Atlantic City, New Jersey has the nation’s longest and oldest boardwalk, first built in 1870 and stretching almost six miles above the wide sand beach.  The town has a rich and colorful history, loads of big name restaurants, arena-sized theaters and 11 casino hotels.

It’s also “dying”, according to Governor Chris Christie.

Revenue was down more than 11% in August compared to last year and down 8.4% over the first 8 months of 2010.  The numbers were worse in the first quarter when compared to 2006: revenues were down 30% and 7 of the gambling halls posted operating losses.  Thousands of workers lost jobs, too.

The biggest threat to AC’s future, besides the current economic woes, are new casinos that have opened or will soon open in neighboring states, especially Pennsylvania which added table games to several Casinos and has more on the way.

“The states around us that have brought gaming in, that was a change and evolution for them in order to compete with us” the Governor said.  ”We now have to change and evolve to compete with this new threat.”

That evolution, according to government and gaming officials, involves cleaning up the streets, reducing crime and blight and aggressively promoting the city’s benefits while encouraging new investment.  The Governor has proposed a takeover of sorts to make changes quickly, and Harrah’s President of East Coast Operations is on board.

“I can tell you  for the last year, the Mayor of Atlantic City along with the Governor and all of the casino operators and many of the businesses have gotten together and we’re working on things” Don Marrandino told Fox News. “You can see buildings that have been knocked down, the boardwalk is spic and span, there’s a great effort out there to clean up the retail areas… I think overall there’s been a giant difference in the last year.”

Marrandino says the goal is to become Las Vegas East.  ”It’s not just about gambling anymore.  Yes, it’s a place you can come and game (but also) stay in a good hotel, get a spa treatment, see tremendous shows… and the neighboring states aren’t set up like that.  They are independent casinos dispersed around a big geographical area.”

Atlantic City is still the #2 gaming destination in the U.S. with 35 million visitors every year  and despite the downturn, the casinos will net more than 3.5 billion dollars in 2010.   Marrandino and others are hoping with renewed interest from the state, changes will come quickly and this historic oceanside gambling mecca will not only survive, it will thrive.