Steve Wynn in Philly
Some folks here said they hated the din of the slots. Looks like Steve has heard you.
This will surely kill off a few joints in AC.
And so, since my wife and I were in the area (on Easter Sunday), we decided to go check out Atlantic City and compare venues.
At least for our middle-aged tastes, we find the environments exceptionally better in PA and DE.
We did like Wild Bills (at Ballys) but couldn't find anything we wanted to play (save for the Racebook).
We found the $2.00 + tariff BJ tables at Resorts and could not find any other tables on the Boardwalk that met with our comfort levels (either by table minimum or counting friendly environment--i.e. less than 4 players). So we went looking for the Shufflemaster BJ tables...
But we couldn't find any. According to the Shuffle Master website, Atlantic City provided the inspiration for the manufacture of the electronic table games.
Yet, we went to everyone of the Boardwalk casinos north of the Tropicana and could not find a single Shuffle Master.
AC seems to be generally far more expensive than the PA/DE venues and for us, at least, far less appealing.
In the interest of full disclosure, I admit a bias for racinos but I thought the Boardwalk would offset that bias.
It didn't.
Thing is, if our impressions are in the slightest degree representative of the norm, there needs to be some alteration of approach in Atlantic City.
So I concur with your conclusion of "This will surely kill off a few joints in AC."
**Edited** I removed some poorly chosen words.
Yeah, you won't find ShuffleMaster table game machines in A.C. I believe they *MAY* have been there briefly, but patrons preferred the live dealers.
You won't find cheap tables either unless there's a catch. The $2 + 25¢ tarrif game at Resorts is an example. Another is the $5 BJ game at ShowBoat. Lots of signs advertise it, but it consists of exactly one table. All other BJ tables there are at least $10. Even so, they tend to be crowded because the casinos are understaffed. Or simply too cheap to open more tables.
A.C. still has one thing you won't find just about anywhere outside of Vegas. You can get up and walk to a bunch of different casinos if the mood hits you.
Quote: Niblick
Thing is, if our impressions are in the slighest degree representative of the norm, there needs to be some alteration of approach in Atlantic City.
So I concur with your conclusion of "This will surely kill off a few joints in AC."
I haven't been to AC since the 1980's, but from what I can see the Taj Mahal opened a few months after the Mirage. Only the Borgata opened in the last decade.
Trump Taj Mahal = 1990 (2-Apr)
The Borgata = 2003 (2-Jul)
I think there is a big difference if you go into a Vegas hotel built before the Mirage (with the exception of Ceasars)than if you go into a later hotel. How much of AC is just that the casinos are old.
Quote: DJTeddyBearA.C. still has one thing you won't find just about anywhere outside of Vegas. You can get up and walk to a bunch of different casinos if the mood hits you.
Agreed, but the competition is close. I think there are 11 casinos in Atlantic City, including both the boardwalk and marina areas. Biloxi and Tunica each have 9 casinos, generally in clusters of 2 or 3, with the next cluster typically requiring a 0.5 to 1.5 mile trip, not unlike going between the AC boardwalk and marina. Laughlin has a pretty good cluster also, though I don't know that I would want to walk from Riverside to Harrah's any more than I would want to walk from Mandalay Bay to Circus Circus or even just to TI (although I have done that last trek).
But all that AC has is its boardwalk. I wish it could have done better but there was a real lack of urban planning for Atlantic City. With the Las Vegas strip, you could build in all directions, save the airport to the South. Atlantic City has one prime street of real estate and with that gone, property values close to the casinos plummeted because of high crime rates and the loss of their normal residential life and easy access to the beach. With Vegas, people could move away from the strip and have the same quality of life.
I do like the variety of AC and being able to have the Boardwalk to walk along. I also love the ocean setting and being able to use the beach. I dislike the very high amount of poverty behind the hotels and the general uneasiness that I feel on the boardwalk.
Will it end up shuttering some casinos? What would come in its wake that would not be a casino project?
We didn't perceive old/aged/obsolete/out of date/out-moded, etc.; rather, it was more temperament/texture kind of thing. Isn't this at least part of the point being discussed in the article? As somewhat of an example, I cite the quote from the article, "'I call it classical elements except with contemporary sensibilities,' Wynn said".
And if the, for lack of a better term, Atlantic City paradigm is being used by others as an example in the negative, isn't Atlantic City in danger of becoming a verb? And therefore to lead to conclusions like "This will surely kill off a few joints in AC?"
Anyway, if we do go again to AC, we'll make it a point to go to the Borgata; we would have visited but the way to get there wasn't obvious enough (at least to this hillbilly).
If you're heading directly there (or to Trump Marina or Harrahs), there are plenty of signs.Quote: NiblickAnyway, if we do go again to AC, we'll make it a point to go to the Borgata; we would have visited but the way to get there wasn't obvious enough (at least to this hillbilly).
However, if you're heading there from the boardwalk area, there are no signs, and it's easy to miss the turn. I've been there plenty of times, and I still miss it occasionally.
Quote: boymimboI do like the variety of AC and being able to have the Boardwalk to walk along. I also love the ocean setting and being able to use the beach. I dislike the very high amount of poverty behind the hotels and the general uneasiness that I feel on the boardwalk.
I think boymimbo aptly describes our overall feeling about AC. For us, that uneasiness followed us into the casinos.
And DJ, thanks for confirming those signs don't exist. We considered going there following our time at the Boardwalk but couldn't see any easy way to do it. And, as you know, by the time we figured out we missed any routes leading to the bay, we were committed to the AC Expressway.
Question: Google maps show what would appear to be an easy access to that area off the AC Expressway via a Brigantine highway but the road appears to be either under construction, incomplete or both. Is the road complete and will it be the most viable way to the bay casinos?
Quote: NiblickI think boymimbo aptly describes our overall feeling about AC. For us, that uneasiness followed us into the casinos.
And DJ, thanks for confirming those signs don't exist. We considered going there following our time at the Boardwalk but couldn't see any easy way to do it. And, as you know, by the time we figured out we missed any routes leading to the bay, we were committed to the AC Expressway.
Question: Google maps show what would appear to be an easy access to that area off the AC Expressway via a Brigantine highway but the road appears to be either under construction, incomplete or both. Is the road complete and will it be the most viable way to the bay casinos?
It's called the AC Expressway "Connector"...a quasi-tunnel from the end of the ACE to the Marina. Heading into the city (Eastbound) it's an exit just before the first traffic light you hit at the end of the ACE. Coming FROM the city, it's the last left turn you can make (last light) before the beginning of the ACE. It is trickier in that direction. The only signs are small "Borgata" "Harrah's" and "Trump Marina" signs that are used universally if not frequently to guide you to various casinos.
Quote: cclub79It's called the AC Expressway "Connector"...a quasi-tunnel from the end of the ACE to the Marina. Heading into the city (Eastbound) it's an exit just before the first traffic light you hit at the end of the ACE. Coming FROM the city, it's the last left turn you can make (last light) before the beginning of the ACE. It is trickier in that direction. The only signs are small "Borgata" "Harrah's" and "Trump Marina" signs that are used universally if not frequently to guide you to various casinos.
Yeah, you just missed the exit after you came over the bridge. The Hghwy to the Marina is partially a tunnel, that's probably why it looks like it disappears on Google Maps.
Quote: Las Vegas Sun
Wynn Resorts announced today it is pulling out of negotiations and agreements to develop and operate the Foxwoods Casino project in Philadelphia.
"We are fascinated by the legalization of full gaming in Pennsylvania and stimulated by the opportunity that it presents for Wynn Resorts, but this particular project did not, in the end, present an opportunity that was appropriate for our company," Wynn Resorts Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn said in a statement.
Maybe it was just some reflection. As brilliant as his projects seem to be in Vegas, he has essentially failed in both his USA ventures outside of Nevada (Atlantic City and Beau Rivage).
All things considered, Mr. Wynn would rather leave Philadelphia
"Rumors are flying that New Jersey made him a better offer"
Sooner or later, NJ has to react to the goings-on in PA and DE....
Before he dies, Steve Wynn has said he intends to develop two more hotel buildings on the Wynn/Encore site, and to develop the convention center. Thus replacing the entire golf course with the world's largest hotel convention center megaresort. I mean the man is 68 years old. It is unlikely the entire complex will be finished before he is in his 80's.
Maybe he just decided it wasn't worth spreading himself too thin.
