The move comes in the face of the company pushing to increase its market share, and further solidify its presence in the region.
New Management in Atlantic City
The two positions were taken by George Goldhoff and Mike Sampson, respectively, with their stepping in still subject to approval by New Jersey’s gambling regulators. Goldhoff is president of the Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, which was rebranded a few years ago. Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock International, praised Goldhoff for his efforts there.
“In just three years of rebranding our property in Cincinnati, he was able to make that casino the leader in the market,” Allen said. This, coupled with Goldhoff’s previous management- and C-level experience means the company feels he can propel the Atlantic City team into “the next era” of gaming and hospitality for Hard Rock in the area.
Sampson’s experience, on the other hand, is with multiple gaming companies, including Seneca Gaming and Trump Entertainment Resorts. It’s an interesting coincidence that the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City is actually the former-President Trump’s Taj Mahal casino site. The failed casino was purchased in 2017, and Hard Rock reopened it in 2018.
Hard Rock Atlantic City is trying to capture the number one spot of market share in the region, and the company has been trying hard to make that come to fruition. The latest management change is just part of the overarching plan, and it certainly isn’t the only move the company has made recently.
Hard Rock Continued Investments
Hard Rock has long been established in the market as a leading name, and its ambitions for AC are a natural continuation of that. During its fourth anniversary celebration, the Hard Rock AC shared its overall donations to charities were over $1 million. Additionally, last December’s Pinktober campaign resulted in over $1 million in donations for breast cancer research alone.
Expansions, efforts to gain market share, and acquisitions usually involve a large investment, and Hard Rock hasn’t neglected investing in its own most valuable resource – its employees. In September last year, the company raised the salaries for its 10,000 people in its US workforce. The investment was a total of $100 million.
Another notable investment the company made in the US gambling market was its The Mirage acquisition. The bid was made quite some time ago, and Hard Rock made sure to clarify its plans for the venue – reconstruction and no immediate plans for closing the property, which bodes well for both the business, as well as current employees.
Even when constructing new casinos, Hard Rock is making sure that support for the community is high on the priorities list. Its fully-fledged Rockford Casino is slated for a November 2023 launch, but the operator has already made contributions to a well-known local charity. It’s called the Rockford Promise, and many locals are acknowledging the act of good faith by Hard Rock.