The second annual great Atlantic City VMB meet up

I would love to be there, however, coming from Florida it doesn't look like it will happen....

 

Nancy, if you can make it, we would love to have you! I know you're from this area and I know you're jonesing to come back! (if it's safe of course lol).

 

yes, I am so wanting an AC trip (not to mention most of my family is in NJ and I miss them all).... but NJ wants folks from Florida to be quarantined for 14 days if they come to NJ and I heard the casinos don't want guests from Florida right now.... but if things change in the next few weeks...

 

They want us Virginians to quarantine as well

 

Maryland, too.

 

Oh man, Fridays are a no go for me, I work every one of them. Maybe I could figure something out but it is not that simple.

Keep me posted and I'll keep a watchful eye. I'd love to see you guys again, as well as meet some new folks.

Ps, my daughter and I are coming down this Sunday - Tuesday ( Ballys) if anyone is going to be around.

 

If a bunch of us in other states aren’t forced to quarantine you better believe it will happen. While Friday can be difficult for me too, if I make it happen I’m counting on you to as well @Happygirl21. Bring your daughter too, more the merrier (I mean that in a non creepy way as I’m happily married lol).

If this actually all works out, this could be one hell of a meet up for a lot of us long time VMBers.

 

Friday 9/25 Is not set in stone. We could always change to Saturday or Sunday if one of those days works better to involve more people.

 

Sooooo, looking at the calendar, the weekend of 9/19 would be (personally) great ( it's my 50th birthday, what better way to celebrate than with a group of fellow gamblers lol) or the weekend of 10 /3 is great too. In addition to working every Friday night, my shitty schedule also includes every other Saturday night... Hoping for some changes with my new RN title . But for now.....

Anyway, I'll keep an eye and if any thing gets "set" let me know

Hope everyone is doing great

 

CT doesn't have any quarantine issues and technically I'm also a NY resident...so I'm really good right now lol

 

Correct, I think a lot of us are flexible (I know I am) to ensure we can accommodate as many people as possible. Ideally, it would be great to give as many people who are interested a shot to join us. If that meant I had to change my date for example, I’m happy to assist.

Looking forward to seeing a lot of you guys!

 

We're flexible. Just waiting for a definite date. We would definitely want to be there. We used to have regular meets from the old AC board but that was a long time ago.

 

I remember meeting you years ago at one or 2 of those meets...

 

Those were the good old days. I often wonder what happened to the "old" members from AC One.

 

So I think I’ve been talked into coming out to AC at some point. I’ve been talking about going for years but now I’ve totally seen the light. I’m in for a meet, but California is one of the states on the list... I mean, if west coast people are invited of course.

 

Amazingly this was one of the weekends I booked when Covid first hit as my wife wanted to book a bunch of getaways. I think she is still interested in going that weekend (we just cancelled this coming weekend) but indoor dining and alcohol availability would be a must, so I guess we will play that all by ear.

 

@alexm I think a lot of us are in a similar boat, so I hear ya. Whilst we're looking at the 25th, if a lot of us are in states that are prohibited from entering NJ without a 2 week quarantine, naturally we'll probably move things further out into the future. To that point, however, what I'm hoping for is that after keeping our heads down and working/living life/etc. and everyone doing the right thing leading up, at some point we'll see some movement. I don't live in NJ like a lot of members on this thread, like them I'm checking day-to-day to see what the updates are. NJ is one of the states which has seen the most drastic drop in cases, hospitalizations and deaths, it's pretty remarkable how well they've done so I'm hopeful.

While we have no insight into the indoor dining, Murphy late last week finally made mention that they're "trying" to find a way to open it up. Another 6-7 weeks should give him at least some time to "figure out" how to make that happen, so at least we have a chance there.

Even if indoor dining is open and the mandatory quarantines are lifted by the 25th of next month, obviously things won't be the same as they were last year. But, and this is me being more of a glass half-full person, I think that if we can get everyone there safely, with enough enticing options (food, gambling, drinking), areas for us to sit around with sufficient space for us to distance, etc. then I think, and again this is just me but I think many others would agree, it could be quite a bit of fun.

Again, since I offered the 25th of September, I'm happy to be the fall man if things don't come together due to circumstances out of our control, however, at this point I think it gives a lot of us something to potentially look forward to. Many of us, myself included, have postponed Vegas quite a few times, so I figured this may be a nice switch and potentially something that gives us a lot more options (especially outdoors on the Boardwalk) to choose from. One outdoor restaurant may be packed, but 2 more may be pretty open so I think we do have choices. I've also graciously (LOL) volunteered @hammie to do a few bicycle drive-bys over the next month for some real time updates.

Hell, if we're 6 feet apart, masked, sanitizer all around and we're occupying some large space outside to have some beers watching the sunset while it's 72 degrees on a Friday or Saturday, I'll definitely drive 3.5 hours each way for that to see the group. As far as I'm concerned, that would be worth it.

I figure worst case, if we have to push the trip, it's not a lot of (myself included, 2 times already) haven't been doing that for Vegas this year already lol.

And finally, and this may be the most important, I'm convincing @Jer that once he has a White House Sub, there will be no turning back! (FYI Jer we would take you to the Artic Avenue location, not the new one that's apparently inside the Hard Rock casino so you can see all the cool photos of famous people and associated items that flood the walls within the original one). Is it worth a cross-country trip? You're damn right it is!

 

Completely understand. We are from one of the few non-quarantine required states in PA, but I think that's only because of how many people live in NJ but work in Philly and vice versa. PA has had indoor dining for a few months with restrictions, but I think that's because most places didn't really have any outdoor recourse. We went to AC to capitalize on the 5x and get my wife to Diamond/ Diamond Plus. We have some 2021 plans that necessitate 4 free diamond lounge entries so it seemed worth it. The White House Sub is for sure worth flying from the left coast lol.

As to the other restrictions, I have had to wear a mask all day every day for work since this started (healthcare) so that doesn't bother me at all. It actually didn't bother my wife much either. However the no drinking at the machines, even water or soda was the line in the sand for her. It's also somewhat of an arbitrary rule since the machines are socially distanced anyway lol.

 

Yeah, the no drinking while (at tables for me/VP bars) is also a major problem for me. As much as I wanted to do the 5X last month, I just couldn't justify playing blackjack, running into the restroom to chug an airplane bottle - which would look like I have a problem lol - and then going back. Seemed to stressful. Also, not having a water or coffee would also be a major pain, so I'm right there with you. I get the indoor dining ban to avoid spread, however, I'm like you insofar as I don't understand how bringing a bottle water to the table is really going to cause issues - but it is what it is lol.

I had planned already on August being a wash, so I'm thinking toward the end of September that not only gives NJ time to figure out the situation, but the added benefit of end-of-September also being pretty nice when you're on the ocean as you're aware, especially in the evenings. The humidity isn't as bad up there (it still sucks here in the DC area lol), and that ocean breeze at 7pm feels fantastic, even better with a nice beer or cocktail. Also, and while I'm 33 and not old by any stretch, late September gets rid a lot of those early 20-somethings who I find to be a pain in the ass and, not ironically, are the biggest rule breakers who in many respects are part of the reason for this ban in the first place.

I'm not naïve, but I'm hopeful here. Either way, worst case is if things fall off the rails at least we all have something to look forward to in the relative near term. I think for me the not having something to look forward to is the hardest part. Whether or not it comes to fruition, at least you're working toward something rather than nothing, which from a mental health perspective, I think has some importance to it.

 

they were the best of times... I still am in touch with a group from there (Geri, Joan, Marge, Lee, Adrian, Carol) but as years have gone by there haven't been meets and most don't even go to AC anymore...