Spotlight On: George Goldhoff, President, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City
August 2025 — George Goldhoff, president of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, spoke with Invest: about redefining the city’s role as an overall entertainment hub. “We are building a strong community presence to help rebrand Atlantic City as a multifaceted destination, not just a gambling hub. We are diversifying our revenue stream through entertainment, online platforms, and competing fiercely in a market that has a number of excellent operators.”
What changes over the past year have most impacted Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, and in what ways?
Over the last 12 to 18 months, we have solidified our position as the leading entertainment destination and have achieved remarkable success in many areas. In 2024, the property accomplished a record-breaking year financially. We boosted our market share to greater than 20% in a flat Atlantic City market. The 5,500-seat Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena continues to draw top acts like Rod Stewart, Snoop Dogg, Jackson Browne, Kelly Clarkson, Old Dominion, Foreigner, Steve Miller Band, Zac Brown and so many more. This venue has enchanted Atlantic City’s music scene and is attracting more prominent artists. We have improved our nightlife experiences and our VIP services to elevate hotel offerings for our guests. We are continuing to reinvest in our resort and have made significant capital improvements that include penthouse suites, a private VIP lounge, and we’ve expanded our aviation program by adding a private helicopter to our jet services.
Hard Rock’s commitment to its workforce was also recognized with a second consecutive USA Today Top Workplace Award in 2025. The most relevant part of the award is that our team members voted on how they feel within the workplace. This is the third consecutive year that we have paid out over $10 million in bonuses directly to our team members.
Taking a broader look at the economy, how have ongoing changes in the market impacted your business?
The Atlantic City gambling industry is at a fascinating crossroads because we are the cornerstone of New Jersey’s economy through the revenue and taxes we provide to the entire state. We are navigating a complex landscape that includes resilience, adaptation, and real challenges. The state of the industry showcases both remarkable growth and persistent struggles shaped by evolving consumer preferences, technological advances, and regional competition. In the past year, nine casinos contributed to a record-breaking $6.3 billion in total gaming revenue in New Jersey, driven by a 24% surge in online gaming. The growth highlights the industry’s ability to adapt to digital platforms. Despite these high revenues, profitability has taken a hit, attributed to inflation and the rising cost of goods and services. This financial strain highlights a broader challenge. While online gaming and sports betting have expanded the market, they have also diverted customers away from traveling to physical casinos. The industry’s response has been to diversify. Half of our revenue comes from non-gambling sources, such as entertainment, dining, and hospitality. These investments in the nine casinos came to over $200 million in upgrades, signaling a significant commitment to the resort experience beyond gambling. The New York, Maryland, and Virginia markets pose a threat, possibly eroding the Atlantic City market share if we don’t reinvent ourselves as the resort of the future. Casinos have shown their adaptability by creating a hybrid model that caters to the younger demographics, as well as providing the allure of a luxury resort. Our industry employs over 25,000 people, with 19,000 of them in Atlantic County. We contributed over $850 million in taxes and fees in 2024, including $572 million to the Casino Revenue Fund for social programs. The industry has learned to evolve and strike a balance between tradition and innovation.
What has been the Hard Rock’s role in the revitalization of Atlantic City’s tourism and entertainment economy?
Hard Rock Atlantic City has played a pivotal role in the revitalization of Atlantic City since opening in 2018. We are committed to investing in the community and the guest experience. We’ve created an overwhelmingly positive impact in the community. We transformed the Trump Taj Mahal into a vibrant entertainment hub that has significantly contributed to the city’s economic and cultural resurgence. It goes beyond economic impact. Entertainment is in our DNA, and we are the premier entertainment destination. We have Hard Rock Live, and our smaller Sound Waves theater has about 1,300 seats. We have three “vibe stages,” one in the lobby bar, one in Hard Rock Cafe, and one in Council Oak, our fine dining steak and seafood restaurant. You can walk through our property and listen to free live music seven days a week. We are building a strong community presence to help rebrand Atlantic City as a multifaceted destination, not just a gambling hub. There are so many things for guests and players to experience in Atlantic City. We have beautiful hotel rooms, 150,000 square feet of convention space, multiple retail opportunities, golf, and the best restaurants on the East Coast. We invest in upgrades that foster a competitive environment that benefits the city. We are supporting, investing, and recruiting local people to provide the best hospitality and service, and to be a leading tourist destination.
Hard Rock Atlantic City has demonstrated a long-term commitment to the Atlantic City community. Going forward, what is your approach to community outreach?
We have a number of key priorities being shaped to revitalize Atlantic City. As trends evolve, we also need to commit to community prosperity. If the community doesn’t do well, we don’t do well. Hard Rock is in over 72 countries with 350 locations. Hard Rock Atlantic City does community engagement well, and it’s part of one of our company mottos: “Love All, Serve All.” In Atlantic City, we’ve created community and strategic partnerships with impactful initiatives focused on education, food security, youth development, social equity, and veterans affairs that help to foster economic growth. We have donated to over 500 local community organizations since opening, including the African American Heritage Museum of South Jersey, the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, and Jewish Family Services. Hard Rock helps ensure access to essential resources. We partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Atlantic City, giving to them through youth development, mentorships, safe spaces, after-school programs, and building skills for at-risk youth. Other notable partnerships include Kelly’s Kids, Holidays for Heroes, Shop With A Cop, The Arc of Atlantic County, Court-Appointed Special Advocates for child advocacy, Atlantic County Toys for Kids, Garden State Equality and AC Pride for LGBTQIA+ advocacy, along with the Atlantic City Rescue Mission, and Veterans Affairs. Hard Rock’s entire 3,500 workforce participates and gets involved with helping our incredibly resilient community.
What are the key goals for the Hotel and Casino in the next two to three years?
We want to strengthen our online gaming presence to make sure we capture the growing internet game market that surged 24% to $2.38 billion in revenue. With online gaming outpacing brick-and-mortar revenue, we need to enhance our digital offerings and remain competitive. The impact is expanding digital capability and boosting revenue diversification to mitigate the profit declines seen across the industry. We want to attract younger generations by leaning into more digital platforms and investing in non-gaming amenities and entertainment. We are seeing a shift toward experiential tourism and are investing over $40 million in our entertainment in 2025. Non-gambling offerings will drive tourism foot traffic and solidify Hard Rock’s brand as an entertainment resort destination, not just a casino. Sustainability and operational efficiency are key priorities. By implementing sustainable practices, such as energy-efficient systems, waste reduction, and optimizing operational costs to address rising expenses, we will meet consumer expectations. Despite economic pressures, our impact must appeal to and attract environmentally conscious guests.
Strengthening community partnerships is another key priority, and leveraging technology is a thread that ties all of our work together. We have started to resource personalization and enhance the guest experience through AI-driven analytics, mobile apps, digital keys, and mobile check-in, creating frictionless experiences for guests. Creating hyper-personalized and niche experiences through data-driven insights will attract younger guests and give our current guests a better experience. As gaming markets expand in New York and Virginia, we have to ensure we are responsible while optimizing the balance between online and in-person gaming. We are diversifying our revenue stream through entertainment and online platforms and competing fiercely in a market that has a number of excellent operators. We will continue our aggressive investment in Atlantic City. We believe in this city, and our ownership group has been incredibly supportive here. We believe the best years are in front of us.
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