Don’t forget about the two big Indian casinos in CT—Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. They were the big, new thing for a while, and must have contributed to the drain of NYC gamblers that might have gone south to Atlantic City.
Yes, that took a lot of the New Yorkers (and probably north Jersey too.
On a rainy day, I will go walking in one of them and I can put 10 miles on my pedometer easy and not get bored. That's how I save money in casinos. I bet $20 on a slot machine and if I come out ahead - even on one spin - I walk away and put the winnings in my other pocket. If I lose the $20 however, I put a mile on my pedometer before I play another one. Once I've walked 10 miles, or bet $200, I'm done for the day. But in most cases, I have a pocketful of winnings to offset it.
As for Atlantic City, it's an absolute slum. With all these other casino choices in the Northeast in safe, clean areas, you'd be a fool to go to scummy AC.