Langford vows to help casinos

ATLANTIC CITY - With $7 billion in casino projects on indefinite hold and gambling revenue plunging for the second year, new Mayor Lorenzo Langford has a lot to do and little time to do it.

The former casino dealer, who was mayor from 2002 to 2005, filled an unexpired term Wednesday in a city that has seen hundreds of casino workers laid off and slots players flee to Pennsylvania and New York.

A day after he was sworn in privately at City Hall, Langford yesterday held a public swearing-in ceremony, where he steered away from specifics on how he might help the casino industry.

For now, he appears to be playing cheerleader-in-chief, promising the city's 11 casinos that City Hall will work with them, not against them.

"Our role is to convey the message that we are open for business, and to remove whatever governmental obstacles there might have been in place," he said in an interview after the ceremony. "The market conditions will determine the future of the casino industry."

In his speech, Langford acknowledged the hard times, but urged residents to keep faith with him.

"We have some tremendous challenges before us," he said, "but Atlantic City has proven itself to be extremely resilient. We're tough."

This year, MGM Mirage has indefinitely shelved a $5 billion casino-hotel project that would have given the marina district Atlantic City's largest resort, and Pinnacle Entertainment has done likewise with its $2 billion casino-hotel plan for the Boardwalk where the Sands Casino Hotel stood.

Casino revenue was down 6.6 percent over the first 10 months of the year, and this will be the second year in a row that revenue has declined in Atlantic City after 28 years of increases.

Joe Corbo, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, the industry's trade group, said the city's 11 casinos needed a steady hand now more than ever.

"We'd like to see some more stability, and to the extent that Mayor Langford can provide that after a period that virtually no one could call stable, we'd welcome that."

Langford, Atlantic City's fourth mayor in less than a year, lost reelection in 2005 to Robert Levy. Levy resigned last year after dropping out of sight for two weeks. When he resurfaced, he admitted he had lied about his Vietnam War service to fatten his veterans' benefits, and was sentenced to probation and restitution.

The mayor for much of the last year had been Scott Evans, a Fire Department battalion chief and head of the local Democratic Party, which was dominated by supporters of former City Council President Craig Callaway.

Callaway is serving a 40-month federal prison sentence for bribery. He is also awaiting trial for his alleged role in setting up a council rival in a motel room where the man was secretly videotaped having sex with a prostitute.

"Only God could remove the scourge and purge Atlantic City," Langford said in his speech, which often resembled a sermon, as audience members called out, "That's right!" and "Tell it!"

Referring to his predecessors, he said, "We had to take two steps backward in order to take one mighty step forward."

Langford's term runs through 2009, but he must start campaigning soon for the June primary, which will select candidates for a full four-year term.