Eroded Beaches Has Atlantic City Casinos Scrambling To Get Sand

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — Weeks of harsh winter storms eroded many beaches at the Jersey Shore, and now, with only 10 weeks until Memorial Day, preparation for the summer season is beginning.

But for casino owners in Atlantic City, the need for more sand is urgent - erosion has all but destroyed their beaches, an essential part of attracting tourists.

“One of the highlights of coming to Atlantic City has always been the beaches and the Boardwalk,” Mike Sampson, general manager of the Hard Rock casino, told the Associated Press. “It’s going to be a challenge.”

Winter storms destroyed the Hard Rock’s popular beach bar, and it’s not the only one. Executives from Atlantic City’s three northernmost casinos, the Hard Rock, the Ocean Casino Resort and Resorts are trying to get state and federal governments to expedite a beach replenishment project that was supposed to be done last year, according to the AP report.

However, the best-case scenario has the project starting late summer, a spokesperson with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told the AP.

Stephen Rochette, a spokesman for the Army Corps, told the AP a contract for the work will be put out to bid in April or May, with the work starting “sometime this summer or in the fall.”

This has casino executives worried. Without the draw of the beaches, it could be harder to attract gamblers and tourists, and the industry still hasn’t fully recovered from its pandemic losses. According to the AP, just three of the nine casinos are winning more money from in-person gamblers than they did in 2019 before the pandemic hit.

The Ocean Casino spent $600,000 last year to truck in and dump sand on its beach, according to the AP. By the end of summer, that sand was gone.

“How do you run a beach resort without a beach?” Bill Callahan, Ocean’s general manager, said to the AP. “It’s a tough pill to swallow.”