The Hard Rock casino brand has been a success since its arrival in Atlantic City in mid-2018, and on Thursday company CEO Jim Allen and his colleagues decided to celebrate in elaborate fashion at a “Team Member Town Hall Meeting.”
Hard Rock Atlantic City CEO Joe Lupo announced to a crowd of many of more than 2,400 employees that each of them would see a bonus of $600 in their paychecks on Friday, not surprisingly producing cheers from the audience. The bonuses were supplemented on the spot with eight randomly selected workers winning cash prizes, two gaining all-inclusive stays at a Hard Rock resort destination, and two grand prize winners receiving a new car.
In an energetic speech, Lupo noted that 1 million hotel guests were served in 2021 in spite of negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, with as many cars parked in the casino’s garage — and twice as many drinks served on the casino floor.
Allen, in his speech, touted how Hard Rock consistently ranks among the 10 most recognized brands in the world, as well as the 120 million to 140 million visitations per year at the company’s sites worldwide.
The bonuses were awarded for a third consecutive year.
Hard Rock’s place in Atlantic City pecking order
In 2021, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement listed Hard Rock once again as second place of the nine Atlantic City casinos in terms of gross gaming revenue.
Hard Rock took in $431.1 million compared to market leader Borgata’s $606 million. Ocean Casino, which opened on the same day as Hard Rock in 2018, was a distant third at $306.8 million.
Those three casinos ranked in the same order in COVID-19-ravaged 2020, although each naturally had far lower revenue totals. Hard Rock placed second in slot machine win and table game win in both years as well.
But Hard Rock’s jump in 2021 overall revenue — up 91.8% compared to 69.1% for the industry overall — outpaced all rivals.
Hard Rock is the successor to Trump Taj Mahal, the massive Boardwalk property that closed in 2016 ultimately to make way for an elaborate refurbishing into the Hard Rock brand.
Presentations in Atlantic City such as the one held on Thursday hold special meaning for Allen, a native of nearby Plainfield who first landed a job as a dishwasher and then cook at Bally’s Park Place in 1979, the second year of casinos in Atlantic City. Atlantic City became the first rival to Nevada’s former national monopoly for casinos in Las Vegas, Reno, and elsewhere in that state.
Allen repeats competition concerns
On Thursday, Allen reiterated his warning about potential headwinds from competition from up to three New York City-area casinos that could open in the next few years.
Allen also noted that while conditions in Atlantic City overall have improved, the city still has a long way to go.
Two years ago, Allen told reporters, “Frankly, the town’s in worse shape today than it was when we bought [Trump Taj Mahal].”
Allen pointed, as an example, to broken streetlights in the Hard Rock neighborhood.
“When you’re in a resort environment where safety and security is so important, if the city can’t get something fixed as simple as the street lighting, then maybe a change is needed,” Allen said. “The city is going in the wrong direction.”
And last October at the annual East Coast Gaming Congress in Atlantic City, Allen sounded an early alarm about those New York City casinos.
“They say a cat has nine lives. Does Atlantic City have 99 lives?” Allen wondered to that audience. “It seems like it does.”
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