At the center of the challenge is a question: Can this iconic Jersey Shore resort, which resurrected itself from decades of decay by welcoming casinos in the mid-1970s, find some new attraction besides legalized gambling to serve as a foundation for a more prosperous future?
“I don’t think there is any easy future,” said James W. Hughes, the dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, who has monitored Atlantic City’s economic woes since the city’s first casino opened in 1978. “It’s hard to imagine something really positive. Hopefully, they can slow down the decline.”
