the playing resort, which nonetheless has not recovered from the COVID-19 outbreak. Solely three of the 9 casinos are profitable extra money from in-person gamblers than they did in 2019 earlier than the pandemic hit.

And whereas web playing and sports activities betting has added new income streams to the equation, that cash have to be shared with companions similar to tech platforms and sports activities books, and isn’t solely for the casinos to maintain. That’s the reason the casinos take into account cash gained from in-person gamblers to be their core enterprise — and why they want usable seashores.

Final summer time, the Ocean On line casino spent $600,000 to truck in and dump sand on its seashore, which was not in as dangerous a form as it’s this 12 months.

“How do you run a seashore resort with out a seashore?” requested Invoice Callahan, Ocean’s basic supervisor. “It is a powerful capsule to swallow.”

And an costly one: that sand shortly washed away, and even much less is left there now. At excessive tide, the ocean waves lap up towards the dune, which itself is badly eroded.

“By the top of summer time, all that sand was gone,” stated Ian Jerome, venture director for Ocean’s effort final 12 months. “That isn’t a sustainable choice.”

Of the dozen seashore entrances spanning the three casinos, solely two are accessible, he stated. The remaining simply dead-end in mid-air, with treacherous drop-offs that would trigger severe damage — or worse — ought to anybody fall from them.

Atlantic Metropolis final acquired seashore replenishment in 2020, and was due for added sand final summer time. However Congress didn’t approve funding for the venture then.

This 12 months, $25 million in federal funding is on the market towards the $30 million price, of which the state pays a smaller share.

However the authorities contracting course of doesn’t lend itself to fast fixes. Stephen Rochette, a spokesman for the Military Corps, stated a contract for the work might be put out to bid in April or Could, with the work beginning “someday this summer time or within the fall.”

He stated the company is conscious of the tendency of Atlantic Metropolis’s northern seashores to erode at a extra fast charge than different ones, and is learning the state of affairs to see if any engineering enhancements may be added to the eventual venture design.

Mark Giannantonio, president of Resorts on line casino and of the On line casino Affiliation of New Jersey, stated the casinos need a minimum of a few of the venture to be carried out in early summer time — what he referred to as a doable “beach-lite” choice.

“Everybody realizes the significance of getting this sand,” he stated. “The sense of urgency is actual.”

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Observe Wayne Parry on X, previously Twitter, at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC