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Union: New Jersey casino warns of possible closure

By WTOP Staff

WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Workers at Atlantic City’s Showboat Casino Hotel will receive notices on Friday warning that the casino may close in two months, a union official said Thursday.

Bob McDevitt, president of Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union, said a Caesars Entertainment executive told him that the casino’s approximately 2,500 workers would get so-called WARN Act notices on Friday.

Those notices are required under federal law to give employees 60 days’ notice that their company could be closing.

McDevitt called the closing threat “a criminal act.”

Caesars Entertainment officials did not return messages seeking comment Thursday night. The Mardi-Gras-themed Showboat is one of four casinos that the company runs in Atlantic City.

McDevitt said he has not seen the notice and that a top Caesars Entertainment executive did not go into detail about what it would say.

“We were contacted by the company today that the warning notices would be issued on Friday,” McDevitt said. “I don’t have a copy of the notice. But they’re pretty straightforward: they tell you you have 60 days.”

It is possible the notices could be rescinded if circumstances change. Revel Casino Hotel issued WARN notices to its own workers earlier this month just before it filed for bankruptcy for the second time in as many years. The notices told workers that Revel could close this summer if a buyer is not found in bankruptcy court.

But McDevitt said he is convinced Caesars intends to close the Showboat, the poorest-performing of its Atlantic City casinos.

“Caesars closing a casino which remains profitable with positive (earnings) is a criminal act committed on the people of Atlantic City,” he said.

For the first quarter of this year, the Showboat posted a gross operating profit of nearly $2 million. But that was down from a profit of nearly $8.5 million in the first quarter of 2013.

So far this year, the Showboat has taken in $66.2 million from gamblers, ranking it seventh out of Atlantic City’s 11 casinos. That represents a decline of nearly 16 percent from the same period in 2013.

Caesars CEO Gary Loveman said earlier this year that Atlantic City has too many casinos, and that more need to close. Loveman said during an earnings conference call in May that Atlantic City has been the biggest problem for his global casino company for several years and that one option is to reduce capacity.

“There’s much too much capacity in Atlantic City currently,” Loveman said in the call. “We’ve experienced that as the largest provider. So we are looking at all of our options to continue to reduce the cost of doing business here.”

Caesars Entertainment and Tropicana Entertainment made a joint bid on the Atlantic Club when it was in bankruptcy court, stripped it of assets including slot machines and other equipment and shut it down on Jan. 13.

It recently sold the Claridge hotel tower of its Bally’s Atlantic City property to a Florida company, and sold the Atlantic City Country Club to a private buyer. It closed a casino in Tunica, Mississippi, this month.

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Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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