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FILE – In this May 26, 1978 file photo, New Jersey’s Gov. Brendan Byrne cuts ribbon opening the east’s first gambling casino in Atlantic City. He is surrounded by legislators that voted for the gambling legislation. At the beginning of 2007, Atlantic City’s 11 casinos were at the top of a wave of prosperity. Starting with the 1978 opening of Resorts, America’s first casino outside Nevada, Atlantic City for years was the only place to play slots, cards, dice or roulette in the eastern half of the United States. The cash kept pouring in, the busloads of visitors kept coming and the revenue charts went one way: straight up. And then, they didn’t. Now, battered by competition from casinos all around it, Atlantic City is in a fight for its very survival. (AP Photo, File)
New York Daily News
Atlantic City casino coverage 1978
New York Daily News
Atlantic City casino coverage 1978

(Originally published by the Daily News on May 27, 1978. This story was written by Philip Wechsler.)
ATLANTIC CITY – Brendan Byrne cut the orange ribbon, singer Steve Lawrence was the first to roll the dice (he lost $50), and thousands of people swarmed through the rows of gaming tables and slot machines as the first casino in the nation outside Nevada opened on the boardwalk here yesterday.
Within minutes of the 10 a.m. opening, more than 5,000 people had jammed the football field-size casino in the Resorts International Hotel. By 10:30, security agents had to limit admission, people lined up on the boardwalk and inside the hotel waiting to get to the action.
Watching those who were waiting to bet, Jack Davis, president of Resorts International, leaned over to his boss, James Crosby, the board chairman, and whispered with a big smile. “We’re winners.” Crosby nodded in agreement.
Crosby estimated that between 75,000 and 100,000 people will have passed through the casino in the first full day of operation.
No Bets by Byrne
At the opening ceremony, Byrne, facing a phalanx of television cameras and several hundred reporters, said, “My father told me to bet only on Notre Dame and the Yankees. But for those of you who don’t want to follow the advice of my father, this casino is now open.” He snipped the silk ribbon, but he didn’t place any bets.
Moments later, Lawrence, who is headlining the inaugural show with his wife, Eydie Gorme, slipped a $100 bill out of his pocket and exchanged it for 20 $5 chips for the first play at the craps table.
“I feel very lucky,” said Lawrence, flanked by Byrne and executives of Resorts International. However, after two $25 bets, the house came out the winner.
And the house expects to come out a big winner over the year. Resorts International told the New Jersey Casino Control Commission that it projects winnings of up to $60 million during the first year. And that doesn’t include profits from its 900-room hotel, which is booked solid through Labor Day.
Next year, two more casinos are expected to open on the boardwalk, ending the Resorts International monopoly on gambling here. In all, there are 20 announced casino projects, with a total price tag exceeding $1 billion, and that is expected to transform this aging and decaying resort into a Las Vegas by the sea.
400,000 Weekend Visitors
Over the Memorial Day weekend Atlantic City is expecting upwards of 400,000 visitors, double the normal holiday crowd. However, as of Friday evening traffic was light, but virtually all 12,000 hotel, motel and boarding house rooms should be booked by today, the local Chamber of Commerce said.
Last night, the lines outside the Casino had disappeared, but there still were long lines of people inside waiting to get change for the slot machines. The action at the dice, blackjack and roulette tables remained heavy throughout the night.
In all, the casino has 893 slot machines (which take nickels, quarters and silver dollars) and 82 gaming tables, of dice, blackjack, roulette, big six and baccarat. There is a minimum wager of $2 and $5 at most of the tables. But for the high rollers, several of the blackjack and dice tables have a minimum bet of $25, with a maximum of $8,000.
Only Minor Complaints
Mingling among the gamblers were several dozen plainclothes state police, detectives and gaming investigators. There also were 18 casino commission inspectors, to handle complains. But, according to officials, there were just minor complaints about a few slot machines malfunctioning and some nervousness among a few new dealers.
Resorts hired 500 croupiers and dealers, none of whom had ever worked in a casino before, and put them through an intensive eight-week training course. A major goal of casino gambling was to erase Atlantic City’s 24% unemployment rate.
In 1974, New Jersey voters said “No dice” to casinos, but they changed their minds two years later when they approved it only for Atlantic City.
But then, Resorts International, which began its corporate life in the 1950s as an obscure paint company in Matawan, N.J., purchased the old Chalfonte-Haddon Hall hotel and invested $50 million in refurbishing it and building the casino. Shortly past 9 o’clock Thursday night, the Casino Control Commission issued a certificate of operating to Resorts International.
Copyright © 2024 New York Daily News

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