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Atlantic City observational update 7/12

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Casino Hotels' started by Wallew, Jul 12, 2020.

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  1. Wallew

    Wallew VIP Whale

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    Figured I would start a new thread as some of the AC threads kind of build and drag on forever.

    As a quasi local I have held off on going to AC for the first few weeks just so the casinos can work some of the bugs out of the strong NJ regulations. Today I made a stop for a few hours to get a feel for things as the wife and I are double booked for the next weekend. I will break this down into categories as it will be easier. I visited Hard Rock, Resorts, Caesars and Bally’s. I also spent a decent amount of time on the boardwalk.

    Hard Rock
    - by far the most thorough screening process to enter the building. Everyone must walk past an infrared scanner and answer the typical covid questions(the questions are standard for all casinos). They have one security guy watching the screen and another ready to pull people out of line. I actually saw them pull a woman aside because she came up as 101F on the scanner.
    -inside of the Hard Rock the cleaning people are all over and easy to spot in their high vis yellow shirts.
    -I also took notice that they have increased the number of security people both stationed in certain areas and just walking around.
    -just about every restaurant was open for take out. Hard Rock Cafe, the patio bar, Sugar Factory and Fish & Co were open with tables outside. Once again in the table area I saw a good number of cleaning people.
    -Hard Rock Beach Bar was also open. I took a peak from on top of the dunes and it looked to be very busy.
    -Overall the Hard Rock is doing about as good a job as possible with the situation.

    94EE58C4-709F-4878-BA27-7951F84DCFBB.jpeg 9DA8DC21-4A6E-494E-A896-2748AEE93396.jpeg
    10B76371-9D0B-40EC-B432-B8EA64613C41.jpeg 3226DDFA-4DD7-40FC-9F6C-2A33D3CFCD9A.jpeg 4D8C2B4B-5F30-4E42-8F4A-284297B190C4.jpeg 8EFFB98F-92A0-49EC-80E3-5F6EEB745B31.jpeg F2148703-89E0-4B19-97F2-46554CEB599A.jpeg 545371E4-07AA-4ADF-AEA3-C8B8891BF20B.jpeg 3231B407-3C31-45F9-A169-972DA63304C6.jpeg 9C7422A7-6C2C-474E-A3B7-1865954FBB0F.jpeg

    Resorts
    -to enter the building there was a single you woman who just asked if you felt sick or have been around anyone who was sick. As long as you answer “no” you can enter. No temperature check.
    -I did see a few cleaning people wondering around the property wiping things down.
    -just did a quick pass through but it kind of seemed about business as usual for resorts. Decent crowd that was leaning a little on the older side.
    -I believe they have all restaurants open for at least take out. Land Shark Bar and restaurant seemed like the best option for food that I saw all day. Margaritaville and Eastwind Chinese both had a fair amount of tables set up for exterior table service.
    -Wet Willy’s was open on the boardwalk next to Margaritaville and had a huge line of people. Apparently alcoholic slushees were the ticket for today.
    -overall I felt that Resorts is doing a decent job of the situation. They definitely have capitalized on their boardwalk space.

    A23DA46B-5C0A-494F-A5BC-E56F940C1DFC.jpeg 7C38C30A-5437-4225-A0E7-D8EF927EC377.jpeg 98D40DA0-52BF-48E6-BD7F-6A86364E2D7F.jpeg 5A6C6FBF-051C-4BE5-8545-94040ED24C44.jpeg E3C6EC74-6F11-4680-B6E1-11025CDAC9EF.jpeg

    Caesars and Bally’s
    -to enter the building you just walk by a single security person. No temperature check and they just ask the standard Covid questions. As long as you say no you can enter.
    -I walked all of Caesars and most of Bally’s and I thing I saw 3 cleaning people. Pretty much there was no one cleaning anything.
    -For myself and because Smerrian has been asking I stood in line at the rewards counter to ask if there are any perks since the lounge is closed. I was told “they are working on something”. So no perk as of now.
    -most of the restaurants are open for take out. The only ones taking advantage of the boardwalk space is Johnny Rockets and Harry’s Oyster Bar( Harry’s is always set up on the grass courtyard)
    They did have a large wall open to the boardwalk from WWW so you could walk up to the bar and get drinks
    -the Bally’s beach bar was open and daily busy. They actually had a live band too.
    -did take a walk and check out Morton’s al fresco set up because we have a reservation there next Friday. After seeing the set up I will be canceling the reservation.
    - I know Hammie has reported that they didn’t set anything up on the boardwalk but was pretty shocked myself once I got to see it.
    -overall feel was not great. They have done nothing to entice people in from the boardwalk or offer something that took effort to their guests.I think whoever is in charge of CET AC needs to be fired. After my visit today I will be canceling my reservations for next weekend.

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    Overall Boardwalk
    -typical summer crowd but defiantly less tourists. With less tourists the crowd seemed a little rough around the edges.
    -it was pretty busy but that was to be expected for summer
    -I would say about 30-40% of the people on the boardwalk were wearing masks. Inside the casinos was 100%.

    Drinking
    -as of now no casinos can serve alcohol inside but they are all serving on the outside
    -currently you can legally drink on the boardwalk and many people were today.
    -I asked a couple of the bartenders what the trick was to get drinks inside. I was given the same answer by two bartenders “put it in a coffee cup”
    -security is on the look out for alcoholic beverages but didn’t seem to bat and eye at water bottles, soda bottles/cups or coffee cups. I think as long as you try to be discreet inside they won’t bother you.
     

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    Last edited: Jul 12, 2020
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  2. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

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    Very informative report @Wallew. Many thanks.
     
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  3. zoobrew

    zoobrew VIP Whale

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    The person in the 1st photo might as not wear a mask as she had hers on completely wrong.
     
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  4. Wallew

    Wallew VIP Whale

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    I think that is a kid in the first photo but I agree that the mask wearing is an issue everywhere you go. It’s amazing how many people just don’t understand or care how a mask is supposed to work.
     
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  5. hammie

    hammie VIP Whale

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    Great report Wallew, much appreciated. Your assessment of Caesars and Ballys was spot on, I thought things were very lax last week.

    Your photos of the Caesars Beachside Bar was exactly as I saw, a couple tables but one bartender. If you think about how much space is available to Caesars and Bally’s along the boardwalk, probably 3 city blocks, they could have set up a couple hundred tables and captured some revenue. With two weekends under their belt and to not have an answer regarding drinks and amenities for Diamond players is a joke.
     
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  6. Flowers

    Flowers VIP Whale

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    Agree 100% with this. What a shame, and so unnecessary, that CET doesn't have its act together.
     
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  7. thegov2k2

    thegov2k2 VIP Whale

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    Any word on table minimums, especially at Hard Rock?
     
  8. BlueBellThunder

    BlueBellThunder VIP Whale

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    I noticed many in Vegas a couple of weeks ago not wearing the mask properly, at time when I was alone by a slot machine I too was guilty of not covering my nose with the mask. But when I was near people, I would definitely wear the mask properly.
     
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  9. BlueBellThunder

    BlueBellThunder VIP Whale

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    Have they banned smoking in the casinos? I know AC is allowed to have 25% of the floor available for smoking, which is better than nothing, but that 25% is usually around table games. The time has come for at least some casinos, if not all to go completely smoke free.
     
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  10. Wallew

    Wallew VIP Whale

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    Smoking is temporarily banned in all AC casinos. I would almost bet that it will never come back.
     
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  11. BlueBellThunder

    BlueBellThunder VIP Whale

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    I hope you’re right, but the casinos have a lot of weight politically. When NJ imposed the smoking ban, casinos were the only exception, just like other states. It’s unfair to not only customers, but also workers, especially at table games, that have to breathe in smoke all shift long while wearing a mask. On my last trip to Vegas it felt like an ashtray on my face after spending time in the casino. These casinos have signs everywhere saying we want to keep you safe and healthy, yet still allow smoking. Sure some smokers may stop going, but I think most will suck it up and go outside for a smoke.
     
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  12. BlueBellThunder

    BlueBellThunder VIP Whale

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    I wanted to know if they banned smoking on their own, or if the state made them. Yes the state made them, no surprise there. What’s surprising is they banned drinking. I suppose because you have to lift the mask, but that’s only for a few seconds. At the rate things are going, the casinos won’t survive because they are taking all the fun out of going. I live a little over an hour from AC, but since I have won anything there since 2001, I stopped going in 2015. I thought about taking an overnight trip there, the non smoking would be a plus, but what’s stopping me is the restaurants not opened, with the exception of outdoor dining. At least in Vegas, and most places that have casinos, restaurants are open.
     
  13. LB9

    LB9 PH Blackjack Degen

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    While disappointing news, this is much appreciated @Wallew, as it gives us a great idea insofar as what's going on.

    I doubt things change next week, but if they do the final week in July (with respect to drinking inside), I may come up for a day.

    Curious about one thing - any idea what table mins inside Caesars or Bally's was? I'll be staying at one of those two properties, if I do come up in a few weeks, and was hoping to avoid the $50 6:5 BJ nonsense that's permeating down in the DC market.

    As an aside, I thought this article was interesting (this is separate and apart from your post, but does affect NJ and, ostensibly, AC). Seems like we may be in for a wait with respect to indoor dining/drinking:

    https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/07/for-the-1st-time-since-may-nj-has-nothing-new-reopening-from-coronavirus-restrictions-this-week.html

    Thanks again!
     
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  14. flyguyfl

    flyguyfl MIA

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    Very useful info. Didn't plan on an AC trip and definitely will not go now.
     
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  15. gr8whitenorth

    gr8whitenorth VIP Whale

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    Thanks for the firsthand experience. Not that it is an option for us right now but based on this we wouldn't right now. I do like the alcohol allowed boardwalk idea though. Be safe to anyone that does venture that way.
     
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  16. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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    Thanks for posting your observations. After booking and cancelling 3 LV trips, I was pondering a drive up to AC. Considering your report (and that Borgata, the only mlife, is closed) I'll be holding off. Hopefully, folks who do go will get some enjoyment.
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2020
  17. smerrian

    smerrian View from Bally's

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    Thanks for the report @Wallew . Very informative. I'm still curious if Caesars has their free beach chair/umbrella set-up going on. I will find out on Wed (7/15). Glad to hear about the coffee cup drinks. I have plenty of them to take with me on my next trip. :)
    I definitely can see I wouldn't make a trip to AC if it was more than an overnight stay, but I don't think I really would make a trip anywhere right now for more than an overnight stay. This CV19 is just a horrible situation. The only positive thing I can think about is that this will go down in history as the Great Covid Epidemic of 2020 and people will refer to it ad infinitum...and I'll be able to say, "Yeah, I lived through it."...well, hopefully.
     
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  18. LB9

    LB9 PH Blackjack Degen

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    I hope you're right, and we're not having this discussion in 2021, but I'm not optimistic.

    Looking forward to your thoughts come Wednesday, been eyeing AC TRs like a hawk lol
     
  19. nancyf

    nancyf VIP Whale

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    thanks for the details and the pictures...it doesn't sound great
     
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  20. bshowell

    bshowell VIP Whale

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    Thank you for sharing this. Was contemplating a day trip when I was in Philly over the 4th, but ultimately decided against it. Will probably be a while before I go as this doesn't look quite as enticing as I'd hoped.
     
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