OT - Atlantic City

[connectikev]

Heading to AC for a couple of days - Any ideas on fun things to do?

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

Heading to AC for a couple of days - Any ideas on fun things to do?

Go to Vegas?

....sorry. Couldn't resist

 

[Pudge]

Never miss an opportunity for a RANT.

Gambling casinos?

Yes, I went to Atlantic City for the first time not too many weeks ago. There, like Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods, Turning Stone, are many name acts - usually from the 70s and 80s coming through. You can see your top 20 from the Casey Kasem sometime during the summer months in an AC. They tell me that the nightclubs are packed (dance clubs with a DJ) - on weekends. SOME days the Boardwalk is teeming with people.

More than anything, Atlantic City is a BIG problem. And, this is in the year that both New York and Massachusetts are moving their process for a more casinos (3 in Massachusetts? 4 in NY?). I walked down the Boardwalk the first night I was in AC and suddenly felt like I had fallen off the cliff (like the Roadrunner). I had just come to the end of the retail/activity and came to the shut down Atlantic Club - a massive hotel/casino in bankruptcy. Since my visit, three others (including the beautiful Revel) have announced bankruptcy proceedings & job loss.

I suspect that the gambling customer skews older. The handful of Pennsylvania casinos (in greater Philadelphia, I have been in 3) have to impact AC tremendously. 7 more casinos in the Northeast (at least one closer to NYC) will be ... just really hard to believe. Remember the Ross Perot line about SUCKING ...

As for what I would be looking forward to in Atlantic City? Great swath of Beach all to yourself on most late August and early September weekends. High priced drinks and lots of variety of clubs (with service and few other customers). Maybe discounting of meals. It's been a tough summer. In comparison to other Jersey shore beaches, AC is still a long wide glorious beach area (including Ventnor and Margate). And the Outlet Mall is busy and seems stacked with lots of stores you would really want.

But ... someone has to move GOOGLE here or something. Because Gaming as an industry is just dead. Those large Casinos are reportedly in line to be retro-fit to hotels; the "client lists" had value and were purchased by the other AC casinos; and the public transportation/infrastructure is amazing. I think because of the narrow area of CRIME ... a solid public policy could wipe that out.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Revel just announced that they are closing in September after their second trip into Bankruptcy. I am not a casino fan; but, over 3,000 people will lose their jobs, which sucks. The CT and Philly casinos plus changing spending habit have killed Atlantic City while state leadership has looked clueless.

 

[NorwalkHusky]

If you are trying to stay in a hotel, check out the showboat (Also getting ready to close down). It was actually a lot cheaper the Revel and I though just as nice. For food head to Carmines if you want a huge Italian Family style dinner. The Portions are enormous! I kinda liked the Tropicana goes. But just like Pudge said, DO NOT! venture too far away from the main strip it gets sketchy real fast. We don't need someone going Nucky Thompson on ya

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Stay at the Borgata or stay home.

 

[Jerry1714]

Stay at Revel or stay home.

AC is dump, but Revel is the closest thing you can get to Vegas there.

If you are looking to golf I recommend Twisted Dunes.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Stay at Revel or stay home.

AC is dump, but Revel is the closest thing you can get to Vegas there.

If you are looking to golf I recommend Twisted Dunes.

I second the Twisted Dunes recommendation. Tough track, but very nice. Never been to Revel. I like staying away from the Boardwalk. But like you said, AC is really a dump.

 

[IMind]

Tropicana and Caeser's aren't awful.... but yeah not much beyond there. It's really pretty sad. I can't think of another place where you'd have real estate that close to the beach that is that bad. I actually like staying on the boardwalk as opposed to the Borgata.. but yeah my casino gambling itch is scratched in Bethlehem, PA now vs. AC and Foxwoods.

The one place I do recommend outside of the casinos is Dock's Oyster House.. I don't really recommend walking there from the boardwalk, although I've done it... great seafood restaurant. Right up there with the best I've had in CT or Mass.

 

[whaler11]

I like that Italian place at the Trop. Eat so much you feel like you may die.

I've been a ton of times. Amazing Revel crashed and burned but there is just too much competition and they carry too much debt.

The Borgata is pretty nice but I prefer staying on the BW. If I'm going to the Borgata may as well just stay at Mohegan Sun and skip the drive.

I went last Sept and the golf courses were gloriously empty and very inexpensive. I was staying at a time share near the Margaritaville - it's a crappy chain for sure but it's a good place to hang out with some drinks on their deck.

 

[Alum86]

We stay at the Taj. Nice restaurants on the ground floor, steak and Italian. The bars on the beach are great. Landshark across from Resorts (owned by Mohegan Sun) is cool. There are other beach bars down the boardwalk towards Bally's/Carsars. Also nice.
It gets a bad rep, AC, maybe deserved in some aspects, but the comps are much better than foxwoods and mohegan. Play a few hours slots with a Taj card and you'll get offers for 2 nights free sun-thur. Certainly worth a summer trip. It is on the beach, honky tonk boardwalk/shops. It's safe on the boardwalk , give it a shot

 

[Husky25]

Revel just announced that they are closing in September after their second trip into Bankruptcy. I am not a casino fan; but, over 3,000 people will lose their jobs, which sucks. The CT and Philly casinos plus changing spending habit have killed Atlantic City while state leadership has looked clueless.

That can't be right. New Jersey has a Republican Governor. According to the Cesspool, Fox News, and the transitive property, Republicans can do no wrong.

Postscript: Sorry to interject the 'Pool on a board that matters, but I couldn't resist.

 

[Alum86]

That can't be right. New Jersey has a Republican Governor. According to the Cesspool, Fox News, and the transitive property, Republicans can do no wrong.

Postscript: Sorry to interject the 'Pool on a board that matters, but I couldn't resist.

Yeah, keep it there. MOHEGAN AND Foxwoods will soon be like AC shortly. Dem Guv here in most taxed state in US. Legislature too.

 

[Husky25]

Yeah, keep it there. MOHEGAN AND Foxwoods will soon be like AC shortly. Dem Guv here in most taxed state in US. Legislature too.

May not be a Dem governor come November. Will have to wait and see. Regardless, the Great Recession of 2007-08 has made most people re-examine on what they spend their disposable income.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Mohegan and Foxwoods better count their lucky stars hoping that Steve Wynn doesn't win the license in Boston and the voters of MA vote down casinos in November, otherwise it's all but game over for both of them. That said, as a resident of Boston and a lover of Steve's properties, I (regrettably for CT) hope he wins and the voters don't ridiculously vote it down. MS and FW have dug their own grave and are fast on the track of AC - they overexpanded, have not adjusted their offerings to the times, and are losing $ for it. The last time I went to Foxwoods, I walked around for half an hour and couldn't bring myself to do anything because of how much of a dump it's become. At least Mohegan does a decent job upkeeping itself, but it's still too unnecessarily big and hasn't added the non-gaming options necessary to continue drawing in customers. On the flipside, Wynn's non-casino revenue ALONE in 2013 tops Mohegan's entire revenue across the entire property in the same time period.