Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. (Courtesy of Ocean Casino Resort) (Courtesy of Ocean Casino Resort)ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - What's an ocean without a beach?One Atlantic City casino that takes its name from the sea doesn't want to find out, and so it's spending up to $700,000 of its own money to rebuild a badly eroded beach in front of it.The Ocean Casino Resort began the work Wednesday, and plans to have a new 110-foot-wide beach open for Memorial Day weekend.
Chronic erosion near the casino has reduced the beach to just 5 to 8 feet (1.5 to 2.4 meters) wide in places.Bill Callahan, the casino's general manager, said Ocean can't wait for the next government-funded beach replenishment project, which could take another year or two.Callahan and several casino officials were on their daily coffee walk one day last fall when they looked out the window — and saw very little sand between the Boardwalk and the ocean.Callahan feared there soon would be no beach."That would be a horrible guest experience.
It's like, ‘Come to an unbelievable $2.5 billion resort and not have a beach.’ We just couldn't have that," he said.So the casino set about securing the many state and federal permits necessary to do the work on its own.Stephen Rochette, a spokesman for the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, said it is unusual but not unheard-of for private parties to carry out their own beach replenishment projects.