Where some casino owners, gambling experts and financial analysts see storm clouds hovering above Atlantic City these days, its boosters see silver linings.

Although three casinos have announced plans to close by next month and with one already shuttered — leaving more than 8,000 unemployed and four boardwalk hotels vacant — the city’s marketing arm launched an advertising offensive yesterday to counteract what it called a glut of unflattering media coverage.

And amid growing concern over the city’s economic future, Gov. Chris Christie announced he would convene a two-day meeting next month with local and legislative leaders to discuss the city’s future.

The Atlantic City Alliance said it was placing full-page ads today in three newspapers — The Star-Ledger, the Wall Street Journal and the Philadelphia Inquirer — boasting of the successes of a busy summer and the city’s growth as a non-gaming destination.

"A picture is worth a thousand words," the group said of the ads, which feature an image from a recent summer concert that attracted more than 60,000.

But the image doesn’t appear to tell a totally accurate story.

Enhanced versions of the image show the crowd watching a Lady Antebellum concert was digitally altered for the advertisement, with some of the same people clustered throughout the crowd — a sea of humanity against the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean.

A man in a plaid shirt, standing directly behind another in a cowboy hat, appears at least three times throughout. Another, in a red shirt, is always nearby.

When asked why the organization would alter a photograph that showed an impressive turnout for a free concert featuring the country band, Liza Cartmell, president of the Alliance, said the composite work was done to cover up video towers and alcoholic beverages.

"The overall look in comparison to the original picture, however, was not designed to make it appear more crowded," Cartmell said.

She said the original images were posted on the web and throughout social media, "so we are comfortable that the realism in the beach scene shot is not impacted."

With three of the city's 11 casinos scheduled to close early next month — including Revel, which announced its fate on Tuesday — recent news coverage of the city has tended toward the dire. The Washington Post declared, "Atlantic City deathwatch," while Gawker.com proclaimed, "The Atlantic City Dream Is Dead."

With all of that swirling, the Republican governor — whose presidential aspirations in 2016 and responsibilities as head of the Republican Governors Association have often taken him out of the state in recent months — decided the time had come to focus on the nagging issue of Atlantic City’s future.

Christie's office announced "a bipartisan summit of state and local leaders" — including Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson), Republican legislative leaders and local officials — would gather for two days before Revel closes its doors on Sept. 10.

"There is no doubt that Atlantic City faces real challenges as the city undergoes revitalization, which is why this summit of key policymakers, local leaders and stakeholders is needed to be an active part of the conversation as to how we can best address these issues," Christie said in a statement.

Steven Perskie, a former state senator who wrote New Jersey’s casino gaming law, said in a telephone interview that "rumors of Atlantic City’s death have been greatly exaggerated."

"When I read or hear that Atlantic City is dying, I shake my head in frustration, because it isn’t so," he said. "Atlantic City still has first-rate hotel facilities, first-rate entertainment facilities, a beach and boardwalk that for 12 or 14 weeks of the year are unmatched anywhere in the Northeast."

Rather than withering in the face of mounting competition, boosters contend that Atlantic City is a "destination in transition."

"We have something for everyone," reads the Alliance’s ad, which it placed in the three regional papers that it claimed had the most negative coverage. "No wonder everyone’s here."

"Atlantic City isn’t just a destination for gaming," the ad says. "No wonder our beaches, Boardwalk and hotels have been full of people doing A.C. all summer."

Cartmell, whose group is financed by casino revenue and charged with raising the city’s profile beyond a one-industry town, says past projections have underestimated how much non-gambling revenue Atlantic City businesses were bringing in.

In addition, she said, a concerted effort toward diversification has created a $160 million surge in non-gaming revenues over the last two years.

"While the gaming operations need to be right-sized to reflect the saturation (of the industry), the rest of the destination is actually very, very busy," Cartmell said.

Figures released yesterday by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement showed casino profits continuing to slide, with winnings for July down 6.6 percent from the same period last year.

Hotel occupancy has hovered around 95 percent this summer, Cartmell said, so while visitors might not be flocking to the casinos as they once were, they are increasingly taking advantage of the night clubs, restaurants, the beach and the boardwalk.

She said the facilities that have invested in those assets, like the Borgata, the city’s most successful casino, have flourished. Those that have faltered failed to get creative about finding income away from the tables and slots, she said.

"They were the properties that, quite honestly, didn’t play in the food and beverage renaissance," she said. "They were, by and large not huge players in the entertainment side."

NJ Advance Media reporter Matt Arco contributed to this report.