Greetings from The Borgata

Mrs and I taking advantage of our free rooms offer, we brought my dad and his girlfriend, I spiffed for his room because I never get him enough Christmas present. First day down of two, if I could stay away from slots I'd be even, I have to keep Mrs Mosca company at least sometimes, but the wheels have been absolutely brutal.

BJ is 3/2 and dealer stands on all 17s; played about even until it was nearing time to break, and then the dealer got "strange 21" (14 hit 7, 6 hit 10,5, stuff like that) it seemed like 5 times in a row, both of us broke camp down about $125. Afterward we went to 4 Card Poker and were lucky beyond any right, I got up about $400 and dad up about $350. We broke for dinner, then went to Let It Ride Bonus, I played even (up $10) and dad up about $50. I walked through the slots with Mrs and gave all of it back $100 at a time, right now the day is ended and I'm down about $250. Eh. I had that much fun. Saw a guy get 4 of a kind at LiR/B, starting with KKK; 4 hands later he turned JJ4 into a full house when the dealer turned a J and then paired his 4. Nice.

We saw a comedy show: Carole Montgomery, Max Dolcelli, and Andrew Kennedy. Not much to say, it was a Wednesday night show with lots of folks on comped tickets (including us), in a theatre rather than a nightclub. Basically it was funny stuff that only moderately connected with an only moderately engaged audience.

The place is medium crowded, better than we expected. The desk clerk said they're holding their own on conventions and repeats; I haven't seen the numbers, I'm sure that it's just a matter of losing the least right now. Traffic on the AC Expressway was really light at 11:30 AM. At one point, about 25 miles out, I could see 3 cars in front of me and 3 cars behind, as far in either direction as the land would let me look. 5 years ago that would have been wall to wall cars with about a car length separation among them, even on a weekday morning. AC is hurtin', big time.

The room is sweet... I mean, suite; we have an Aria suite. 50" panel TV, huge room, 38th floor. It's maybe 2.5x the size of the usual high end hotel room, and 3x the size of a cheap room. The Bathroom is about as big as a cheap hotel room, all marble. I didn't bring a camera, but you can find pics on the web. I asked for a bayside view; cityside is just as nice, either way we're up so high the view is super. I haven't been to many Vegas hotels, but I've been to a lot of AC hotels, and this is the nice one. Trop, Caesar's, Harrah's, Resorts, they're all pretty old and a bit dingy in comparison. Since the gaming seems fair (all the pay tables at the games are better than over on the Boardwalk), I think we're just going to make Borgata our new favorite AC casino.

Mosca:

I like it too. At about 13-14 years old, its the newest of the bunch.

SFB

I didn't think the Borgata was 13-14 years old already.

The Borgata opened in July 2003, and is the only resort opened in Atlantic City following Trump Taj Mahal in 1990 up to the present day (to the year 2010). It is the top grossing casino in Atlantic City.

Enjoy your time. Interesting that you got such a nice room. I've heard that Borgata rooms (Water Club excluded) are showing their age and are a little threadbare. Similar to the way the Venetian -- although really nice -- is falling apart in some places. Did the suite come with your room offer or were you upgraded? Is it good on the weekends?

Have Caesars booked in March and am making a point to go up to the Borg, if for nothing else than to get upgraded to their Black Card.

We were upgraded. The Classic rooms are getting a little rough around the edges.

Thursday went much like Wednesday did, I wound up the two days down about $600. At the end of our play I nicely asked the pit boss that since we'd played 6 straight hours at $25 per could he comp us dinner, and we got $120 in dinner comps, good for 4 buffets. Nice! This was in addition to the comps we'd built on our cards, those are still active.

Borgata is only about 8 years old.

Quote: Mosca

We were upgraded. The Classic rooms are getting a little rough around the edges.

Thursday went much like Wednesday did, I wound up the two days down about $600. At the end of our play I nicely asked the pit boss that since we'd played 6 straight hours at $25 per could he comp us dinner, and we got $120 in dinner comps, good for 4 buffets. Nice! This was in addition to the comps we'd built on our cards, those are still active.

You may want to verify your comp balance as others have mentioned that comps extended by the pit boss, and room promos were counted against the club card comps at some places.

Quote: Ayecarumba

You may want to verify your comp balance as others have mentioned that comps extended by the pit boss, and room promos were counted against the club card comps at some places.

I'm glad you brought that up. I did check, and my balance stayed intact; we used it yesterday, as part of our meals. The room promo is specifically for an Aria suite now. Check my latest blog post for an accounting of last week's trip.

Sweet. Mosca, you have a great writing style. I am consistently entertained by your travelogs. Keep up the great work.

Quote: Mosca

if I could stay away from slots I'd be even, I have to keep Mrs Mosca company at least sometimes, but the wheels have been absolutely brutal.

Yeah, that's common. The casinos often now feature these machines with two seats so couples can play.

>BJ is 3/2 and dealer stands on all 17s;
Good. At least the place is not trying to blame anything on traffic, parking, tolls, Pennsylvania or something and putting in 6:5.

>and then the dealer got "strange 21"
Yeah, that happens. Usually after I've doubled or something.

>Basically it was funny stuff that only moderately connected with an only moderately engaged audience.
Its a diversion. I wouldn't put much money or effort into a show, if I were running the place I'd put the money into comps in the casino. Yet just as you take a break from BJ to be with the MrsMosca, she probably wants a break from the slots from time to time too. If most people are comped, probably few of them would have paid for tickets if they had been forced to.

>The place is medium crowded, better than we expected.
>about 25 miles out, I could see 3 cars in front of me and 3 cars behind
>5 years ago that would have been wall to wall cars .... AC is hurtin', big time.
Perhaps the casinos and the NJ politicians thought they would have some sort of geographic monopoly forever. State legislation, State Taxation and fundamentally State, not City, revenue sharing meant nothing would happen. The casinos and the politicians thought those traffic jams would last forever. Pennsylvania is convincing them otherwise.

Quote: FleaStiff

Perhaps the casinos and the NJ politicians thought they would have some sort of geographic monopoly forever. State legislation, State Taxation and fundamentally State, not City, revenue sharing meant nothing would happen.

That plus Bill Bradley's stopping sports betting.

Quote: FleaStiff

The casinos and the politicians thought those traffic jams would last forever. Pennsylvania is convincing them otherwise.

Delaware and Connecticut were mere warning shots across the bow. And they failed to wake up the dodos.

Resistance is futile. I haven't stayed at the Borg since it first opened. I really liked it though. Harrah's gives me free rooms though so when I go to AC, I stay at Bally's for free and the Borg is not within walking distance so I rarely go there in order to gamble enough to earn a comp from them.

It's a shame, I really like the place but Free is for Me!!

Quote: s2dbaker

I stay at Bally's for free and the Borg is not within walking distance so I rarely go there in order to gamble enough to earn a comp from them.
It's a shame, I really like the place but Free is for Me!!

Won't they comp you for Harrahs? I find it's easier to obtain and the place is nicer than Bally's, and the walk to the Borgata isn't really that arduous.

Harrah's/Caesars/Showboat/Bally's charges $13/night for a comped room. I hate that. Trump charges less, around $7-8 I think. Borgata charges the least, but since I've never stayed there I can't tell you how much.

Something started the decay in Atlantic City slot revenue in 2007 (well before the recession began). The table games were relatively stable until well into the recession.
Borgata specifically started dropping in revenue in the second half of 2007.

Philadelphia Park, Harrah's Chester, and Mohegan Sun opened in Nov-Dec 2006 and Jan 2007. I think they began cutting into Atlantic City revenue within a few months.

Quote: SanchoPanza

Won't they comp you for Harrahs? I find it's easier to obtain and the place is nicer than Bally's, and the walk to the Borgata isn't really that arduous.

Yes, I can get Harrah's but the walk to the Borg is a really dull slog. I'd rather fish the car out of the lot and drive over. I've done it, just not often enough to earn even a spot on the mailing list.