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Return to the Shore AC 2016

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Trip Reports' started by Grid, May 3, 2016.

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  1. Grid

    Grid Well-Known Member

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    My Trip Report

    I know AC gets a bad rep. But my family loves it there.

    Just got back from 2 nights at Borgata & 3 Days at the Tropicana. Full run down on my slot action, with pictures, and a few family friendly tips.

    My last report on Atlantic City was from a couple of years ago. Yes things have changed and despite the negative news its still a great resort town. We found plenty of stuff to do indoors wince the weather wasn't the best. If we head back for the summer I'll make sure to create a new TR since the Jersey Shore in summer is a whole nother animal!

    I did OK gambling at the Trop and not so well at the Borg. But I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

    Link to the full report, with plenty of pics, is below.

    https://sites.google.com/site/lvgrid/videos/return-to-the-shore-ac-2016
     
  2. joaks

    joaks desert tortoise

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    Nice write up Grid. AC used to be a regular summer destination for us when we would drive to NYC or Assateague for vacations. We even went up once in March ....... Damn that wind was cold!

    Always took a trip to the Irish Pub late at night.

    We haven't been since just before the Showboat shut down. Hard to imagine a place that combines seagulls, beaches, marinas, boardwalks, shopping and CASINOS could lose money and find itself in such a dilemma.

    If i didn't have a Vegas trip already planned in 3 weeks, your TR might have swayed me to head to AC!
     
  3. jamesxnj

    jamesxnj VIP Whale

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    Fantastic report Grid! Nice looking family also btw..Cutest kid loving the beach pictures are better than slot wins pictures.Thanks for the read!
     
  4. Grid

    Grid Well-Known Member

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    I wish I could get more people to the Jersey Shore. Everyone pictures a Scooby-Doo ghost town from the way the media reports things. But the resorts are top notch, the casinos are huge and its so easy to get around. Vegas is still awesome, dont get me wrong, but I'm not the club-going High End Shopper that the strip has evolved into. Plus AC is very family friendly. If you can squeeze in another trip this year, and end up in AC, let us know what you think.

    PS, I loved the Showboat. It was sad to see that place go. But the Trump Plaza & the Atlantic Club are no loss at all. I hear Revel will be back up and running soon!



    Thank you! All I have heard since we got back is "Are we going to the ocean today?" The funny thing is, we live next to the biggest lake in the world here in Chicago. But I guess its not the same.
     
  5. hammie

    hammie VIP Whale

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    Thanks for the write up, I have been going to the Wildwoods, Ocean City and Atlantic City my whole life, so it's refreshing to read about the Jersey Shore experience from those outside of the NY-DC area. I'm surprised that Tony Luke's served up a lousy cheesesteak, they are usually pretty good. I wasn't aware of the slot reporting change in NJ, thanks.

    Hope you get a chance to bring the kiddies back when the water temperature is 70 degrees and the summer wind comes blowing in. You can go body surfing and let your daughter ride the waves on a float, it ain't Lake Michigan.

    The casinos in AC reported $3.5 Billion in revenue in 2015 and that ain't hay.
     
    Last edited: May 3, 2016
  6. Fet297

    Fet297 113 survivor North Vegas

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    That was a wonderful trip report. AC is a fun place to stay. It's received bad press which is often misleading people to believe it's a total wasteland.

    Thanks for the TR, I enjoyed it.
     
  7. Tony Y

    Tony Y Low-Roller

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    Probably the finest report ever written.
     
  8. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

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    I too like AC though I miss some of the energy and vibe from the casinos that closed. I am going to venture back to Borgata a bit. I agree, CET is just cheesey. No way am I trekking to AC by bus from NYC for a plastic set of bowls or some other kitchen item and free play I find is not at the level it used to be. I'm Seven Stars though at the SS lounge at Caesars is fabulous + I can get a comped room at any time. I too absolutely love the ocean so I still tend to play at Caesars in AC rather than at Harrah's or Borgata by the marina. I've been four comped nights over Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer. I can't wait!
     
  9. Harry Lyme

    Harry Lyme VIP Whale

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    I love this trip report and could not agree more with the overall sentiment: it's not Vegas, but AC is still a great getaway. I have zero interest in taking my kids to Vegas until they are WAY into double digits (3 and 7 now), but AC is a way we can also squeeze in a family trip, plus let Daddy head off in the middle of the night to . It's not the best beach, and not only is it not as bad as people say, but more importantly kids DON'T care. We also take them to the Harrah's Fun Center, and also the pool when we stay there. We head to the Playground each trip and get Cinnabon, plus I let them get a treat from Sugar. My kids live virtually candy-free lives, so it ends up being just a temporary souvenir.

    Play-wise, I find fun in multiple properties, but specifically I love the overall atmosphere at Borgata and the vibe of Harrah's, but Trop and GN are really growing on me. I'll be giving them some business come next month's trip

    Looking forward to more AC trip reports!!
     
  10. Grid

    Grid Well-Known Member

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    @ hammie, I think I just dont like Tony's cheese steak since I prefer mine diced up a little with the onions mixed in the meat. Theirs was more slices of beef with onions on top. I like mine more of a Pâté!

    @ Fet297, Completely agree with you. In all of the tourist areas its anything but a wasteland. Sure I wouldnt want to live there. But I wouldnt want to live in Vegas either. Just try walking around the Stratosphere at night! The convention center they built usually has cool things going on and Boardwalk Hall hosts all kinds of neat stuff in the summer. Lots to do still in town!

    @ Tony Y, Thank you Sir!

    @ Flowers Enjoy your trip!

    @ Harry, I tried liking Golden Nugget. It just seemed too cramped and it was a much older crowd when I was in there. The slot selection wasnt the best and the over all feel of the property just seemed dark. I do like Harrahs tho, plenty of stuff to see and do and a great slot selection. I just never seem to win there at all!
     
  11. Grid

    Grid Well-Known Member

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    And I hear things like "AC is good for a couple of days at most" I usually go for 4 or 5 days and I still cant do everything we want to do.

    Our last summer trip worked out like this:

    Day 1 Borgata, Marsh walk to Harrahs, Family Fun Center and seashell collecting on the hidden beach. Over to the Nugget for their arcade and back to the Borg for swimming and buffet.

    Day 2 Borgata, free shuttle (and free beach tags) to Brigitine beach for the morning. ice cream and snacks in the sand. Back to the Borg for some shopping, eating (The Metropolitan, very good).

    Day 3 Move to Caesars for a Boardwalk Adventure. Hit the Pier for some shopping and lunch. Head over to the Tangers Outlet mall for the afternoon. Fart around on the beach and have their buffet.

    Day 4 Caesars, head through WWW & Ballys, Boardwalk shops heading North. Hit all the arcades and rode the kiddie rides before getting to the Steel Pier for the afternoon. More beach time before dinner.

    Day 5 Caesars, head South today. Visit Rain Forest to see the animatronics in the lobby and store. Shop those Boardwalk stores and play in the arcades all the way down to the Trop. Shop the Trop in their fun mall and head back to Rain Forest for dinner before crashing for the night and fly out the next day.

    Insert gambling each day above as well LOL.

    What we didn't have time to do was another day at Steel Pier. We didn't get to stop in Ripleys. We ran out of time before seeing the little Haunted Attraction. We couldn't do the Go-Carts at Central Pier. Couldn't do some cool Lego Interactive Exhibit at the Boardwalk Hall ETC ETC.

    So if you can see everything to do in AC in just 2 days you are a better person than I. I need at least 2 days in the Marina and 3 on the Boardwalk before I feel I saw enough for the trip. If I had a car I would add Storybook Land, Margate, Cape May blah blah blah. If you are mobile you could spend a week up and down the shore and have a blast!
     
  12. Funkhouser

    Funkhouser In Charge of the Big Door

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    Great write up Grid! If I get back to AC I will remember your short cut to the Borgata.
     
  13. spdandpwr

    spdandpwr VIP Whale

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    Damn! I wrote an awesome response but it got deleted since my token expired. Haha, so now you get half the response.

    Anyway, great TR! Personally, I love AC. I think it offers a lot and I think a lot of people take for granted the activities you can do in AC that don't necessarily involve gambling. There's actually a lot of sightseeing to be had and history to be learned (fun fact: AC is home to one of the world's largest organs). I'm hopeful for ACs resurgence given Caesar's ambitions to open a rooftop pool and Ballys making strides to add youthful appeal.

    The only curious thing to me is how the non-boardwalk properties yield more money than the boardwalk ones. I would never in my life imagine that Harrahs would make more than Caesar's but such is the case. Funny thing is that Harrah's offers me comp rooms on Fridays despite my small BR when I go to AC. I'm assuming their strategy works of giving comps actually helps them out more than hurts.
     
    Last edited: May 5, 2016
  14. Grid

    Grid Well-Known Member

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    Spot on! My wife loves a Big organ *Tee Hee* and you can see that big fella for free at Boardwalk Hall during a tour if you wanted to! As for sightseeing, its certainly on my list! They do cruises that are on the cheap all the time to see dolphins and what not. You can also take a helicopter tour from Steel Pier thats under $50!

    I hear Absecon is pretty cool and the Aquarium looks like fun. So much to see and do outside of gambling. I think if AC actually tried attracting tourist VS louring those PA players back they would do quite well. I'm in Chicago, I see Vegas commercials on TV, billboards, print ads ETC all the time. You can fly direct from Chicago to Atlantic City for under a hundo every single day of the week and yet they don't (cant?) drop a few adds trying to get mid-westerns who most likely have never seen an ocean over there? That's more than gambling money (PA players) that's tourist money WITH gambling bucks!

    And I think the Marina does so well since both Borgata & Harrahs have that "premium" feel to them. Not to mention most of the money gambled/spent in town goes through the Borg so that helps. As for Harrahs offering you comps VS Caesars, Harrahs has 2,600 rooms to fill each night. Caesars has only 1,100. That might have something to do with it.

    The Golden Nugget is tiny compared to the twin Titans in the Marina. The Borg has 3,600 rooms between the 2 towers + 161,000 SQFT of casino (3200 slots and 263 tables) Harrahs has 2600 rooms, 156,000 SQFT casino + 2300 slots and 180 tables. The GN has just 727 rooms, 70,000 SQFT casino + 1400 slots and under 75 table games.
     
  15. spdandpwr

    spdandpwr VIP Whale

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    Thanks for the info and lol at the big organ. I think you're right, there is an opportunity to lure people in from other parts of the country. I guess AC sees is like, why would someone want to gamble here if they can go to Vegas, not realizing that AC is less expensive and has a beach. I do know that AC once had a much bigger reputation in the 80s and then, somehow, went downhill. The opening of Revel/Borgata was supposed to change all that but now that people hear of casinos closing, it's giving the place a bad vibe.
     
  16. broncofn

    broncofn VIP Whale

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    Awesome TR grid! I'm a big lover of AC if you can find my TR's from the last year or so, should have 2 of them. I think that was a helmet crab on its back (to me) and not a sting ray though. We get those a lot on the beaches around here.
     
  17. bshowell

    bshowell VIP Whale

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    I love an AC TR. My sisters and I go and take my parents every Thanksgiving and then try to squeeze in some time ourselves at least one other time in the year. And I love staying at the Trop. There's a lot to do there w/out leaving the property and now that the majority of the rooms are updated, even better.
     
  18. lithium78

    lithium78 VIP Whale

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    Nice trip report. I really like AC as well. It's a fun place to visit. On your next trip, you should take the kids to Ripley's Believe It Or Not. There's a lot of fun stuff in there. They also have a laser maze that's a good time.
     
  19. spdandpwr

    spdandpwr VIP Whale

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    We should plan an AC meet for the VMBers who actually enjoy it. There are quite a few!
     
  20. rycelover

    rycelover High-Roller

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    I would definitely be up for that!
     
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