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National Geographic : 1981 Nov
Contents
outside Nevada. Resorts International, the first casino, bought the Chalfonte-Haddon Hall on the Boardwalk, refurbished it, and in May 1978 opened to long lines. The casino is a cavern of crimson and chrome kitsch that covers 60,000 square feet. One Friday night I stood at the rail overlooking the gaming tables. They were jammed with players, but I had my eye on a pretty woman with shoulder-length dark hair. She headed straight for one of the 1,650 slot machines that stood in regimental rows. And within a few minutes, a few minor payoffs notwithstanding, I saw her turn away in disappointment. "I've never gambled before, and I guess I should have quit when I was ahead," she said, when I asked her how she felt. "But winning makes you want to play more. And losing makes you want to get your money back." An astute woman, my wife. Atlantic City could become the Las Vegas of the East. Eight casinos are already thriv ing. A dozen others are in the works. As of June, the state had collected more than 149 million dollars in taxes from gross winnings of 1.54 billion dollars. The prosperity, so far, is confined to the Boardwalk casinos. Atlantic City itself, which has been declining for more than a quarter of a century, is still hurting. Inflated prices are driving out long-term residents, many of whom are old, black, or Hispanic. The Reverend Dante L. Girolami, pastor and prior of St. Nicholas of Tolentine Ro man Catholic Church on Pacific Avenue, said, "This used to be a thriving parish. In Atlantic City's heyday, there were 11 Masses on Sunday. Today we are down to 180 parishioners, most of them over 65." The high-paying jobs at the casinos are luring nurses and schoolteachers, skilled and unskilled Atlantic City residents out of productive jobs and into the gaming rooms. "I lost my housekeeper of nine years to the hatcheck room at Harrah's," Father Giro lami lamented. Others fear a more sinister influence. "Or ganized crime is definitely involved," said Joseph H. Rodriguez, former chairman of the New Jersey State Commission of Inves tigation. "I just hope Atlantic City doesn't become the government of the state. Right now we're blinded by the balance sheet." The explosive growth of Atlantic City has sent shock waves into the Pine Barrens, New Jersey:A State of Surprise 579
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