Atlantic City - Sad Case

So, I am not sure if this thread will get booted, since it's not really concerning Las Vegas, but here we go. I took my father (who barely gambles) to AC this weekend. We got comped a room, despite me being a gold member and playing an average of $300 a trip, per month, while getting comped food and room (for some odd reason).

Before we started the day out, I went on a 5.5 mile run on the boardwalk. From Caesars, to the Revel (now closed) back up to the Tropicana and back.

I didn't have to dodge anyone during my run, the place was DEAD (Sunday morning). Monday morning at 9am, Caesars has 12 available craps tables. There was 1 open, with 3 people on it, including myself.

It is SAD what has happened to AC, it was absolutely dead.

Also, I hear from a High Roller in AC that Bally's might be closing soon. The MGM they are putting near DC will be the nail in ACs coffin, I assure you.

 

I feel like AC has never been able to attract the convention and event crowds that Vegas has. Granted it's a lot smaller. The new casinos in other states and the down turn in the economy really hurt the place. I've stayed at Revel and Ceasars and enjoyed both. I think Revel had the most technologically advanced room I've stayed in at the time. The hotel was awesome. No complaints at all. The city of AC and state of NJ needed to do much more in MHO to keep the place lively and kicking. Casinos by the beach seems like a winner to me.

 

Seems that early mornings are dead no matter Vegas or AC. And 9am IS early morning in either! Not to say that AC ain't hurtin'!

 

The difference between AC and Vegas is that Vegas actually puts money back into Vegas... the infrastructure, cleaning the roads and streets, policing it very well... to make sure tourism thrives.

New Jersey sucks the life and taxes out of AC and that's why it's a dump. If they invested a little bit back into the city, they might actually see a return. That's not the AC way though.

 

I used to hit AC -
stopped probably......5 or 6 yrs ago.
My wife + I would get free room offers.....
Stayed at Sands, Showboat + Borgata.
No...it was NEVER Vegas.... but a free nite away was fun.
*
AC was never "forward thinking" -
Vegas was on top of trends........then, behind the times, AC would start
implementing those same Vegas trends.....but TOO LATE.
From the first time I went to AC -
I always saw The Beach/Shoreline as under marketed.
Of course, back when I first went to AC - there were still stories about
Medical waste washing up on Jersey shores !
So, the beach was never even used - until a few years ago ( TOO LATE ).
AC tried the Comedy Clubs + shows --- and then, Bottle/Dance Clubs + Shopping Outlets ( TOO LATE ).
*
AC's heart + soul was the Day Tripper - Bus Players.
The local racinos + tribal casinos ripped that market out of AC.
*
I think "the guys" that ran AC -
were just stuck in "give me your gambling money"
with no forward thinking.
As if that GOLDEN EGG would always be there for them.

 

This. Reinvention is key and Vegas is best at it. You have to stay on top of things that are interesting and trending. You cannot lay dormant with just gambling and neon and drinking. Customers are fickle and looking for the "next best attraction". You have to give the people what they want or they walk.

 

We go to AC about twice a month. There are a lot of ticky-tack customer service issues that bother us and turn us off. For example: VP bars stopping the free cocktails (Hilton), snooty beach bars (Resorts), overpriced parking (Trop $10), drink menu changes at the Wild West Bar at Bally's, asking for ID at Revel for their overpriced cocktails. About the only casino that gets customer service right is the Borgata. And they are either too busy or too high denomination for our comfort. Another issue is linking of accounts to Vegas. Harrah's/Caesars links to TR accounts but Golden Nugget in AC is separate from GN in Vegas. Stupid.

There also seems to be a lot more passive security in Vegas. Maybe it's just an illusion but I perceive a lot more security in Vegas just sort of manning a post and maintaining civility merely through their presence.

 

My buddy who is Diamond/black at Harrah's and the Borgata has made the switch to the GN for the better VP options.I was up there in late April on a Harrah's comp but put a lot of play in at the GN.my first visit since the Trump Marina days.We asked at thier rewards counter and were told that they were indeed in the process of linking GN LasVegas -AC.
I believe my buddy has already gotten some comped room offers for the summer in LV.
I was impressed with the whole place and it was kinda busy mid-week while Harrah's was pretty slow..and as usual the Borgata justs keeps keeping on.
I even got a mailer for some free play in May for AC.I'm a $.25 VP player BARTOPS only..Hate the 10 unit max bet at Harrah's..

(Funny story,when I signed up for new card,the girl had some kind of issue going on with another customer and a suit involved also..she printed me a card that was the highest level you can get there..I meet my buddy at the bar and show him the card and he asks me How the F I got that card??And I'm like that's what she gave me?..Too bad you can't use it for parking like a 7* at Harrah's)

 

These 2 quotes exactly sums up Atlantic City.
I live in NE PA, as a child (pre 70s), vacationed yearly in AC. I watched AC die a slow death and get "Reborn" on the Gambling Las Vegas East Revival. Atlantic City's answer to the neighboring states legalizing gambling/casinos was to build even more casinos, lower comps and pay percentages. IF and when PA ever gets around to allowing the casinos to offer free alcohol to patrons will signal another drop in AC travelers.
My recent one and probably only Las Vegas Trip really opened my eyes as to "How to draw tourists to a gambling complex/city and insuring that they want to return. (I have been bitten by the LV bug)
Atlantic City is exactly opposite. It is an almost 'one and done' experience....seeing as you can get the same experience or better at a more local casino.

 

I like going to AC for getaways now and again for a few reasons. One is that the casinos there are true resorts unlike the goofy small time stuff in PA. The odds on everything are also much better than anything you find in neighboring states because NJ doesn't have high taxes on casino earnings. It is also insanely easy to get comps in AC. I am a low level player and I am getting a free premium room, free buffet for two, and a good amount of free play for my visit in a couple weeks. AC is also doing some good work on bringing in more non-gambling attractions and they will be able to run profitable resident shows once the state legislature approves waiving state income taxes for performers. I wouldn't count AC out just yet.

 

We still go to AC once every month. We'll be there this weekend. We don't 'do AC' the city, we just 'do' the hotels. And Golden Nugget sure has it's game on. For the low roller it's become our favorite. They treat you right, they have great lounges with live entertainment, their gaming choices are terrific (UTH, Miss stud, PaiGow, and the rest), very nice poker room, and Bingo. They offer great bar VP with the best top shelf drinks. The rooms are well done, modern and clean. The pool area has a great bar, beautiful long fireplaces and outstanding hot tubs. They really remodeled the place great. You get free buffets at the drop of a hat, plenty of dining choices, and a really nice spa. Borgata is too rich for my blood, since we like to go for 2 or 3 days at a time.

We'll still go to Harrahs and Ballys every once in a while to keep my TR active, but GN is definitely the place to go.

As far as AC goes. I really don't care what happens to the city because we never venture out into it. It is NOT Las Vegas, not even close so there is no need to leave the hotel. I'm just glad Golden Nugget took over for Trump. It feels like LV when I'm inside, and it's a great replacement for the closing of Showboat.

 

lithium,
You could be right but the volume of the bus gamblers were not real worried about comps for free rooms etc. They also didn't gamble as heavily; a hundred or so a visit....some much more ...some a bit less. The sheer volume of the $100 a day bus visitors was the bread and butter of Atlantic City. Now those same people that traveled 3 hours via bus, paying $25 to gamble their $100 in slot machines and get a buffet and $20 free play still pay $25 for the bus ride. The ride is about 2 hours shorter, they get $30 in free play and $10 off a meal at their 'local' casino. Higher rollers can drive 2 or 3 hours to AC and get comps etc to gamble there or they can sit in a plane for the same time frame and gamble in Las Vegas...and probably get better comps and stand a much slimmer chance of getting mugged 3 blocks from a casino.
Atlantic City isn't going to fold up any time soon but I don't see any vast improvements any time soon either. Just my opinion.

 

I am looking forward to my visit so I can compare first hand. Don't expect it to be much like Vegas, but hopefully we can still have a good time. Hell- just looking at the ocean can be a good time!

 

I've been to Atlantic City twice. The first time was some years ago when a friend got comped room & air for two to Trump Castle about a year before it folded and invited me to tag along. One distinct memory was seeing a sign above the entrance to their parking garage which read, "In order to beautify Atlantic City, a $5.00 per day charge will be assessed to all vehicles," We couldn't help but think, "Wow! You've had gambling in this town for over two decades and the city looks like Berlin after the war. And now you have the gall to charge people to "beautify" Atlantic City? What did you do with all of the money that the casino operators handed over? No wonder all of your politicians are in jail."

About a year ago, I saw an ad in our local paper plugging junkets to A.C. for a cheap price that included single occupancy, so I bit, as it wasn't convenient to book one of my normal solo trips to Las Vegas.

My impressions are here: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29750-i78-k7568832-T_R_A_Vegas_Junkie_s_Atlantic_City_Casino_Crawl-Atlantic_City_New_Jersey.html

It's not like the casino operators haven't shoveled money hand over fist into the hands of Atlantic City and New Jersey pols. The local powers have squandered their special position as the only place outside of Nevada with legalized gambling. Now (as Sam Grafstein wrote years ago), they've "broken the Philly fast money boys," and have failed to make their city anything other than a case study of urban decay.

Sad, indeed.

 

I took my wife, who lived in Vegas 10 years, to Ceasers in AC. Her first reaction was "what happened here?"

CET just started trying with customer service in AC maybe 6 months ago. Before that it seemed like they were doing you a favor by allowing you to play. The CS had gotten better. The big thing in AC is there really is not to much to do other then gamble and the beach. Some shopping which is nice, but walking anywhere outside the main area is a bad idea. The boardwalk is questionable towards Taj in the evening/night time frame. AC needs a complete makeover, and certainly not the stupid Ferris wheel they are proposing. It's like they never ask the consumers what they want. Aka: Revel.

 

Yes, I think I won't be doing too much outside wandering once night falls on the citay!

 

I have never felt unsafe walking around in Atlantic City. Ever. There are plenty of police on the Boardwalk and the Marina section of town and plenty of security in the casinos. I wouldn't walk into Back Maryland waving a wad of Benjamins, but I wouldn't do that in the ghetto areas of Vegas either. The "safety issue" has been trumped up by journalists on the take from casino interests who want to change the New Jersey constitution to allow casinos in North Jersey, which would really suck. Nobody wants to go on vacation to Jersey City, Newark, or Camden.

 

There's definitely a safety issue at night. If you go out at night and aren't being mindful of your surroundings you can find yourself in trouble rather quickly.

Seriously though.. there's very little reason to go outside of the casino at night unless you're traveling to another casino.

Going outside during the day is a different story. It's just like any urban area. Keep to yourself, keep walking, and don't take anything if someone hands you something.

 

The PA casinos right across the river killed AC. Its never coming back.

 

I disagree with this. If you notice the Boyd group downtown has done the same thing for decades and they still draw the Hawaii crowd. Charters are usually filled up and the 3 downtown casinos still have a crowd of gamblers. They offer good gambling, good food and a fun experience without sexy dealers or loud music.

I still think downtown will survive without Zappos and the new "changes" and "reinventions". Just now they are trying to attract another crowd instead of just the gamblers and grinders. (case in point - look how crowded the Plaza and the DTG casinos are - supposedly they are trying to attract the "younger" crowd but unfortunately they aren't the gambling type - IMHO so those hotels have to find another way to get that crowd's money).