1st Closed Under N.J. Order: Debt Too Big : Last Hand Dealt at Atlantic City Casino

Roulette wheels came to rest and the last card was turned onto the blackjack felt at Elsinore’s Atlantis Casino Hotel today as it became the first New Jersey casino closed under state order.

When dealer Stan Kowal dealt his last hand at 3:47 a.m., more state gaming regulators were in the casino than customers, and gamblers were saying “Good luck” to Atlantis employees.

The state Casino Control Commission last week determined that the gaming hall’s $144-million debt was too big a risk to the industry’s integrity to allow continued play on Atlantis’ three-tiered casino floor.

Only subtle signs indicated that casino employees were working their last shift. A blackjack dealer taped a small “goodby” note to his table, and some floor supervisors wore black-tinged carnations.

At the craps table, Larry Fishman threw out the last set of dice.

“I enjoyed myself here for seven years,” he said. “I wanted to do it for sentimental reasons, I guess.”

Atlantis has been plagued with financial problems since 1981, when it opened as the Playboy Hotel & Casino.

In November, 1985, Atlantis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but when a reorganization plan was finally implemented in September, 1988, the losses continued to mount.

The state Division of Gaming Enforcement, the arm of the state attorney general’s office that polices the industry, reported that the Atlantis was losing money at the rate of $56,000 a day.

At the division’s recommendation, the commission voted in April not to renew Atlantis’ regular casino license and appointed a conservator.

At least 1,000 of the hotel’s 2,000 workers are affected by the casino closing.

Near the slot machines, mechanics gathered to console each other this morning.

“Ordinarily, we’d be fixing machines, but it doesn’t matter now,” said one mechanic who would identify himself only as John. “It took me a year and a half to get this job, and now I’m out looking again.”