Matt Haines of Strasburg drove all night Tuesday to meet up with friends in Atlantic City, N.J., where he planned to hone his poker game into Wednesday.

But Haines, and thousands of other would-be gamblers, were shut out when all 12 Atlantic City casinos went dark Wednesday morning for the first time in the 28-year history of legalized gambling in New Jersey.

Big and small players were sent packing, victims of a five-day state government shutdown that shows no signs of ending.

New Jersey cannot pay state employees, including the inspectors who must be on duty for the casinos to operate, so they had to close.

The shutdown forced an estimated 20,000 people off their jobs and has prompted local bus tour companies to cancel weekly excursions to Atlantic City.

By 8 a.m. Wednesday, the dice stopped rolling, dealers quit shuffling and slot machines fell silent.

"I was pretty upset," Haines said Wednesday. "I wanted to play today because I'm playing in the World Series in Las Vegas at the end of the month."

Haines said he heard the budget crisis might darken the 24-hour party at the casinos, but he gambled that state officials might resolve the dispute before the shutdown occurred.

"We already had the room scheduled, but we thought they might work it out because (legislators) were talking all night long," he said.

"We got there around 11 p.m. (Tuesday), and all the casinos already knew they were closing down."

Haines played poker until about 4 a.m. Wednesday, listening to gamblers express disbelief the shutdown would happen -- in light of the more than $16 million a day the casinos stand to lose and the $13 million a day in tax revenue the state is losing.

"People couldn't believe the state was willing to forfeit all that money to make a point ... ," Haines said.

Aside from thinner-than-usual crowds, Haines said there were no apparent signs of the looming shutdown.

"You could tell people heard about it and didn't go down (to Atlantic City)," he said. "But there were people there from Wisconsin when they closed it up on them, and they were pretty upset."

The shutdown is the result of a budget battle between the New Jersey Legislature and Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine over his proposal to raise the state sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent to close a $4.5 billion budget gap.

After the state missed a July 1 budget deadline, Corzine attempted to strong-arm legislators into passing a budget by ordering state offices shut down and nonessential government operations closed Saturday.

More than half the state's employees were furloughed, and state parks and beaches were shuttered Wednesday because of a lack of staff.

In Lancaster County, bus companies that normally run dozens of trips a week to Atlantic City were forced to cancel reservations -- and wait.

Conestoga Tours of Lancaster, which runs trips Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, canceled today's trip; Saturday's also is up in the air.

"At this point, it's 3:20 in the afternoon, and the last time I checked, the casinos had no new information on their Web site," Conestoga tour operator Becky Deibler said Wednesday. "So we're in a holding pattern, and that's what I'm telling people when they call."

With so many bus companies running trips, a few cancellations can add up.

"At this point in time, anyone can absorb a couple of days of canceled trips," Deibler said. "Whenever you plan a trip and people paid for reservations, it's an inconvenience. If you can't reschedule that trip, we have to refund the dollars, and it becomes a hardship."

Lifestyle Limousine and Charters of Mohnton runs six bus trips a week to Atlantic City, including an afternoon run on Wednesdays, which was canceled.

"I didn't think they'd go through with (the shutdown) because each of those casinos is probably losing $2 million a day," Lifestyle Limousines' Athena Waligurski said Wednesday.

"It's a hardship for everybody -- for the casinos, for the old people who want to go down there. They just cashed their (Social Security) checks, and they're hopeful this will be settled by today."

Executive Coach of Lancaster doesn't run scheduled trips to Atlantic City, but some groups have chartered the company's buses for trips there.

"None have canceled so far, but we have one trip going Friday that's uncertain at this point," Executive president Elvin McMichael said.

"We don't charge a cancellation fee when it's something like this that's out of their control, so they probably won't cancel until they absolutely have to."

For die-hard gamblers and the companies who depend on their business, the effect of the casino shutdown could last longer than the state's budget crisis. Longtime gamblers who traditionally head to Atlantic City might go elsewhere.

A Wrightsville resident who didn't want to give her name said she visits Atlantic City about every two months, but she'd be willing to try West Virginia's slots if Atlantic City casinos remain closed.

And with Pennsylvania's own slots scheduled to make their debut in the next two years, the shutdown might have come at a bad time.

"Sometimes things like this have a domino effect because people will be less inclined to go to Atlantic City again, even though it's a temporary inconvenience," Deibler said.

"You have to really look at how it will affect things down the road. But we are optimistic it will be settled quickly and then we'll get back on the road."

The Associated Press contributed to this story. blog comments powered by Disqus