Amidst rescue plans to save the financially imperiled resort town, Atlantic City has one success story to celebrate: Since opening just six months ago, Harrah's Atlantic City Waterfront Conference Center has nearly doubled its booked meetings and conventions through 2019 and expects to bring nearly 300,000 conference attendees. Total room nights booked are currently at almost 200,000, up from 140,000 in September 2015.
"In a short period of time, the Waterfront Conference Center has accomplished more than we ever hoped for when we first opened the doors," said Michael Massari, Caesars Entertainment's senior vice president of national meetings and events. "The Waterfront Conference Center has filled a void in the market and put Atlantic City on the map as a premier destination for meetings and conventions."
With an estimated cost of $125.8 million, the 250,000-square-foot facility features a 100,000-square-foot conference center with two 50,000-square-foot pillar-less ballrooms which can be configured 200 different ways. The complex includes a 2,590-room hotel.
"We are seeing organizations that typically book in convention destinations like Orlando and Las Vegas now considering and coming to Atlantic City as a result of the Harrah's Waterfront Conference Center," said Jim Wood, president and CEO of Meet AC. "This validates the center as not only a major player in the Northeast, but in the national meetings business."
Harrah's Atlantic City Waterfront Conference Center is hosting Meeting Professionals International's (MPI) annual 2016 World Education Congress (WEC) from June 11-14. The premier event from MPI, WEC draws more than 2,000 attendees, many of whom may consider Atlantic City as a future destination for their own meetings.
In other Atlantic City news, Carl Icahn's Tropicana casino has been approved to manage the Trump Taj Mahal. The Tropicana will be investing around $15 million for what it calls "pressing needs," including roof repairs and renovating as many as 150 disused guest rooms.