12 Atlantic City Casinos Closed

New Jersey budget impasse forced operators to halt operations so Atlantic City casinos could lose more than $20 million a day in revenue and cut thousands of jobs.

12 Atlantic City casinos were closed Wednesday morning after a budget impasse led Gov. Jon Corzine to shut down non-essential services July 1, furloughing most state employees.

"The casinos, which generate millions of dollars in taxes for New Jersey, must have state-employed regulators in place to operate. A state appellate court on Monday rejected a plea by casinos to stay open.

Gov. Jon Corzine wants to raise sales tax one percentage point to 7 percent to close the state's $4.5 billion budget deficit.

“An extended closure could lead the company to lay off about 2,000 casino employees as well as affect its expansion plan" said Mr. Mark Juliano the Chief Operating Officer.