Lenny Dykstra Cans Bagel Boss Fight at Showboat Atlantic City

Posted on: September 23, 2019, 12:20h. 

Last updated on: September 23, 2019, 12:57h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Former MLB star Lenny Dykstra is pulling out of his planned celebrity boxing fight with “Bagel Boss” Chris Morgan on the advice of his lawyers.

Lenny Dykstra Bagel Boss boxing odds
Bagel Boss (left) and Lenny Dykstra won’t be dueling in Atlantic City after all. (Image: Victor Alcorn/MediaPunch)

Morgan says more than 100 tickets had been sold at $50 plus $6.75 in taxes and fees for the planned September 28 spectacle. The event was to feature not only Morgan and Dykstra exchanging blows, but also internet celebrity Antoine Dodson and former MTV’s Real World cast member Josh Colon.

Online oddsmakers had Dykstra the favorite for the boxing match at -350. The five-foot-nothing Morgan – who gained fame after his public rant at a Long Island Bagel Boss shop went viral in July – was the underdog at +225.

Unfortunately, the fight with the bagel-whatever-he-is will not be happening because I have a trial that’s going on and my attorneys have informed me I have a duty and an obligation to prepare for that trial,” Dykstra told Howard Stern this morning.

Dykstra is suing Los Angeles County on allegations that he was beaten by sheriff’s deputies while incarcerated.

Atlantic City Appeal

The east coast’s gaming capital remains unsettled, as the town now features nine casinos. Though gross gaming revenue (GGR) continues to increase, profits for the resorts are falling amid the expanded competition.

Billionaire Tilman Fertitta, who owns the Golden Nugget and was in town recently promoting his new business book, said Atlantic City isn’t capable of supporting nine gaming venues.

“It’s not a nine-casino market, and I don’t understand why nobody realizes that,” Fertitta opined. “You could say the market is going up and that we’ve added thousands of jobs. But now every other casino has had to lay off jobs, so I don’t even know how big the net gain is.”

“Now, none of the casinos have the cash flow that they did,” Fertitta concluded.

Operating profits are down across the board for the seven casinos that were in operation prior to the June 2018 openings of Hard Rock and Ocean Casino.

Gaming industry observers believe marketing Atlantic City as not simply a casino town is key. Though the Lenny Dykstra versus Chris Morgan fight might not have been the high-profile, star-studded event the city needs to bring in new visitors, it would have at least been a small step in the right direction.

“Diversification is indeed the key. There’s no two ways about that for success,” said Rummy Pandit, the executive director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality, and Tourism at Stockton University.

AC Events

So, what is going on in Atlantic City other than casino gambling? The colder months are fast approaching, and the nine casinos will need to do all they can to keep their hotel rooms occupied.

According to the Meet AC events calendar, there isn’t exactly a slew of headliners scheduled in the months ahead. Through October, the biggest acts include Jefferson Starship, Kenny G, and Post Malone.

January-August, GGR at Atlantic City’s land-based casinos is up 10.1 percent to $1.82 billion.