Atlantic City Looks To Rebound From Violent Week

From the Revel opening to the newly-minted Do AC campaign, this was supposed to be the build-up to a huge weekend in the "Atlantic City Comeback."

That plan hit the skids at the outset of this week with the horrific news of a double-murder stabbing of two Canadian tourists in broad daylight near the Bally's Casino.

That story has sent ripples through the resort city as they prepped for an important kick-off week to an ever-important summer tourism season.

The murder was not the only news of the week involving violence in AC.  A teenage boy was shot in the arm, and another man was stabbed in the face near the Atlantic City Rescue Mission.

Adding to the negative vibes ringing through Atlantic City is the sentencing tomorrow for Craig Arno and Jessica Kisby, the pair convicted of carjacking a man from Trump Taj Mahal and later murdering him.  That was yet another story, back in 2010, that has done nothing to help AC escape the label as a dangerous, unsafe city for tourists.

The cherry on top of bad news is a report that many beaches in the city will remain closed through the early parts of the tourist season because of project overruns.

No doubt that it has been a public relations nightmare for Atlantic City, but one undeniable fact is that most are rooting for a city turnaround.  The state has bet a lot on a comeback, and it is in every New Jerseyans best interest for Atlantic City to get back on track.

It is also not doom and gloom, as the weekend will be highlighted by the aforementioned opening of the spectacular Revel Casino, which is a game-changer for the city.

While the headlines have been mostly negative the last few days, there are good things happening in Atlantic City.  It is just a matter of whether they can get the violent crimes under control that is keeping a lingering negative label hovering over the resort.

The entire story, and its significance to the state's bottom-line and Governor Christie's success is a fascinating plot-line that will bear watching over the next few months.  The Governor has a vested interest in Atlantic City.

And as irony would have it, Christie will be in Atlantic City on Thursday for a press conference to "kick-off the summer."