The most recent casino that shut down was Trump Plaza, which officially closed its doors on Tuesday, September 16th. There have even been rumors that the Trump Taj Mahal could shut down as soon as November.

At the beginning of this year, Atlantic City casinos had twelve strong casinos. That number has been cut down by a third, with only a eight remaining and one more soon to be closed.

A question that New Jersey residents have is important: How will losing these casinos affect our state?

The answer is quite simple. This industry is expected to shrink dramatically because of the major casino shutdown that has occurred of the last few months.The gambling market employs one out of every ten workers in New Jersey. Also, New Jersey usually has around a $40 billion dollar tourism industry.

The state hopes to counteract that loss, with other attractions that do not involve gambling in order for the casinos that are still open to stay open.

The worst case scenario is that all the casinos close in Atlantic City. If this happened, New Jersey would lose 51% of its tourism. If New Jersey lost its casinos, there would be less and less tourist attraction.

Diane Wieland, director of the Cape May Department of Tourism, explained the trouble of marketing because of the casino shutdown, but also how it affects other towns around Atlantic City.

She explained, “In all of our surveys, 25-29 % of those who go to A.C. come to Cape May for a day trip.”

The truth of the matter is that Atlantic City affects every county, every town and every home in New Jersey. The state has yet to figure out a way to counteract what is going on in Atlantic City.

Not only are thousands of residents out of work, but people could stop spending money. It could affect small businesses first and then eventually reach major businesses and corporations.

Deborah M. Figart, a labor economist, had an interview with nj.com. She explained that the Atlantic City casinos hit it’s peak in 2006, and from then on the casinos have been in a downward trend.

The casino industry, however, in the last few years has began to recover. Figart explained that Superstorm Sandy was the “knockout punch”.  Many people do not believe that the casinos can recover from something that drastic.

The only hope of saving the state’s economy is not the well-known casinos, but the small gems in New Jersey. Anything from the simple Jersey tomato business to the light manufacturing companies are only some of the businesses that are hoping to pick up the slack of the economy left by the loss of Atlantic City’s revenue.