-- Posted Sunday, 18 March 2007 | Digg This Article
| Source: GoldSeek.com
Rick’s Picks
Monday, March 19, 2007
“Phenomenally accurate forecasts”
Are Atlantic City’s casino headed for hard times? That’s the story I get from a childhood friend of mine who’s lived in the resort all his life, has owned some nightclubs there, and is pretty plugged into the local scene. He even thinks there’s a chance that The Donald, who has actually run a casino into bankruptcy, will bail out at some point. Immediately below is the straight skinny from my friend Glenn.:
“ Some of the casino operators are trying to bail out now because of a stiff competitive breeze from Pennsylvania’s brand new slot parlors. For the months of January and February, Atlantic City’s 11 casinos reported and average drop of 8% in the take from slot machines. This is just the start, and it is occurring with only two minor and fairly distant Pennsylvania parlors in operation. When the huge slot casinos open in South Philly two years from now, all hell will break loose in Atlantic City. Trump is already considering selling and rumor has it that Colony, which operates Resorts International and the Hilton casino, will follow.
“The casinos evidently are not prepared to compete in a declining market, so all of those rosy real estate statistics and forecasts you’ve been seeing for this region are very old news. For the short- and long-term it's over for Atlantic City. We saw one casino, The Sands, sell this year, and a replacement isn't slated until 2012, if ever. I predict that we'll see a huge shakeout over the next few years, with the loss of up to a third of the present 12 casino licenses. That could ultimately mean the loss of 15,000 or more jobs.
Tourism has thrived locally over the last thirty years because of casinos, but it’s possible Atlantic City eventually will be right back where it started in 1974: a slum with a few hotels. Actually, it may be even worse this time, since the city put up a huge dune that blocks the view of the ocean from the Boardwalk. With congested highways leading in and out of town, long drive times along the Eastern Seaboard, and a lack of attraction, the city could be in for hard times. It’s a sad scenario for us locals, but not unrealistic. The one bright spot is that as Baby Boomers retire, many will want to live by the beach. This means that Ventnor, Margate and Longport [upscale communities located downbeach from Atlantic City on the same island] might still hold up for a while. Nevertheless, once our primary industry ( gaming) declines, you might say all bets are off!
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Online Registration to Begin
Plans for the first online Hidden Pivot seminar are complete! Registration will begin no later than Tuesday morning for the first three classes scheduled in 2007. The two-day, interactive course will be held on weekend mornings on the follow weekends: March 31-April 1, April 21-22, and May 19-20. The seminar will consist of two 3-hour sessions (Saturday/Sunday), followed by a two-hour Q&A on the Thursday thereafter. (Daytime or evening scheduling will be possible for the Q&A part of the course.) The cost is $960, and it includes the same course manual used by on-site classes in New York, Sydney, Vancouver, San Francisco and Denver
This will be an excellent opportunity for those of you who were unable to attend the seminar in those cities. If you’ve visited the chat room and envied the forecasting skill of seminar grads, this course is designed to quickly bring you up to their level. While I cannot guarantee that the course will turn you into a fabulously rich trader, I can promise that with a little diligence and practice, your ability to precisely predict price reversals in stocks, indexes, options and commodities will be at least as good as anyone whose forecasts you have ever paid for. If you are seriously interested in attending, click here to get on the mailing list.
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Information and commentary contained herein comes from sources believed to be reliable, but this cannot be guaranteed. Past performance should not be construed as an indicator of future results, so let the buyer beware. Rick's Picks does not provide investment advice to individuals, nor act as an investment advisor, nor individually advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. From time to time, its editor may hold positions in issues referred to in this service, and he may alter or augment them at any time. Investments recommended herein should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor, and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Rick's Picks reserves the right to use e-mail endorsements and/or profit claims from its subscribers for marketing purposes. All names will be kept anonymous and only subscribers’ initials will be used unless express written permission has been granted to the contrary. All Contents © 2006, Rick Ackerman. All Rights Reserved. www.rickackerman.com
-- Posted Sunday, 18 March 2007 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com
