Atlantic City as the new Detroit

Atlantic City – the city that used to be the second gambling capital after Las Vegas, is on the edge of repeating the history of Detroit.

Four of the 12 casinos have shut down in the city this year. The fifth – Taj Mahal, is to be closed Dec 12. The only chance for the establishment to survive is if the debt-holder, Carl Icahn the New York-based millionaire will reach a cost-cutting deal with the union that represents a third of it's 3000 workers.

One of the oldest casino employers in the city, Jane Gallagher, who has worked as a waitress in the city casinos. She gave up a nursing career 33 years ago to become a buffet beverage servant at the new at the time Tropicana Casino and Resort. She used to get about $200 tip on a good day and said: “Where else can you have such a blast and make so much money? ”

Now she has to look at her friends losing jobs and her hometown sinking is economical crisis.

About 8,000 casino workers are already out of work. Others' hours have been cut as the casinos that are still working are trying to struggle through the crisis while gaming revenues decrease dramatically in half from $5,2 billion in 2006.

Unemployment is growing, as new casinos are opening in new locations in New York and Pennsylvania.

Others, like Gallagher, have seen their hours drastically cut by still-open casinos that have been in a struggle for survival as gaming revenues have dropped in half from their 2006 peak of $5.2 billion.

“Atlantic City has always been happy having just one road come into town, whether it was gaming or, before that, conventions or, before that, alcohol during the Prohibition era or, before that, when it was just a big hotel for tourists,” says Mayor Don Guardian, widely seen as the best hope this city has seen in decades.

“We’ve got to start seeing ourselves as a 40-lane highway.” - says state governor Chris Chrisite