When we first heard about the jet that had left Atlantic City International yesterday morning and crashed in high winds in Minnesota, it seemed a sure bet that the victims were probably gamblers on their way home from a casino trip. Flights like that come in and out of AC all the time. But soon, it became clear this was a tragedy that would hit close to home. And as the day wore on, it hit closer and closer. Airport workers were talking early about the passengers who had driven in and left their cars for the day. The passengers were headed to see a a company that produced glass for towers like the new World Trade Center Building, which seemed like business not pleasure. The focus quickly turned to Revel Entertainment, the barely 2-year-old Morgan Stanley company run by the personal Kevin DeSanctis that is forging ahead with a mammoth $2.5 billion casino just above Showboat on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, and Tishman, its general contractor. Sadly, the eight people killed on the jet included three top Revel exceuctives (not DeSanctis) and a Tishman project manager, Karen Sandland, 44, of Galloway. Construction workers at the site, where eight cranes tower over a city of cement, but no glass facades, noted the irony of the tragedy, that it hit not the workers with their hard hats who seem to risk their lives every day, but the top execs on the business trip. They predicted the tragedy would not slow their work for a minute, given the pressures already upon them. At Revel's offices on Atlantic Avenue, stunned employees of Revel and Tishman walked in and out, some holding their heads in their hands. For some, the victims were colleagues, neighbors and friends. The two pilots killed turned out to be local as well, from the Bethlehem area, where the charter jet company is based. And the two remaining victims worked for a glass company in Glassboro but lived at the shore. They were Alan Barnett of Absecon and Marc Rosenberg, of Margate. Rosenberg and his wife, Patti, are well known in Margate, prominent and generous, serving on boards of various local agencies like Jewish Family Services. They have two children, a daughter in college and an an older son. Last night, an aunt of Patti's said the family could not yet speak about the tragedy. "It's just too soon," she said. Around their house in Margate, friends and family were arriving late into the night, milling about the front steps, an air of stopped time surrounding the corner house. Driving by, you might have thought it was another typical summer gathering a few blocks from the beach at the shore. But, if you knew, the pain was palpable.

Here's the story from today's paper.