By Nick Yost   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

Considering the eruption in gas prices and ever-tightening regulations on fuel mileage and emissions, the day may come when the car as we know it is looked upon as a relic of the past.
   
But not yet. The 2009 vehicles introduced to the public over the past few months were conceived a few years ago, when the newest rules of the road were not a factor. Some have gone green, but many others are powerful, aggressive and thirsty, harking back to a time when muscle cars ruled and the price of gasoline was a minor concern.
   
Others, eye-poppingly expensive, wrap their passengers in sumptuous hides and surround them with so many advanced comfort-and-convenience accessories they may feel they’ve landed in a high roller penthouse.
   
Parked in the middle of this inviting crowd are the cars most people actually buy—reasonably priced, family-oriented automobiles with some of the elements of their more exciting brethren, but made to satisfy the transportation needs of families on the go.
   
I think of the categories as the green, the mean, the mainstream and the extreme. Let’s take a look at a few of this year’s standouts.

THE GREEN

Japanese manufacturer Honda has been delivering technologically advanced, fuel-sipping, low-emissions vehicles to U.S. customers since the first tiny Civics hit our shores back in the early 1970s.
   
For 2009, Honda has introduced an all-new, more user-friendly version of its versatile subcompact Honda Fit. Slightly larger than its predecessor, the front-wheel-drive Fit is powered by a 1.5-liter, 115-horsepower four-cylinder engine. Models with the five-speed manual transmission (27-33 mpg) are a bit thirstier than those with the five-speed automatic (28-35 mpg).
    
Despite its petite dimensions, the 2,500-pound five-door Fit will hold four adults in comfort with enough room left over for 20.6 cubic feet of cargo. The second-row seats fold flat with the flick of a single lever and the front-passenger seat can be folded forward. The result: more than 57 cubic feet of space, and room to cart a bicycle or surfboard.
   
Prices range from $14,550 for a Fit with standard air conditioning, stereo sound system and cruise control, to $18,760 for a fully loaded Fit Sport with a superb navigation system.
   
Good looking, economical, fun to drive, versatile and comfortable for up to five people, the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen will easily meet most needs of Mom, Dad and a couple of children.
   
The big news, however, is the SportWagen’s optional 50-state-legal diesel engine, a modern powerplant that is plenty peppy and eliminates all of the emissions, noise and smell complaints that haunted diesel cars of a generation ago.
   
Taking advantage of the newest technology, it produces 140 horsepower and 235 pound-feet of torque, enough to propel the VW from a stop to 60 mph in under 9 seconds and give it plenty of passing power.  The EPA estimates are 29/40 mpg but a Volkswagen-commissioned private test puts the figures at 38/45. Available transmissions are a standard six-speed manual and an optional six-speed automated manual known as DSG.
   
With a base price of  $23,500, it carries an approximately $1,600 price penalty over comparably equipped gasoline-powered cars, but that will be mostly negated by a $1,300 federal income tax credit.
   
And with up to 67 cubic feet of cargo space, a comprehensive list of safety equipment and lots of comfort and convenience amenities, the diesel SportWagen might make a lot more sense than a conventional sport-utility vehicle or a minivan.
   
In the “if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it” department: the Suzuki SX4 Sport. This sweet sedan is unchanged since 2008—for good reason. Though it’s a subcompact, the Sport boasts a surprisingly roomy passenger cabin, so the kids and the dog can all pile in. 
   
The SX4 Sport beats its competitors in price without sacrificing space, comfort, amenities, build quality or performance. The firm chassis tuning offers great handling and comfort. And if you’re looking for superior mileage, the Suzuki gets high marks there too—about 27 mph according to some estimates.
   
The base model has four-wheel antilock disc brakes; front seat, side and full-length curtain airbags; AC; a four-speaker AM/FM/CD/MP3-WMA XM-ready audio system and remote keyless entry with a security system. If you travel a lot, consider the “Touring Package 2” option pack, including GPS.
    The Suzuki SX4 Sport is a little dynamo in the affordable compact sedan class.

           
THE MEAN

There are a lot of cars out there that snarl, growl, roar and are blindingly fast. But hey, if you’d really like to scare the horses, send women and small children scurrying for cover and watch red-blooded motorheads go weak in the knees, you’ve gotta love Chevy’s 2009 Corvette ZR1 sports car.
   
Just check the numbers: 638 horsepower, 604 pound-feet of torque, 0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds, 205 mph top speed. And, yes, there’s one more important number: $105,000.
   
Except for its bulging hood, the two-seat ZR1 looks pretty much like all the other Corvettes—mean machines in their own right—but this one earns its king-of-the-hill title by teaming a supercharged version of the Corvette’s 6.2-liter V-8 engine with a close-ratio six-speed transmission, giant carbon-composite brakes and precise rack-and-pinion steering.
   
You don’t just accelerate this 3,300-pound land rocket. You blast off. Though you’ll never quite make it to outer space, if you keep the hammer down you can cover a quarter mile in 11.3 seconds, the speedometer reading 130 mph.
   
With all that super-competence, this Vette would seem best suited for track duty. But that’s not the case. Its magnetically adjustable suspension has a soft side that also allows passengers to travel in relative comfort over real-world roads. Handle it with care and the super coupe will even return 20 miles per gallon of gas on the open road.
   
The 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP might not come immediately to mind because sales have been slow, and advertising’s tailed off, too. But let’s say you’re raising a family, you want a car with real attitude, and $103,000 seems a bit rich for your blood. You might just want to take a look at another of General Motors’ mean machines.
   
The GXP easily holds a family of five and their luggage. Its version of the 6.2-liter Corvette V-8 puts out 400 horsepower and you’ll be able to get from a stop to 60 mph in less than five seconds. You can even choose from a six-speed manual or a five-speed automatic transmission.
   
The ride’s a bit stiff, but the GXP comes with the expected family sedan amenities for about $65,000 less than that killer Corvette. Great fun, a more reasonable price and exclusivity—not a bad combination.
   
THE MAINSTREAM

If you’re thinking about the right mid-size sedan for that proverbial nuclear family, your thoughts probably run to the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima or even a couple of good-looking Americans, the Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Malibu.
  

The 2009 Mazda 6 could change your mind. Unlike the previous, one-size-fits-all-markets Mazda 6, this unique-to-the-U.S. sedan aims right at the heart of its top competitors and shares less than 10 percent of its parts with the second-generation Mazda 6 world car that debuted last year.
   
It is bigger (6.9 inches longer and 2.3 inches wider), more powerful, much more handsome, more upscale and more engaging to drive than its predecessor. Two engines are available: a 2.5-liter, 170-horsepower four-cylinder and a 3.7-liter, 272-horsepower V-6. The smaller engine can be matched with a six-speed manual transmission (20-29 mpg) or a five-speed automatic (21-30 mpg). The V-6 powerplant is teamed with a six-speed automatic (17-25 mpg).
   
This Mazda 6 will hold four adults in comfort, five if necessary. Its trunk has a generous 16.6 cubic feet of cargo space. Prices start at $19,220 for a base four-cylinder sedan and can spiral beyond $30,000 for a fully optioned model.
   
If your wallet can stand the pain and you’d like a premium mid-size sedan or station wagon (Avant in Audi-speak), the all-new 2009 Audi A4 is the culmination of a $1 billion development program the German manufacturer hopes will turn your thoughts away from arch rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
   
To make the 6 more attractive to those eyeing the competition, Mazda has sculpted a new, larger and more attractive body, lengthened the wheelbase, stiffened the chassis, redistributed the weight, and engineered a rear-drive bias into its Quattro all-wheel-drive system.
   
The result is a car that’s bigger on the inside and handles similarly to its rear-wheel-drive counterparts without sacrificing the benefits of all-wheel drive. Also available to enhance the driving experience is the optional Audi Drive Select, a system that can automatically adjust steering response, transmission shift points and suspension stiffness. The Comfort setting maximizes comfortable highway cruising, while the Sport setting sharpens handling for those occasional back-road bursts.
   
Two powerplants are available: a 2-liter, four-cylinder engine that produces 211 horsepower and a 3.2-liter V-6 that generates 265 horsepower. A front-wheel-drive model is available only with a continuously variable automatic transmission. Quattro models with four-cylinder engines are offered with a six-speed-manual or six-speed-automatic transmission. Six-cylinder cars come with only the automatic shifter.

Prices range from $32,700 for a base front-wheel-drive model to more than $52,000 for a top-of-the-line V-6. With its handsome exterior, upscale interior and a long list of comfort and convenience options, the new Audi A4 is a major step ahead of its predecessor and a worthy alternative to its competition.

THE EXTREME

At a base price of $405,000, you’d expect the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe to arrive at your doorstop dripping with the opulence of a personal railroad car from the Gilded Age.
   
And it will.
  
Hand-matched custom veneers from your choice of wood. Luxurious leathers of your choice. Hand-stitched or engraved family crest, business logo or your initials. A palette of 44,000 hues. All of that and a lot more is yours for the asking. Oh, and since money is obviously not the issue, go ahead and choose the optional starlight headliner with 1,600 tiny lights that emit a soft glow after dark.
   
But this giant new coupe is not your typical Rolls. It’s not the chauffeur-driven sedan you use to conduct business, monkey or otherwise, from behind a wall of soundproof privacy glass. In fact, it has only two doors, both rear-mounted with electric motors to open and close them at the touch of a button. And the back seat is actually a bit pinched for two tall passengers.
   
This is a driver’s Rolls-Royce. It is a Grand Tourer in the grandest sense, with turbine-like acceleration from its 6.7-liter, 453-horsepower V-12 engine (0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds) and the ability to easily cover great distances in near silence at high triple-digit speeds. Press the ‘S’ (for sport) button and the steering quickly sharpens, the accelerator becomes more responsive and the six-speed automatic transmission holds its gears longer to maximize performance.
   
Due to the massive size—it weighs nearly 3 tons and is only an inch shorter than a Chevrolet Suburban—the Phantom Coupe is certainly no sports car. But there’s probably nothing better for a couple of wealthy empty nesters making the annual snowbird trek between Atlantic City and south Florida.
   
With all available options and customized accessories—refrigeration units, custom entertainment systems, starlight roof and the like—the Phantom Coupe’s bottom line can also accelerate beyond its stratospheric base price. That’s why the manufacturer expects to sell just 100 to 200 a year. Even so, if you want one you’ll have to get in line. The initial allotment of cars, due to arrive in November, is already spoken for. Yours will not be in until 2009.
   
You say you’re young, single, and looking for something sporty with a British flavor. How about the drop-dead gorgeous Aston Martin DBS, which went on sale in the United States a few months ago? It’s only got room for two and their luggage, and its lusty 6-liter V-12 engine produces only 510 horsepower. But, hey, it’s more agile than the Rolls, will reach a top speed of 188 mph and you can pick one up for a mere $270,000.
   
And who knows? Someone might mistake you for James Bond.

By Casino Connection Staff  

It’s that time of year again when ghosts and goblins roam the night in search of treats, or at least a good drink special. Here are some of this year’s Halloween hot spots, from hayrides and haunted houses to the best watering holes.

CASINO EVENTS & NIGHTCLUBS

Quarter at Tropicana
15 night spots with events and costume parties October 30 - November 1
•The Quarter Costume Contest,  October 31, 11pm
•Providence Nightclub, Halloween Happy Hour, October 31, 10pm-Midnight
•Cuba Libre & Missile Bar Costume Party, October 31
•Scaryoke at Planet Rose,  October 31
•Holla-Ween at 32 Degrees Luxe Lounge, October 31, costume contest at Midnight
•Haunting Halloween Tour: A single $10 cover charge buys partygoers $10 in food and drink certificates as well as admission into three bashes. Costumes are a must because each location will hold a contest: Hooters of Tropicana awards $500 in cash and prizes at 9 p.m.; Firewaters gives out another $500 in cash and prizes at 10:30 p.m.; and, at Midnight, A Dam Good Sports Bar presents $1,000 in cash and prizes. Drink specials are featured at all three venues all night long.

Resorts Casino Hotel
Booooogie Nights Halloween Bash
October 31, 9 p.m.

The Pool at Harrah’s
Wet Yourself Halloween Bash
October 31, 9 p.m. - 4 a.m.

Casbah Nightclub, Trump Taj Mahal
Wicked Good Time Halloween Party
November 1, 9 p.m.

IMAX at Tropicana
“Rocky Horror Picture Show”
October 30 - November 1
(Pre-party and costume contest, Planet Rose Oct. 30, 8-10pm • Rocky Horror costume contest 10pm Oct. 30)

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
mur.mur Monday Costume party October 27 and parties at Mixx and mur.mur October 31

Hard Rock Cafe at Trump Taj Mahal
Costume party October 31

Déjà Vu Nightclub, Atlantic City
SJ AIDS Alliance Halloween Bash
October 26 • www.southjerseyaidsalliance.org

HAUNTED HAYRIDES & TOURS

Haunted Train Ride at Smithville
Historic Smithville & Village Green
October 10 - October 25
Fridays & Saturdays dark to 9 p.m.
609-748-6160 • www.smithvillenj.com

Haunted Hayride and Maze
Flemings Junkyard, 353 Zion Rd.
Egg Harbor Township
Fridays & Saturdays in October,
7 p.m. - 11 p.m.
609-653-8412 • www.scullvillefire.org
Indian Acres Pumpkin Farm & Hayrides
Tuckerton Road, Medford
Hayrides: Friday, Saturday 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Sundays Oct. 12, 19  & 26, 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Pumpkin Farm: Weekends until October 26,
10 a.m. - 5 p.m. • 609-953-0087
www.indianacrestreefarm.com
Ocean City Hayride & Ghost Tours
Boardwalk Hayrides, Oct. 18-19, noon- 4 p.m.
Ghost Tours: 9th Street & Asbury Avenue,
Every Saturday, Oct. 31 & Nov. 1, 8 p.m.
609-814-0199 • www.ghosttour.com

Birch Grove Park Non-haunted Hayrides
Burton Avenue, Northfield
(Call for dates) 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
609-641-3778

Tuckerton Haunted Seaport
Route 9, Tuckerton
October 24-25, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
609-296-8868 • www.tuckertonseaport.org

Tales of Terror/Ghosts of Cape May Trolley Tours • Historic Cape May
Tales of Terror: Friday, Oct. 17, 24 & 31,
Saturday, Oct. 18 & 25 (Various Times)
Ghosts of Cape May: October 17-31
www.capemaymac.org
Phantoms of the Physick Estate Tour
Historic Cape May
Oct. 18 & 25, 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.,
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
www.capemaymac.org

Ghost Host Walking Tours
600 Main Street, Mays Landing
October 17, 6:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
609-625-0805 • www.mayslandingmerchants.com

Haunted Trolley & Ghost Tour of Philadelphia
Ghost Tour: Signers Garden at 5th & Chestnut, Daily 7:30 p.m., Friday, Saturday and Halloween 7:30 p.m. & 9 p.m.
Trolley Tour: 111 S. Independence Mall,
Daily 8 p.m. • 215.413.7000
www.ghosttour.com

By Casino Connection Staff  

As school bells call the kids back to academia and adults reflect on a bygone summer, a sizzling “second season” at the Jersey Shore is just starting to warm up.
   
In the Wildwoods—home of kitschy doo wop motels, pink flamingos, neon palm trees and rock and roll—it’s fun, fun, fun well into the fall. In October you’ll enjoy some of the best weather and warmest water temperatures of the year. And there’s always something to do.
  
Friday through Sunday, October 3-5, the Mid-Atlantic Barbershoppers Convention and Concert comes back to the Wildwoods Convention Center. The sweet strains of old-fashioned barbershop quartet harmony, quartet and chorus singing doesn’t stay within the walls of the Convention Center, however; these vocalists like to take their craft to the streets. So take a drive around town and check out these vested vocalists practicing their truly remarkable talents.
   
Make room for vroom in Wildwood Crest on Saturday and Sunday, October 4 and 5. That’s when the popular Sunset Lake Hydrofest Power Boat Races return for another high-velocity water sports display. Soak in the bay breeze and warm sun and enjoy an accompanying craft and food fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
   
The following weekend brings two major events to the Wildwood beaches. The Fall Thunder on the Sand Pro/Am Motocross Races will be held Friday through Sunday, October 10-12. Expert Motocross racers from across the country compete in an exciting display of motorcycle prowess. And the Great Fall Classic Surf Fishing Tournament casts off Saturday, October 11 to challenge anglers of all ages.
   
For more about upcoming events in the Wildwoods, call 609-729-9000 or visit www.WildwoodsNJ.com.

Beach & Boardwalk

Did you know Wildwood’s sand is finer and whiter than the sand on other beaches in South Jersey? That makes it firmer underfoot than more northerly beaches. Wildwood’s beaches are renowned as some of the most pristine on the Atlantic coastline, and they are certainly among the broadest. While other beach communities pay millions per year to shore up their shorelines, Wildwood’s beaches are Sahara-like in length, and make a walk to the water’s edge an aerobic exercise.
   
Boardering the beach is Wildwoods’ phenomenal two-mile boardwalk. This neon delight boasts more rides than Disneyland, including world-class water parks and roller coasters. Not for the faint of heart: the Sea Serpent, the Nor’Easter (an inverted looping coaster) and the Great White, the tallest and fastest wooden coaster on the East Coast.
   
Some boardwalk shops and amusements remain open through Columbus Day, so be sure to stop by for a last gulp of tangy sea air, a last glimpse of those beautiful wide beaches, and a last taste of saltwater taffy. The beach and boards are great for sauntering or biking, all year round.

The Beat

It’s where Bill Haley supposedly first sang “Rock Around the Clock,” Chubby Checker first warbled “The Twist,” and groups like the Drifters, the Dovells, Danny and the Juniors and the Supremes sang some of their greatest hits.
   
It’s Wildwood, and the city today is rightfully proud of its place in rock and roll history. The community will celebrate its important legacy with an island-wide Fabulous '50s Weekend Friday and Saturday, October 17 and 18. To get the party started, legendary disc jockey and “Geator with the Heater” Jerry Blavat will host an old-fashioned sock hop on Friday, October 17.
   
Additional events include a concert featuring Gary U.S. Bonds, Ben E. King, Terry Johnson’s Flamingos, the Del Vikings and the Mahoney Brothers at 8 p.m. Saturday, October 18 at the Wildwoods Convention Center’s Oceanfront Arena.
   
The weekend also includes a 1950s memorabilia show and sale, exhibits of ’50s antiques and pop culture, doo-wop trolley tours and much more.

Retro Metro

No jaunt through the Wildwoods is complete without an appreciation of the community’s world famous mid-century architecture. Because it originated in the 1950s, when rock and roll was in its infancy, it has become fondly known as “doo wop” style.
   
Though many of those grand old motels have been torn down, the Wildwood Doo Wop Preservation League has launched a valiant effort to save the remaining motels and vintage restaurants from the wrecking ball. US News and World Report has since hailed the Wildwoods as “Must See Americana,” and many of the island’s mid-century buildings have been recognized by the National Register of Historic Places.
   
Doo wop architecture can be divided into several categories: Jetson-style, with space-age accoutrements like round windows and glass walls; Tiki-style, with faux thatched roofing, fake palms, bright green Astroturf and bean pole torches; and Chinatown Revival, complete with pagodas, ponds and plump Buddhas. Other doo wop elements include zigzag roofs, kidney-shaped pools, clashing pastel colors, and plenty of neon.
   
For information about bus or walking tours go to www.www.doowopusa.org or call  609-729-4000.

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

Economically and politically, it’s been a tough year in Atlantic City and across the United States. Now, in what may be the city’s most challenging economic climate in decades, it’s time to choose yet another interim mayor.
   
The candidate choosen in November will serve out the final year of former Mayor Robert Levy’s term.  
   
Casino Connection asked the three mayoral candidates five questions that are especially important to a key constituency: the city’s 9,000 resident casino workers, as well as tens of thousands of men and women who come here each day to work.
   
The candidates are:
• Acting Mayor Lorenzo Langford, chosen by Democrats during the June primary to replace acting Mayor Scott Evans
• Republican John McQueen Jr., former director of operations for the city’s Special Improvement District
• Independent Joseph Polillo, license inspector for the Atlantic City Division of Construction.
    Here’s what they had to say.

How will you approach the possible development of new casinos in Atlantic City if you become mayor?

LANGFORD: Cautiously.

McQUEEN: Projects on the table should be developed as we explore other possibilities, but it’s crucial to maintain our neighborhoods. The industry pays 80 percent of city taxes, yet taxes rise with each new construction. The problem may not be the industry, but elected officials past and present who handle the monies.

POLILLO: Every administration in our casino history has squandered, lost and misappropriated the revenue and ratables. I will correct the mistakes of the past, reduce spending of new revenues, and apply the monies to lower property taxes and tax relief.

What is your view regarding the development of Bader Field?

LANGFORD: I support the development of Bader Field, inasmuch as it represents our last chance. Therefore, we have to get it right this time.

McQUEEN: The city must not rush into any sale. I’d like to see a diverse, energetic area, generating revenue as it offers amenities the gaming houses don’t offer. I’m not opposed to casinos there, but with a twist to them—a uniqueness to bring back the “wow” to Atlantic City.

POLILLO: I call for a moratorium on the development of Bader Field, which I believe was closed prematurely. The Boardwalk casino line should be developed first to complete the original plan. My view is to lease Bader Field land, not to sell it.

Do you support plans for one-way traffic on Pacific Avenue?

LANGFORD: At this point, the answer is no. I am open to revisiting my position, but only after all other options have been considered and pursued should we resort to something that drastic.

McQUEEN: The founding fathers could never have imagined over 3 million people per year coming to Atlantic City, or the number of buses, trucks, SUVs and all modes of transportation driving down our narrow streets. We must evolve or we will surely perish. The dinosaurs found that out the hard way.

POLILLO: No! The traffic study of $2.5 million proposed by CRDA and the SJTA is a misuse of funds by the state. New Jersey Transit and the jitneys are at loggerheads, making the plan inoperable. Use the money for street lighting, Boardwalk lighting, Boardwalk reconstruction and cameras citywide.

Now that City Council has imposed a casino smoking ban, do you favor further city control over the casinos, i.e., taxing slot machines or gaming positions or requiring unionization for casino employees?

LANGFORD: It would depend on what specific issue was brought before me.

McQUEEN: The city has its hands full running the day-to-day activities of the municipality. In cases of health and welfare we may intercede, but for the most part it’s an area that would foster an open door policy among the industry and its employees while allowing the industry to function competitively.

POLILLO: The city cannot require the unionization of casino employees. I do support union right to organize. I believe only the state has the legislative powers to control what goes on inside the casinos. I do support sports betting for Atlantic City casinos and think the city should receive a share of that revenue.

Will you be a candidate for the next four-year term in November 2009?

LANGFORD: It is premature to have any discussions relative to 2009 at this point. Certainly I am not adverse to that possibility.

McQUEEN: I plan to accomplish several goals: lower taxes, reduce crime, create new revenue sources and improve quality of life for our residents and homeless. One councilman made the comment, what can be done in one year? My goal is to show how much can be accomplished in one year and beyond.

POLILLO: Yes, I would want to serve beyond this year, but it would be foolish for me to make such a statement that I would run for the four-year term in 2009 at this time.

By David Schwartz   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Garden Pier wasn’t the first pier in Atlantic City, nor is it one of the largest. But it’s one of the longest-lived structures on the island, and certainly one of the most beloved.
   
Louis and Alfred Burk, who made their money in meatpacking in Philadelphia, spent much of 1912 building the pier, which cost $1.5 million. It opened in January 1913, when the amusement business was booming. Perched on the end the pier, the showroom—designed in the Spanish Renaissance style—could be seen from the foot of the structure, while the center was taken up by a large series of flowerbeds. These plantings gave the pier its name.  
   
In the pier’s early days, vaudeville reigned supreme. A night of entertainment could include everything from dancers and singers to comedians and animal acts. Shows such as Tobacco Road and George White Scandals were immensly popular, and luminaries such as Rudy Vallee, Willie and Eugene Howard, Ethel Barrymore and Everett Marshal thrilled thousands of visitors. Garden Pier’s theater became a stop on the Keith circuit, one of the nation’s most popular vaudeville tours.
   
Attractions also included operas, pre-Broadway shows, boxing matches, basketball games and ballroom dancing. A young Rudolph Valentino served as a dance instructor at the pier.
   
For a while, Garden Pier hosted one of the most unusual spectacles in Boardwalk history. In 1916, the Underwood Typewriter Company set up a working typewriter 1,728 times the usual size. It’s unclear today why this was considered a good idea. It weighed 14 tons, stood 18 feet high and was 21 feet wide. This giant used 9-foot-by-12-foot pieces of paper, on which were printed a variety of messages, usually welcoming various convention groups.
   
The behemoth, first displayed in 1915 at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, was dismantled and shipped to Atlantic City, where it was reassembled on Garden Pier. After several years there it moved to Convention Hall, where it remained until it was disassembled and melted down for scrap during World War II.
   
As vaudeville fell out of favor, the theater hosted concerts and other fare. The garden was replaced in the early 1930s by a large retail outlet. But the odds were stacked against Garden Pier. As the city’s center of gravity shifted toward what’s today called “Center Boardwalk,” it began to decline. Still, it was the site of some crazy stunts, like Mike Gillette’s 1932 attempt to set a flagpole-sitting record; after 54 days at the top of a 20-foot pole, he lost his grip and fell to the ground, where doctors pronounced his physical condition as “poor.”
   
The pier’s prospects were similarly dire. In July 1934, the theater closed “because of lack of patronage,” cutting short what promised to have been a thrilling summer series of operettas that started with The Chocolate Soldier. The pier continued to host conferences and other gatherings, but it was clearly having troubles; in 1937 it was auctioned off. In 1940, it fell into receivership and began to decay, and in 1944, the city acquired the property in a tax sale. A hurricane in September of that year did further damage to the property, and eventually all of the buildings were razed, leaving only the pilings and deck. After three decades, it looked like the pier was finished.
   
But historically minded members of the city administration had other ideas. A portion of city luxury taxes funded the rehabilitation of Garden Pier. Just in time for the city’s 1954 centennial celebration, it reopened with a concert stage, art gallery, and space for community groups. Weekend band concerts attracted crowds of nearly 5,000 people. The pier was back. And in a nod to the pier’s history, community members were allowed to maintain garden plots there, making it a “garden” yet again.
   
Today, the pier still hosts the Art Center as well as the Atlantic City Historical Museum. It is fitting that one of the surviving reminders of the city’s heyday now memorializes the city’s history.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Since your love left, you’ve been feeling blue. Don’t let that rocking chair get you. Get cats instead! (They’re just like your former love—cool, unemotional, too hairy and they shed!)

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Your dyslexia is causing troubles (and unintentional hilarity) in the cafeteria line. That was Hunan beef they served last week, not human beef. (We all know human beef is spelled S-o-y-l-e-n-t G-r-e-e-n.)

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

The baby is just beautiful, but the family is concerned that he looks nothing like the parents. Don’t fret; all babies look alike at first. (The time to worry is when he starts to resemble Senator John Edwards.)

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

You’re jealous of a friend’s achievements. Why not see her as a role model to inspire you to achieve? (Or, if that’s too adult a response, why not put her on your dartboard to inspire you to hit a bullseye?)

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Guilt is a social construct that stands in the way of happiness. Regret is an outmoded response with no place in an enlightened age. So have fun, because you’re off the hook! (At least until God gets home.)

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Your friends and family just can’t stand your dictatorial manner. Can’t you relax a little, and not demand that they live up to your high standards? (If not, issue a decree banishing them from your kingdom.)

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Let's face it, you’ve never had a good relationship with your mother, and your father is distant too. There are things you can do to help you cope. (Popular choices include booze and inappropriate relationships.)

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Just once in a lifetime, a person has a moment of triumph that surpasses all others. Could this be your moment? (Or are these just the lyrics to the latest American Idol victory lap song?)

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

The coming fall has an aphrodisiac affect on you, so others better stand back or they’ll get a big dose of your irresistible love mojo. (To repel unwanted advances, always carry a supply of mojo antitoxin.)

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Your job search has failed because you’re on the wrong career path. Instead of high-level manager, have you considered timeshare salesman? Naughty toys demonstrator? (Next president of the U.S?)

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Why do people shy away from you? Could it be that you’re shy too? Step out of your shell and walk out in the world with a smile. (It would also help to brush your teeth and stop eating feta with liverwurst.)

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Lately, you’ve been mooning over a partner who’s just too elusive to be won. You can’t woo a reluctant lover by wishing and hoping. (Tip: And in most cases, you sure can’t win them by mooning!)

By   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

You’ll come away from this “Biography in Three Acts” with a deep sense of loss, and a twinge of anger at the talented but troubled Chris Farley, who rocketed to fame on Saturday Night Live, then did a nose-dive and died at 33 (like his hero John Belushi) from too much booze, too many drugs, and too much damned wretched excess.
   
From boyhood on, Farley played the same role: the fat kid who would do anything for a laugh. As friends tell it, he was always the guy we saw on SNL: insecure but outrageous, doing pratfalls and spit takes or splitting his pants to get a giggle from his pals. And it worked: he was a popular kid in grade school and high school, landed at Chicago’s Second City shortly thereafter, then attracted the attention of SNL’s Lorne Michaels, who brought him to New York. In his third episode of the show, Farley performed the infamous Chippendales skit with Patrick Swayze, and a star was born.
   
Memories from friends like David Spade, Chris Rock and Tim Meadows add to the delight and frustration of reading Farley’s story. Each one participated in interventions for the star, whose use of drugs and alcohol exploded with his success. Farley’s brothers and his priest, Father Matt Foley (whose name Farley borrowed for his “motivational speaker” character) say he manipulated and “complied” his way through rehab, lying to others and to himself about the depth of his disease.
   
Lorne Michaels once threatened Chris Farley with banishment from SNL, swearing he would never witness the self-destruction of another cast member. But Farley, heralded by so many in this account for his great humanity, “angelic” qualities and rare spirit, could not or would not reverse his downward spiral.
   
This is a wonderful portrait. But you can’t help but be a little mad at the guy who made it a posthumous one.

By Joe Legato   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Tired of always trying to decide which is the right side to choose in political disputes? Well, that’s easy—whoever has the most money.
   
Pandemic Studios helps players do just this with Mercenaries 2: World in Flames. You play as one of three different mercenaries in the dense jungles of Venezuela. You’re in the middle of a war-torn area full of factions and political groups at battle over oil, but you’re not interested in anybody’s opinion. Your goal is simply to make the most money by accepting the missions from the groups with the biggest buckets of cash.
   
But be careful about what or who you destroy. You never know if you are getting on the wrong side of a faction that might have more money to offer you in the future.
   
Mercenaries 2 includes some great features that aid in players’ ability to cause damage. For one, you eventually get some “sidekicks” who help you complete your tasks, which include a mechanic who will build you vehicles and a drunken pilot who will execute an air strike wherever you choose (or at least close to where you direct him). Mercenaries 2 also includes a new online cooperative play that allows players to jump in and out to give you a hand whenever you need it. It’s nice to have the ability to call on a helping hand to tag-team an operation and then drop him before payday comes.
   
The coolest thing about Mercenaries 2 is the ability to obliterate almost anything. If you’re having trouble getting to a guy that you need to rub out, then you can just blow up the whole building. You will find yourself wandering around the Venezuela stage blasting mansions, vehicles, and even the landscape before you realize you have a mission to complete.
   
So don’t get too caught up in wandering around the game trying to blow up the biggest structure you can find. That is unless, of course, somebody is paying you to do it.

By Robert Rossiello   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

It’s been nine years since Randy Newman released a studio album, preferring to direct his considerable talents to composing film scores. This Academy Award-winning songwriter has written music for over a dozen movies, including Ragtime, The Natural and four Disney features, including Toy Story and Monsters, Inc. The movies have proved a perfect medium for Newman’s lush, soaring orchestration.
   
But now the man who brought us “Short People,” “Rednecks,” and “Political Science” is back with Harps and Angels, an album that continues his acidic and satirical take on America. The collection contains seven new songs and three updated versions of previously released songs.
  
 Like his best work, Harps and Angels is not shy about taking on controversial subjects and presenting them from a character point of view. Newman is a wry chameleon who both pokes fun at this country and celebrates it at the same time. Several songs have a decidedly political edge. “Laugh and Be Happy” and “A Few Words in Defense of Our Country” take the listener on a walking tour of history—with hilarious and catchy results. In “A Few Words,” Newman laments the decline of the American empire “whose time at the top may be coming to an end... at times like these we could sure use a friend.”
   
Similarly the song “Korean Parents” takes on the country’s failing educational system, presenting the parents of Korean children as models of discipline and fairness.
   
Newman has always made his point with humor and jaunty melodies—his bouncy piano runs make the civics lesson go down easy. He’s one of the rare song-writers who can make you think and want to sing along at the same time. In Harps and Angels he is back in top form.

By   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Henry VIII’s courtship strategy might be summed up as “bed ’em, wed ’em and (when necessary) behead ’em.” The randy royal spread his DNA through a succession of wives and mistresses, but his most famous conquest was Anne Boleyn, the youthful coquette who would not surrender to the king until he made her Queen of England.
    
What’s little known is that Anne vied with her own sister, Mary, for the king’s affections. The contest was set in motion by the girls’ own father, Thomas (Mark Rylance), who knew that positioning a daughter in the king’s bed would increase his own fortunes.
   
As portrayed in The Other Boleyn Girl, Henry’s appetite for both girls soon pits them against each other. Though Mary (Johansson) is the first to bear the monarch’s son, she is summarily exiled to the country, and Henry turns his attentions to her calculating sister (Portman).
   
As the vixenish Anne, Portman is both charming and vulnerable—a vain, imperious but very young girl who cannot foresee the consequences of her royal gambit. Though she gets her way, and her crown, Anne cannot produce the male heir Henry so desperately wants, and her descent from triumph to terror is well played by Portman. Johansson’s Mary is tremulous, sincere, the picture of virtue—a young woman whose conscience does not slumber in the face of temptation.
   
As King Henry, handsome Eric Bana is all dash and covert menace; he and the scheming Duke of Norfolk (David Morrissey), who helps Thomas Boleyn turn his daughters into courtesans, are casually cruel and whimsically dangerous.
  
 Of course, everyone knows this soap opera’s final act. Within three years of her coronation, Anne Boleyn lost her head at the Tower of London.
   
As historical dramas go, The Other Boleyn Sister is not great cinematic art like, say, Becket or The Lion in Winter. But it is fascinating and darkly beautiful to look at. Enjoy it for what it is: a superior bodice ripper with some capable performances.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

October 1-3
Terry Steele (Luther Vandross tribute), Hilton
Solid Gold, Resorts

October 3
Brookes & Dunn, Taj Mahal

October 4
Air Supply, Trump Plaza
Sinbad, Resorts
Patrizio Buanne, Taj Mahal

October 5
Death Cab for Cutie, House of Blues

October 10
The Black Crowes, Borgata

October 10-11
Al Martino, Norm Crosby, Tropicana

October 10, 12
The Rat Pack is Back, Trump Plaza

October 11
Jerry Seinfeld, Caesars
Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling, Trump Marina
Lindsey Buckingham, Taj Mahal
Louis C.K., Borgata

October 12
Celebrity Chef Series: Anthony Bourdain, Caesars
Frank Sinatra, Jr., Hilton

October 17
Chris Botti, House of Blues

October 18
Boxing: Kelly Pavlik vs. Bernard Hopkins, Boardwalk Hall
The Spinners, Trump Marina
Carly Simon, Borgata
Jamie Kennedy, Borgata

October 19
Lifestyle Series: Dr. Mehmat Oz, Harrah’s

October 23
Hanson, House of Blues

October 24
John Pinette, Borgata
WKTU’s Freestyle Free for All, Taj Mahal
Creedence Clearwater Revisted, House of Blues

October 24-25
Robin Williams, Borgata

October 25
Disco Ball 7, Taj Mahal
Regis Philbin, Nikki Blonsky, Harrah’s
Bill Engvall, Hilton
O.A.R., House of Blues

October 31
The Who, Borgata
Get The Led Out, House of Blues
k.d. lang, Borgata

REVIEWS

Ongoing
Yesterday—A Tribute to the Beatles, Tropicana

Through October 3
Solid Gold, Resorts

Through October 25
Piano Men, Tropicana

October 19 - November 7
Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Hilton

November 28 - December 28
Cirque Dreams Holidaze, Trump Plaza

December 3-17
Spirit of Christmas, Hilton

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Robin Williams is one of the best-loved comedians of our time. Kids recognize him as the voice of the genie in Aladdin. Adult film buffs appreciate his dramatic chops in movies like Good Will Hunting.
   
He comes to Atlantic City this month with his “Weapons of Self-Destruction” tour, which is sure to contain lots of loose-cannon political humor, jibes at candidates on both sides of the aisle, and a raucous run-up to the November election.
   
The versatile actor-comedian studied at Juilliard, then went on to The Richard Pryor Show and Happy Days, where he first introduced the character of a lovable alien named Mork. With his characteristic frenetic patter and zany antics, Williams was so popular in the role that producers created a spin-off; the series Mork and Mindy ran from 1978 to 1982.
   
Williams’ dramatic work is even more impressive. In films like Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society and The Fisher King, he showcased his formidable acting skills, and won an Academy Award for his role as psychiatrist Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting.
    
Expect this man of a thousand faces (and voices) to deliver a non-stop comic cascade. Nanu nanu.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

More than 35 years after “You’re So Vain” topped the charts, fans of Carly Simon are still dying to know who inspired the razor-sharp lyrics,“You walked into the party / Like you were walking on to a yacht…” (Warren Beatty and Mick Jagger are the usual suspects.) The scathing diatribe to an ex-lover is Simon’s best-known tune, and the fact that its subject remains a mystery has only heightened her popularity.
   
Still a force to be reckoned with, Simon comes to Atlantic City this month in support of her latest CD, This Kind of Love, released this spring on the Starbucks Hear Music label. Simon remains as tuneful and literate as ever, with a knack for plaintive love songs filled with wisdom and wistfulness. She’s still musically adventurous too—after forays into jazz standards ( My Romance, Film Noir and Moonlight Serenade) plus her trademark folk-pop, Simon today is trying on a Brazilian sound
   
The daughter of publishing magnate Jacob Simon, of Simon and Schuster fame, Carly was born to privilege. Yet her fame was based in the humble folk genre. In the 1960s, she and her sister Lucy formed the Simon Sisters and achieved minor celebrity among the coffee club crowd. In 1971, Carly set out on her own and quickly garnered attention with songs like “Anticipation.” She won a Grammy for Best New Artist that year.
   
But the best was yet to come. In 1972, Simon released her third album, No Secrets. “You’re So Vain” exploded onto the charts. The singer-songwriter has gone on to release many more chart-topping albums, and songs like “Nobody Does It Better” have become a part of the public’s musical consciousness. Expect to hear a smattering of all these at the Borgata.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

There’s something very retro-Vegas about Piano Men, the musical revue now wowing them at the Tropicana.
   
From the trio of perfectly synchronized chorus girls to the titular pianists, who belt out the hits of Jerry Lee Lewis, Billy Joel, Ray Charles and others, this super-slick, high-octane production is old-fashioned entertainment that does the genre proud. The production, which hails from the Montreal Casino, makes its U.S. debut here in Atlantic City.
   
On a glittering stage that seems perpetually bathed in a pink glow, the performers don’t do out-and-out impressions of the stars (though “Elton John” does sport fancy glasses, “Ray Charles” wears shades, and “Jerry Lee” occasionally pounds the ivories with his heels). What they do is credibly recreate some of the most memorable music in 20th century pop, playing with a sheer love of the idiom that’s evident to the last row.
   
Accompanied by a full rhythm section, additional keyboards and four horns as well as the obligatory girl singers (who are terrific, by the way), these performers give it their all. On the evening we went, three-quarters of the audience was on its feet, dancing and clapping to the music.
   
For a refresher course on some great tunes by the likes of Fats Domino, Barry Manilow and the marvelous Burt Bacharach, see Piano Men.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Fleetwood Mac alum Lindsey Buckingham revolutionized music in the 1970s by crafting pop songs driven by both melody and clever lyrics; in doing so, he turned Fleetwood Mac into one of the most popular groups in the world.
   
Buckingham’s music is rooted in a partnership with former love Stevie Nicks, whom he met at their California high school. The two paired up to create music, struggling to make ends meet while writing and recording a demo. When Fleetwood Mac founder Mick Fleetwood asked Buckingham to join the group, he brought Nicks along, and the rest is history. Fleetwood Mac became a supergroup with hits like “Rhiannon,” “The Chain” and “Don’t Stop.”
   
Buckingham and Nicks eventually split, and he branched out with a solo effort, Law and Order, in 1981. He’s been writing and recording on his own ever since, and occasionally touring with Fleetwood Mac. His appearance in Atlantic City this month will doubtless include the greatest hits, plus music from his latest album, Gift of Screws, a collection of material crafted from 1995 to 2001.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

The year was 2003. The band was Death Cab for Cutie. The album was Transatlanticism, the little indie LP that could, garnering multitudes of fans and landing on teen TV show soundtracks.
   
In those days, indie rock was still underground, and bands built a fan base by touring and hanging out with kids at the merch table after the show. Times have changed. After the splash of Transatlanticism, this Bellingham, Washington-based band jumped from indie label Barsuk to major label Atlantic. Subsequent releases have retained the tender yet forceful quality of lead singer Ben Gibbard’s voice, as well as the lovely, rounded lyrics and offbeat melodies of earlier songs.
   
One of Death Cab’s enduring strengths is its ability to create the simplest, saddest songs you’ve ever heard. From The Photo Album’s “Styrofoam Plates” (a bitter elegy for a deadbeat dad) to Plans’ “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” (a sweet promise of eternal love), Gibbard and bandmates consistently meld somber lyrics with cloudy melodies, resulting in quiet epics about difficult relationships and Catholic guilt.
   
Though they’ve lost their indie cred, Death Cab for Cutie has retained the originality and thoughtfulness that boosted them to major label ranks. Few bands can say the same.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Born David Adkins in Benton Harbor, Michigan, comedian Sinbad took his stage name from the heroic figure of Middle Eastern lore (and numerous Hollywood movies). He admired Sinbad the Sailor, says the comedian, because “he was welcomed by kings and queens, rogues and thieves, and walked among them as a leader.”

The star of his own acclaimed series, The Sinbad Show, he's also appeared in hit films (Necessary Roughness, Jingle All the Way). But the comic called “the funniest man around” particularly enjoys the immediacy and intimacy of the stage; HBO specials including Afros and Bellbottoms showcased his sly brand of social observation, his clear affection for the audience, and a refreshingly clean approach to comedy. Sinbad comes to Resorts this month for one night only.

Casino Connection: What first sparked your interest in comedy?

Sinbad: I must’ve been about five years old and Alan King was on a late night talk show. I was supposed to be in bed, but I opened the door and heard him telling mother-in-law jokes. I didn’t even know what a mother-in-law was! But people were laughing, and I said, “I’m going to do that one day.”

Did you have other aspirations too?

Oh, so many things: basketball, playing the drums, music. I wanted to be Jacques Cousteau and Mario Andretti; I wanted to be an adventurer and an explorer. My goal in life was to travel the world and never live in one place.

Being on the road so much, have you achieved that?

I do 150 to 200 shows a year; I wish I could do more. But when my kids were little, I never missed a game, never missed a play. I caught that midnight flight or that 6 a.m. plane to get home.

Lots of comedians talk about how grueling it is to start out and pay their dues. Was that true for you?

It was never grueling to me, I think because I had had my heart broken by so many other things. College was a negative for me. I didn’t make it in sports. So when I got to doing comedy, I loved every minute. I loved walking onstage and all of sudden, bam! You blow the place up. I was accepted there. It’s wonderful to find out why you were put on the planet.

Who makes you laugh?

When I was young, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Jonathan Winters, Flip Wilson, Pigmeat Markham, Moms Mabley—those people influenced me so much. Seeing Redd Foxx and Bill Cosby, you could dream that a black man could become great in this country. They showed you how to break the rules.

Cosby’s become so opinionated about social issues, to the point of being a scold.

Name me a comic who’s not opinionated. You get a bunch of comedians together, and you’ll hear the most heated discussions about politics, life, humanity—we are not clowns, and being funny doesn’t mean we don’t have anger. I think anger stokes a comic. Humor can throw the gauntlet down about how you feel, and hold a mirror up to society. As for Cosby, the man’s a Ph.D. I never talk to him without walking away smarter. Sitting down with Cosby is like sitting down with Yoda.

What do you think about profanity, use of the n word, etc. in comedy?

People talk about being controversial, well, you can’t do it better than George Carlin, Pryor and Lenny Bruce. Everybody else is a carbon copy. They did it when it wasn’t hip; they did it when it got you arrested. Now you’re called a genius because you got out there and talk dirty. I started out dirty, but my father’s a preacher, and when he came to see me I realized I could say everything the others were saying without cussing.

In times like these, how do you make social commentary funny?

With 5,000 people out in front of you, you may want to talk about serious matters but you’re also saying, “We can have fun tonight.” As a comic you can be needling and witty and sharp, but that can make the world look at itself in a healing way. A well-placed laugh just makes the situation more bearable.

Is your act constantly evolving? Do you improvise?

I didn’t know there was any other way to work.

Do you have a preference—TV, film, doing standup?

Comedy is the essence that makes me what I am. When I do comedy, it’s unfiltered. Like a boxer, I live or die by what I say.

Sinbad will appear at the Superstar Theater at Resorts Atlantic City on Saturday, October 4. Tickets are $50. For information, call 800-336-6378 or visit www.resortsac.com.

By Michael Bruckler   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

From Oktoberfest to the 50th anniversary of the Atlantic City Marathon, October is the time of year to discover fun signature events in the Atlantic City region.
   
Historic Smithville in Galloway plays host to Oktoberfest on Saturday and Sunday, October 4 and 5. This free event features an international food court with German cuisine and beer, more than 100 crafters displaying handmade wares, and children’s activities including train and carousel rides. Oktoberfest is held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.smithvillenj.com.

It’s Bavaria on the Bay Oktoberfest at Historic Gardner’s Basin in Atlantic City on Saturday, October 11, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors can enjoy live music, food, games and prizes and be part of the 110th anniversary celebration of Steel Pier. The Flying Cloud Café and Back Bay Ale House will offer Oktoberfest specials. There will also be a silent auction benefiting the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. Crafters Village will be open, showcasing handmade crafts and art. For information, call 609-348-2880.
   
If you love to cook, and enjoy gourmet foods, you won’t want to miss the Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival, Friday, October 17 through Sunday, October 19 at the Atlantic City Convention Center. The show will feature celebrity chefs and hundreds of food and gift vendors. Visitors will be able to sample gourmet foods, wines and spirits and purchase gifts, kitchen appliances, cookbooks, spices, sauces and more. There will be live music, cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs, and discounts for dining. For more information, call 609-398-4450 or visit www.gourmetshows.com.
   
The world’s largest indoor antiques and collectible show, Atlantique City, returns on Saturday, October 18 and Sunday, October 19. Dealers will display 18th, 19th and early 20th century period antiques and fine arts. Visitors can expect to see Tiffany lamps, metal work, American folk art, European and American bronze, prints, fine furniture, glass, porcelain and silver. There will be exhibitors from 41 states plus Canada, Great Britain and Europe. For information, call 1-800-526-2724 or visit www.atlantiquecity.com.
   
Whether you’re a seasoned camper or new to RVs, the best place to explore the lifestyle is at the annual Fall South Jersey RV Show, Friday, October 31 through Sunday, November 2. The show features over 250 RVs and more than 90 manufacturer brands. From Class A, B and C motor homes to travel trailers, 5th wheel models, folding trailers and park models, this show offers comparison shopping for every travel budget. For more information, call 800-332-3976 or visit www.macevents.com.
    
Take the 9th Annual New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge, and visit 13 historic lighthouses throughout the state on the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19, including Atlantic City’s own Absecon Lighthouse. Each participating site will have its own souvenir token to commemorate the visit. For information, call 609-449-1360 or visit www.abseconlighthouse.org.
   
Get your running shoes on for the 50th Annual Atlantic City Marathon, held on Sunday, October 19. This annual nonprofit event promotes the benefits of running and features runs for every age, level and ability including a full marathon, a half marathon, a 10K, 5K, the Maria Berenato Kugel two-mile walk and the Freda Spano Kids Fun Run. The courses run along the Atlantic City Boardwalk and through the new and historic Atlantic City, and neighboring Ventnor, Margate and Longport. For more information, or applications, visit www.atlanticcitymarathon.org or contact acmarathon@aol.com.

Community Events

October 4 Barbershop Convention
10 a.m.-11 p.m. Wildwoods Convention Center
Wildwood • www.harmonize.com
 
October 4-5 Oktoberfest
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Village Greene, Historic Towne of Smithville
609.748.7160 • www.smithvillenj.com

October 4-5 Sunset Lake Hydrofest Powerboat Races
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunset Lake at Rambler & New Jersey
Wildwood Crest • www.sunsetlake.us

October 5 Knights of Columbus Bocce Tournament
Noon 39th Street, Avalon • www.avalonboro.com

October 10-13 Indian Summer Weekend
Downtown & Boardwalk Music Pier, Ocean City
609-525-9300 • www.oceancitychamber.com

October 10-19 36th Annual Victorian Week
Cape May • www.capemaymac.org

October 11 Art & Music Festival
10 a.m.-5 p.m. 96th Street, Stone Harbor • 609-368-6101

October 11 Bavaria on the Bay Oktoberfest
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Gardner's Basin, Atlantic City • 609-348-2880

October 11 Old Barney Sesquicentennial Celebration,
10 a.m-5 p.m., 220 S Main Street, Barnegat
609-660-1700 • www.longbeachisland.com

October 11 Irish Festival
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Village Greene, Historic Towne of Smithville
609.748.7160 • www.smithvillenj.com

October 11  Thunder on the Sand Pro/Am Motocross
10 a.m. Lincoln Avenue & the Beach, Wildwood • www.thundermoto.com

October 11 Cape May Wine Festival
Noon-5 p.m. Cape May Lewes Ferry Terminal, Cape May
www.capemaymac.org

October 11 Oktoberfest, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
1st & Olde New Jersey Avenue, North Wildwood • www.visitnjshore.com

October 11-12 Fall Block Party
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Asbury Avenue, Ocean City • 609-525-9300

October 11-13 Italian Festival
Showboat Casino, Atlantic City, Noon- 6 p.m. • 609-343-4000

October 12 Chocolate Fantasy Buffet
2 p.m. Washington Inn, Cape May • www.capemaymac.org

October 12 Avalon Seafood Festival
11 a.m.-5 p.m. 30th Street & the Beach, Avalon  • www.avalonboro.com 

October 17-19 Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival
Atlantic City Convention Center, 609-398-4450 • www.gourmetshows.com

October 17-19 Fabulous 50s Weekend
Wildwood • www.fabfifties.com (see pg.40)

October 18 Big Band Dance
8-11 p.m. Avalon Community Hall, Avalon • 609-967-3066

October 18-19 South Jersey Pumpkin Show
10 a.m.-7 p.m. Cumberland County Fairground, Millville
856-765-0118 • www.sjpumpkinshow.com

October 18-19 Atlantique City
Atlantic City Convention Center • 800.526.2724 • www.atlantiquecity.com
October 18-19 9th Annual NJ Lighthouse Challenge
Absecon Lighthouse, Atlantic City, 609-449-1360 • www.visitnj.org.

October 19 Atlantic City Marathon, 8 a.m.
Atlantic City Boardwalk, 609-822-6911 • www.atlanticcitymarathon.org

October 19 Corvette Show
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Village Greene, Historic Towne of Smithville
609.748.7160 • www.smithvillenj.com

October 24 28th Annual Halloween Parade & Fun Fair, 6:15 p.m. Wildwood & Pacific Avenues, Wildwood • www.wildwoodsnj.com

October 24-26 62nd Annual Audubon Autumn Weekend
Migration Mainline, Cape May  • www.birdcapemay.org

October 25 ESA Surf Contest
7 a.m. JFK Boulevard & the Beach, Sea Isle City • 609-884-5277

October 25 Olympic Gold Medalist Swim Clinic
Jason Lezak, instructor; 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Brigantine Swim Club • 609-266-SWIM

October 25 6th Annual Costume Pet Parade
1p.m. Village Greene, Historic Towne of Smithville
609.748.7160 • www.smithvillenj.com

October 26 SJ AIDS Alliance Halloween Bash
6 p.m. Déjà Vu, New York Avenue & the Boardwalk, Atlantic City
www.southjerseyaidsalliance.org

October 27 Halloween Parade
All Wars Memorial Field, Linwood • 609-926-0535

October 30  Halloween Parade
7:15 p.m. Asbury Avenue, Ocean City • www.ocnj.us

By Dave Bontempo   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

Boxer Kelly Pavlik has bulldozed his way through the middleweight division and now dominates the 160-pound class. Bernard Hopkins, the definition of excellence in that division, has moved up and defeated some of the world’s top light-heavyweights.
    
On October 18 at Boardwalk Hall, Pavlik, the blue-collar, hard-punching middleweight from Youngstown, Ohio meets Hopkins, the slick Philadelphian who still punches well but is more likely to mug an opponent and steal a decision.
   
Their records are sterling. Pavlik carries a 34-0 mark with 30 knockouts. Hopkins holds the middleweight record for title defenses, 20, which he carved between 1995 and 2005. He later captured a light-heavyweight crown and is 48-5-1 with 32 knockouts.
    
So the 26-year-old gunslinger and the 43-year-old chess master meet in Atlantic City. Pavlik promises to outslug Hopkins, who contends he can take the younger fighter to school.
   
“The key is that Kelly is going to fight at a 26-year-old’s pace, not a 43-year-old’s pace,” says Pavlik’s trainer Jack Loew, honored as boxing’s top 2007 trainer by an organization called The Sweet Science.  “You’ll see that show up around the seventh and eighth round. There’s no way that Bernard Hopkins, great as he is, can put up with the kind of pressure Kelly is going to apply to him.
  
The key to fighting Hopkins, says Loew, is maintaining control of the fight. “You can’t chase Hopkins around the ring.”
    
The contracted weight resembles a slick street move authored by the savvy Hopkins. The halfway point of the two divisions would be 167.5 pounds. The additional 3.5 pounds leans closer to where Hopkins prefers to fight.
    
Loew says no.
   
“Kelly was 170 after the first week of training,” Loew indicates. “All this did was make him bigger. You have someone of Kelly’s size throwing 100 punches a round, it will have its impact. We relish the thrill of fighting a legend in Bernard Hopkins, but our guy is younger and stronger.”
   
What about wiser? That’s where Hopkins supporters are optimistic. One interested observer is Hopkins’ promoter, another legend, Oscar De La Hoya. The Golden Boy, who uses Hopkins as an East Coast promoter, knows the ramifications of moving up in weight. As a multi-division champion, De La Hoya defeated anyone who moved up as little as five pounds to fight him. When he moved into the middleweight division, he could not beat Hopkins. At some point, weight elevations reduce power.
    
De La Hoya, who will promote this bout, believes Pavlik has tested that philosophy.
    
“This is a tricky fight for Kelly Pavlik,” De La Hoya says. “Hopkins still has gas. Hopkins can still punch and he has the patience to wait for you to make a mistake and then capitalize.
    
“When you combine the knowledge Hopkins has, and the experience he has, it adds up to a good matchup for him.”
   
It’s also a good match for fans who would normally not get to see boxers who are 15 pounds apart. Throw in some wild-card negotiating, find an in-between weight and watch what happens.
    
Both fighters are Atlantic City icons. That’s what drew the sponsorship of Ken Condon, the consultant for Bally’s, Harrah’s, Caesars and Showboat.
   
“It’s very unique with Pavlik having to go up in weight to a place Bernard Hopkins is comfortable at,” Condon says. “Hopkins seems to be ageless. Even at the press conference he looked in fantastic shape. He is a very intelligent boxer. I think this should be interesting and it’s a good gate fight. There is a lot of interest in it. Atlantic City has adopted Pavlik and his fans will come out full force. Hopkins brings a base from Philadelphia.”
      
Pavlik became Atlantic City’s new favorite son with a thrilling come-from-behind knockout victory over Jermain Taylor last September. After being knocked down in the second round and languishing two punches away from defeat, Pavlik surged and stopped the previously undefeated Taylor in seven. The exhilarating victory came right after Atlantic City lost its big-event meal ticket, Arturo Gatti, to retirement.
     
The likeable Pavlik defended his title here in June with a quick knockout of Gary Lockett. Whether he can maintain Gatti’s two-a-year, big-fight pace in Atlantic City depends largely on this outcome.
    
And Hopkins will say plenty. The Executioner has become an outside-the-ring giant in the last couple of years. He signed with De La Hoya’s company, helped orchestrate a promotion deal for Golden Boy with the Borgata, and he can still box.
    
The finest hour in this era for Hopkins occurred in 2006. He dismantled, outboxed and practically toyed with light-heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver before dethroning him at Boardwalk Hall. The effort was practically flawless.
    
Hopkins retired on top after that fight, but you know the business. It kept dragging him back. He delivered an instant replay several months later by scoring a lopsided decision over Winky Wright. In consecutive fights, he had literally toyed with younger fighters— champions in fact, whose combined record was 75-6.
    
The Executioner nearly made it three in a row before coming up short. In April, he temporarily silenced a rabid crowd that came from Wales to see their superstar Joe Calzaghe. A Hopkins counter right hand dropped Calzaghe the first round of their 175-pound championship bout. After a collective groan sounded through the arena, however, Hopkins faded and Calzaghe captured a split decision.
    
Variables surround Pavlik-Hopkins. Can Pavlik force Hopkins into the street brawl he wants? Will Hopkins perform his proverbial nuisance routine—tying up his opponent, throwing counter right hands and slowing the pace of the fight? How will the weight affect Pavlik?
    
Questions, questions, questions. Several thousand people will show up to find the answers.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Oct 02, 2008

The National Association of Realtors says median existing-home prices will decline 8.4 percent in 2008, then stabilize and rise 4.4 percent in 2009. How long should I wait to put my house on the market?

Consumers need to understand that all real estate is “local,” which means each area of the country has a unique housing market. If property owners want to sell, they shouldn’t wait. Because we’ve seen average days on the market increase, market and price your home based on how fast you want to sell.  

We’ve heard about buyer’s markets and seller’s markets. What about the investor's market? Is it still possible to make money as a real estate speculator today?

It’s still possible for speculators to make money if they purchase a property under market value. Then their investment will pay off in the long term.     

On TV, open houses result in more offers if homeowners use the services of a “stager” to make the house look its best. Is this really a good investment?

Yes, staging can separate your home from the competition and make it stand out to sell faster and for more money.

Is there such a thing as a no-risk investment—for example, a seashore rental property—in today’s stagnant housing market? What are the pitfalls of renting?

A rental property is not a no-risk investment, though owners can work with realtors to make their rental properties low-risk. Unfortunately, rentals can be a pain when tenants lose their jobs, relocate, damage a property or need to be evicted.

What are the benefits and risks of selling a home on a lease-purchase basis?

Lease-purchases often benefit tenants since they can live in the property and then decide if they want to purchase it. But owners may lose out on other opportunities to sell the home by being in a lease-purchase.

Todd Gordon is a member of the Hartman Home Team, Prudential Fox and Roach Realty, 9218 Ventnor Avenue, Margate. He can be reached at 609-822-4200 or tod.acrealtor@gmail.com

The Right Time To Buy?

Many prospective homebuyers wonder if now is the time to purchase a new home. Some people say prices are still going down, others insist the market has hit rock bottom and prices will soon come up. Without a crystal ball, you have to rely on the next best source: market information.
   
Today’s market is at the forefront of the nationwide foreclosure wave. This was caused by the home-flipping frenzy, which was in turn fueled by overly loose loan programs. Banks are now overloaded with home inventory, and they’re in a race with each other to sell out their homes. Even when sold at a deep discount, the banks can still recover portions of their losses.
   
This race has created a short window of opportunity for today’s homebuyers. Prices of resale homes have fallen beyond the threshold at which new homebuilders can compete with them. But these price reductions are temporary. The market up to mid-200K is moving fast. Listings in this range are already receiving multiple offers. There’s been a drastic decrease of MLS inventory and an increase in the number of open escrows.
   
This is due to two factors: prices in this category have fallen to the level where mortgage payments are comparable to rent payments and FHA loan programs that require only 3 percent, or even nothing down.
   
The average buyer today is not a flipper or investor, but a person in search of long-term residency—a true potential homeowner. My best advice to them is to ask the right questions of the right real estate professional.
   
For example:
   
1. How are the comparable sales in my target area in the past three months?
   
2. How many days did it take to sell those comparables? (This is especially important so you can be competitive against other buyers.)
   
3. At what price did they sell in my preference of square footage?
   
4. How many available homes are competing for my business in this area?
   
5. What loan is the best fit for me? (This question should be asked of the lender or mortgage broker. Almost all owners of the listed homes today will require a loan pre-approval at the time of the offer. Be prepared, so the seller can see you as a strong buyer.)
   
Knowing the right time to buy depends a lot on the homework you do. Educate yourself, and you’ll thank yourself later.

By Design
Want to make a good first impression at home? Start in the foyer. Spectacular foyers with grand stairways and chandeliers are giving way to more comfortable, welcoming spaces where family and friends can feel comfortable dropping off boots, hats, umbrellas, schoolbooks and the like. Even a two-story foyer can have a homey feel if you display framed family photos in stair-step progression up the walls, include an armoire for storage, and include personal artifacts (beloved antiques or other collectibles) to share your personality with visitors. Position plants or potted trees in the corners, and don’t forget a bench for seating.

By Dave Bontempo  

There really is hope surrounding life’s most awful predicaments. It’s not a cliché or a shopworn rah-rah speech, just a reality wrapped up in two words: Kit Summers.
    
The San Diego native and former Bally’s Park Place juggler made the mother of all comebacks, turning life-altering trauma into a motivational speaking, book-writing, salsa-producing existence.
    
“This is definitely a time to enjoy life,” says Summers. “I was given a second chance and I’m happy to make the most of it. Life is more important to me now.”
   
Summers was hit by a truck in Atlantic City in the early 1980s. Before that random, tragic, rainy night, he was in the prime of his life, and at the top of his career. He already owned a juggling world record. He’d won a competition on the Gong Show. Bally’s, which initially hired him for a short stretch, extended him to two shows a night, six nights a week. Then came the truck.
    
Summers was crossing a busy street in a blinding rainstorm when he was struck, then thrown onto the hood of the vehicle. His face broke the windshield. His body tore the side mirror off. He was thrown 30 feet.
   
He endured two brain operations and 37 days in a coma, and his mother flew in from San Diego for the wretched vigil. He spent more than four months in the hospital.
   
But Summers fought back. He taught himself to speak and walk again, and wrote four books, including Juggling with Finesse, about his therapy and comeback. He has talked to audiences around the world about the human capacity for recovery. He gets their attention with juggling tricks, then tells them about his own resurgence.
    
“You never know what the challenge might come from—an accident, a divorce, a loss or whatever,” he says. “But people come back. I’ve gone to a lot of rehab centers and helped people to get through. They have to keep driving. It is so easy to give up. It’s depressing to know that all you could do before, you can’t do right now, but don’t quit. Learn and move on.”
     
Summers endured great frustration as he relearned to walk and talk. “It’s something we all take for granted,” he says. “You think about how we step, what muscles we use when we speak. You have to make new connections. At times, I was angry. At other times, I realized it was a major life change and the question was how I was going to deal with it.”
    
In fact, he’s dealt with it splendidly. Summers left Atlantic City in an ambulance, and returned several months later on a unicycle. On the one-year anniversary of his accident, he performed at San Diego’s fabled Balboa Park.
   
On a recent visit here, he even sought out the driver who hit him.
   
“I had to console him,” Summers says. “I told him it was nobody’s fault. I didn’t see him, he didn’t see me.”
     
He never recaptured the physical skills to retain his world-class juggling ability, so Summers branched out. Now based in Pennsylvania, he makes and sells preservative-free, fat-free, all-natural Summers Salsa. But he looks back fondly on his casino career.
    
“Bally’s provided an excellent part of my life,” he says. “I enjoyed the practice in the ballroom, every day for four to six hours, not because I had to, but because I loved juggling. I made a lot of friends at the show. We would hang out, goof off. I liked the free meal in the cafeteria too,” he adds, laughing. “I come back to Atlantic City often.”

By  

In Bollywood movies, in videos by performers like Shakira, and in health clubs and gyms around the country, the rippling undulations of Middle Eastern dance are in vogue once more. And they’re good for you!
   
Belly dance as a form of exercise does more than work the belly. It tones the spine and pelvis, shapes the legs, and strengthens little-used muscles in the hips and the small of the back. Done regularly, the dance leads to better posture and improved flexibility, and also helps strengthen the bones. Best of all, this sinuous, sensuous dance simply makes a woman feel more womanly.
   
Acclaimed belly dancer Soraya, who lives in Margate and has performed everywhere from Casablanca to India and Morocco as well as at Atlantic City’s casinos, says the ancient art form is not just good for your body. It’s rejuvenating and empowering for your spirit.
   
“Any movement is good for your health, but belly dancing really celebrates the feminine archetype,” she says. “A lot of hip-hop videos now use the steps, but I don’t want it to be seen as just another bump-and-grind. It’s a natural way for women to move; it has an artistic flow.”
   
Soraya shuns Westernized belly dancing for authentic Lebanese, Arabic and Egyptian moves. Though she prefers to emphasize the cultural value of the dance, there’s no denying it’s a great way to tone up.
   
“Oh yes, the dance is very athletic,” she says. “It helps to cut a nice waist and it’s very good for the calves, thighs, glutes—pretty much the whole lower half of the body.”
   
Belly dancing (or raks sharki) also helps to sculpt the arms, which are often held aloft to frame the body; classic moves like snake arms challenge and isolate most of the muscles of the upper torso.
   
Want to shimmy-shake to a great shape? While nothing takes the place of a qualified instructor, dancer Anne Marie of NJBellyDancing.org recommends several videos:

• Fat Chance Belly Dance, Volume 1 with Jamila Salimpour, “an innovator of both tribal and American cabaret styles.”
 
• Flex Appeal: A Belly Dance Workout with fitness guru Kathy Smith. “The video includes a lot of standardized moves, and includes a performance by Ansuya, who is revered among local dancers.”
 • Anything by renowned dancer Amira Mor.

For inspiration, we also recommend the videos of renowned Delaware Valley dancer Najia, who has performed not only in Atlantic City but throughout the world. For more information, visit www.philadelphiabellydance.com.
    
An ideal training regimen for aspiring belly dancers might include dancing three to five times a week for an hour or so, Anne Marie says. But don’t overdo it.
    
“Building strength and flexibility takes time,” she says. “Making the connections not only physically but mentally takes a lifetime. Learning belly dance is a journey, and one that should be enjoyed along the way.”

Good Scents

Ever notice how some fragrances just lift your spirits? Aromatherapy uses essential oils (from plants, flowers, roots, seeds, etc.) to provide a natural boost, encourage feelings of relaxation, promote better sleep and even alleviate depression.
   
While the therapeutic effects of certain aromas haven’t been clinically proven, there’s no disputing the benefits of essences like eucalyptus and clove, which are the primary ingredients in many cough remedies. And a recent MSN test study shows that lavender may in fact have the calming qualities claimed by aromatherapists.
   
Why do certain scents evoke certain positive responses?
   
“Aromatic oils stimulate the olfactory and other sensory organs, which are linked to different areas of the brain that control emotions,” says Caroline Ranoia, of Seafoam Soap Company in Wildwood (www.seafoamsoapcompany.com). “No fragrance will relax you, but an essential oil will, and lavender is one of the best natural sleep aids.”
   
Ranoia recommends a drop of lavender, chamomile or jasmine oil in the bath or on a light bulb to infuse your home with these relaxing oils. Other popular aromatherapy oils include:
• Rosemary for concentration
• Chamomile for relaxation
• Peppermint or spearmint for energy
• Sage for muscle aches and pains

By  

Please don’t use the “f” word to describe Sonsie, the restaurant with the spectacular view atop the Pier at Caesars.
   
The word in question is “fabulous.” Under new management, with a whole new philosophy, Sonsie has moved away from its former fabulousness and a somewhat posh image to become friendlier, a little more relaxed—more neighborhood bistro than upscale boite.
   
“Le Bec Fin can get away with being fabulous, but hardly anyone else can,” says Director of Operations Matthew Schlott, imported to Atlantic City by the Lyons Group of Boston to reconstitute Sonsie’s image and update its menu. “We have a new message and a new direction. We have great food, simply prepared. Sonsie is perfect for locals and casino workers who want a quick meal without a lot of fluff or pretense.” The restaurant invites all casino workers to stop by for 20 percent off food and drinks in the lounge area.
   
In the past, Sonsie built its reputation on two-to-three-hour dinners, extravagant feasts that few could find time for. Now you can dine and be on your way in an hour. But despite the emphasis on no-frills, non-fabulous dining, the food at Sonsie is still extraordinary.
   
Thanks to our attentive server Alex, we were well taken care of when we visited, with no detail overlooked. Even slices of lime and lemon that accompanied our water were presented prettily fanned on a plate. Alex knew his menu from top to bottom, and guided our choices.
   
To start, we ordered warm goat cheese salad. The crisp fried cheese, served on beet carpaccio salad and dressed in a tart citrus vinaigrette, was so flavorful, so multi-textured—so sweet, creamy and crunchy at the same time—it could have stood alone as a meal. This appetizer was uniquely satisfying. We also ordered Vietnamese-style spring rolls, a vegetarian delight in sweet and sour dipping sauce.
   
The main course was Mediterranean sea bass, pan-seared and served with a rich blend of tomatoes, green beans, fingerling potatoes, leeks and caper berries. The fish was delicate and firm but so tender it fell apart at a touch of the fork. This was a superior meal, perfect for fall.
   
Chef Brian Perry eschews beurre blanc and other heavy dressings; as a result, the new menu is made up of assertive but un-fussy entrees, like the 12-ounce double cut pork chop or roasted free-range chicken, each served with chimichurri and Sonsie’s special steak sauce.
   
Perry’s meats and fish are primarily grilled or pan-seared; go ahead and dress them up with a marvelous side dish, including creamy lobster mashed potatoes, Parmesan truffle fries and wild mushroom ragout.
   
The bar serves brick-oven pizza, hearty sandwiches and good drinks, reasonably priced. The restaurant is also open for breakfast and lunch (enter through Caesars when the Pier is not open). Schlott raves about the roasted banana and chocolate chip French toast. The coffee is excellent.
   
Sonsie has made it a point to become involved in local charitable efforts, including fundraisers for Gilda’s Club. “If we’re going to ask the community to support us,” says Schlott, “we have to support the community.”
   
In the past, the restaurant aspired to a kind of gourmet grandeur that was not quite right for the marketplace.
   
“We thought, ‘We are going to be fabulous, and you’re going to grow into it,’” says Schlott. “Well, we are not Vegas, San Diego or L.A. We’re Philly and New York. We’re Bayonne and the Oranges. We’re Germantown.”
   
Sonsie is also Atlantic City.  And truth to tell—it’s just fabulous.

LOUNGE OF RENOWN

In the poem To A Haggis, Scottish bard Robert Burns addressed this traditional Scottish dish with the words, “Fair fa’ your honest sonsie face / Great Chieftain o’ the puddin’ race.”
   
The word “sonsie” can be loosely interpreted as “jolly” or “spirited.” As befits an establishment with Gaelic roots, Sonsie in Atlantic City is a dedicated watering hole offering more than 300 brands of wine and an impressive list of specialty drinks.
   
The most popular among them may be the “!#@&’n Good Cosmo,” so christened last summer by a female fan who loved the refreshing mix of strawberry Stolichnaya, fresh strawberries, pineapple juice and Cointreau with a splash of fresh lime.
   
Others to try: the Mimosa Martini (with Svedka Clementine, Citronage liqueur, champagne and orange juice); the Mango Margarita (with fresh mango puree, Sauza Blanco and Citronage liqueur); the Psycho Jake (with Svedka vodka, wasabi Bloody Mary mix and fresh ginger); and the Blood Orange Martini (with L’Orange vodka, Cointreau and blood orange juice).
   
Specialty drinks change with the season.

Wed, Oct 01, 2008

Democratic federal, state, and county candidates always win in Atlantic City; voters ensure one blue November after another. Local races afford a better opportunity for non-Democrats to compete, depending on their qualifications, charisma, and the unity of the Democratic party.

Atlantic City is the only city in New Jersey where registered Democrats outnumber both registered Republicans and unaffiliated voters, so the Democratic nominee does not have to do much to pull out a victory. Democrat Lorenzo Langford amassed campaign funds during the summer, but his campaign appearances were virtually nonexistent. It’s as if he went into hibernation for the summer.

The challenge for his opponents, independent Joseph Polillo and Republican John McQueen, is to convince voters to move off the Democrat line when selecting the next mayor. But convincing the veteran voters in a Democrat-heavy electorate to forget about party affiliation will be tough. Convincing new voters to vote for a Republican or independent will be near-impossible.
We can expect a few things from now until November 4. Langford should enjoy a significant cash advantage over his opponents; he will outdistance his opponents in absentee ballots, television and radio ads, direct mail and fliers. Local churches dabbling in the political realm will throw their support behind the Democrat.

Polillo will enjoy support from the talk radio world. He has been solidifying his support in the high-rise condominiums, among jitney and taxi owners, and with small businesses and Atlantic City civic organizations.

McQueen will focus the Fifth and Sixth Wards and those Democrats who are dissatisfied with Langford’s style of leadership. He will continue to introduce himself door-to-door, fighting for name recognition and focusing on the anger over the recent revaluation property tax bills.

Atlantic City is largely insulated from the nationwide implosion of the Obama campaign. Despite Obama’s bumbles and the decreasing strength of his cult of personality, Atlantic City should expect a record turnout for the Democratic presidential hopeful. Locally, it will be a Herculean task to chip away at Democratic strength, yet Polillo and McQueen are gearing-up for the challenge.

Keep your eyes on candidate websites for updates and campaign events.
Joseph Polillo: http://polilloformayor.org
Lorenzo Langford: http://www.langfordforac.org
John McQueen: (No web-site, e-mail is mcqueen4mayor@yahoo.com.)

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

John Pasqualoni’s return to Atlantic City, where he started in gaming, took many years. A slot executive for most of his career, Pasqualoni left the Trump organization in the 1990s to join Foxwoods in Connecticut, where he spent many years running one of the most profitable slot floors in the world. Later, he joined the Seneca Gaming Corp. and became its president in 2005. He was appointed to lead Resorts in August, taking over a struggling property owned by Colony Capital subsidiary Resorts International.
   
Pasqualoni spoke with Casino Connection Managing Editor Marjorie Preston about Resorts’ iconic role as the first casino in Atlantic City, its place in the Atlantic City of today, and its game plan for the future.

Casino Connection: What keeps people coming back to Resorts?

Pasqualoni: Customer service is a major issue—as far as keeping people coming back, it’s as important as anything we do. Personally, I’d rather go to Cheers than some high-end establishment that doesn’t know who I am or care who I am, who just takes my money and see you later. I like to think of us as Cheers, where everybody knows your name, as the song goes.
 
Do you intend to target young customers and bring in that new demographic?

Our demographic is everybody. It’s not old. It’s not young. If you look at Boogie Nights, our nightclub where we play up the disco theme, sometimes on a Saturday night I see people from 21 years of age to 60. It’s an interesting demographic, but that’s us. We’re just giving people a reason to come here.

You’ve come from an organization, the Senecas, that’s still expanding, to a market that’s fending off competition from other states. Are there principles for growth that you developed in New York that also apply to Atlantic City?

As for something that would change the landscape in Atlantic City, my initial answer would be no. We were lucky up there. We had a favorable market. Our competition was across the river in Canada—it was a beautiful billion-dollar property across the river, and I would love to have had some of that Canadian business, but it’s difficult getting across the border, especially with cash in your pocket. There’s a huge Asian population in Toronto that we couldn’t tap into, so we concentrated on the local market, the Buffalo market and points about 150 miles south of us. We concentrated on the bottom line. We developed the business slowly, watched our margins, watched what we were spending on programming, and brought in some great entertainment. We gave Western New York something that had been missing along the way.

What kind of entertainment?

Pretty similar to what you see in Atlantic City—a lot of headliners. We were lucky, because a lot of performers would come through Buffalo on their way to Canada. Take Alice Cooper. We picked him up on Halloween night.

Good timing.

Our theater at that time only held about 400 people, but for $7,500 we had Alice Cooper on Halloween night with the snake, the whole deal. It was unbelievable.

The snake is still performing?

We had the snake. It was unbelievable. We had Cyndi Lauper up there, same thing. We had great entertainment, but it wasn’t a competitive market. When you look at Niagara Falls versus Atlantic City, from a competitive standpoint I couldn’t compete here with the Borgata, for instance. The cost of acts is really out of our control. It’s the environment that drives the price.

When you left Atlantic City last time, Borgata was not here. Now people hold it up as the standard. Do you consider yourself Borgata’s competitor?

Everybody is a competitor. We compete with the Taj, Showboat, Borgata and everyone else. Every property has something different to offer. If you walk around the casino and watch people playing slots, there isn’t one card on their keychain. There’s five or six or seven. We’re sharing our business in this town, and we need to develop that business further. Unfortunately, some of the mid-week business has been siphoned off by the Philadelphia, New York and Scranton markets.

Does gaming still take precedence over dining, shopping, etc., as the thing that drives people to visit here?

Yes. It’s a combination of everything, but gaming is our business. Entertainment and shopping give people other options, and you can’t expect somebody to come here two or three days and game 24 hours a day. It’s good to do a little shopping, eat in a great restaurant, walk the Boardwalk, enjoy the ocean and the weather. We need more than gaming here, but gaming is still the primary attraction. Otherwise we might as well all take the word “casino” off our buildings.

About Boogie Nights. Is that lightning in a bottle or the result of some demographic study?

It’s lightning in a bottle. It’s flat-out fun. People love to dance, and if you look at today’s music, there’s nothing wrong with it, but you can’t dance to it. At that club, from 10 o’clock on, the dance floor is full and people are having just a fun time.

If I could take Boogie Nights onto the casino floor and Boogie Night the whole casino and have that same kind of fun and action, that would be a major home run.

Do you have the right game mix here at Resorts? Do you feel you need to increase the level of poker or table games?

We’re not a poker house and we don’t pretend to be. So yes, the game mix is where it should be at this time. We’re always refining our slot product, dedicating capital each year to make sure we have the newest and best equipment.

Resorts is the oldest casino in town. How do you change your marketing to make it seem new and fresh? Is that even your goal, or do you like to consider yourself a classic?

First of all, we’re not the oldest casino in town. Maybe part of the building is, but there’s also the Rendezvous Tower, which is only four years old at this point, and a good portion of the casino also is new. So we like to think of ourselves as a property that’s been in business a long time but also offers the newest amenities. An example is the slot equipment. And table games, same thing. We’re up to date on everything we do here. We don’t like to think of Resorts as classic. That sounds old. We pride ourselves on the upkeep of this property and our goal is to make sure guests have a memorable experience every time they visit us.

In years to come, will you expand into the former Chalfonte site?

That’s tough to answer because of the economic mood. Plans come and go and change. Something could be on one day and off the next. Look at Revel, which now plans to build one tower, and Pinnacle, which is holding off on building at all. Then look outside the jurisdiction at Las Vegas and major projects that have been suspended out there. There are reasons why you don’t do master planning today for two or three years from now. It’s because the market is going to change in two or three years.

Even if you don’t make a firm plan for the future, do you pencil something in?

Let’s just say you think about it. Right now, I see this city working on the conference and convention business. That’s what’s going to put people in the rooms. More cash business. We’re looking for all kinds of ways, and in essence, it makes us all a little more creative and keeps us on our toes. We have to continually strive to drag that down to the bottom line. That’s what it’s all about today.

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

"We have casinos that are running smoothly and have been very successful in generating revenue that is reducing taxes for our citizens. But we have also encountered some problems, and it is critical that we correct them while Pennsylvania’s gaming industry is still young."

—Pennsylvania state Senator Vincent Fumo, who is sponsoring a bill to make the state’s gaming regulators full-time and forbid outside employment that may cause a conflict of interest

"It’s a symbol of resilience."

—Duncan McKenzie, GM of the Hard Rock Casino Hotel in Biloxi, on the focus on the casino’s sign, a huge guitar, that survived Hurricane Katrina and last month came through Hurricane Gustav unscathed

"As I go around the state, I’d say it’s an even bet. There are strong anti-slot groups, but clearly there are no strong proponents. That could change. The racing interests are not yet fully engaged."

—Dennis Rasmussen, a lobbyist from Ocean City, Maryland, on the chances of the state’s November referendum to legalize slots at racetracks and elsewhere

"It would be a really good thing if it was 18 to gamble. Then you give students an alternative to drinking."

—Lehigh University sophomore Steve Bialick, in a news story about the upcoming Sands Bethlehem casino

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

Casino Aztar for sale again

Delaware bankruptcy judge has OK’d the November 18 auction of Tropicana Entertainment’s Casino Aztar riverboat in Evansville, Indiana. Sale terms could let Tropicana keep the boat, a case that could see Eldorado Resorts lose out on millions of dollars.
   
Eldorado, based in Reno, Nevada, offered $245 million for Casino Aztar when Tropicana was trying to raise money early this year. Closing hinged on Eldorado obtaining an Indiana gaming license, but Tropicana soon declared bankruptcy. That voided the deal.
   
Eldorado has spent about $1.8 million to line up financing for the boat. The company was to get a $6.6 million breakup fee and $500,000 for expenses if Tropicana sold Aztar to another company. Eldorado gets nothing if Tropicana keeps the boat under provisions the court allowed despite Eldorado’s objections.
   
Tropicana President Scott Butera said, “If we are not successful at getting a fair price there is the possibility that the asset will be retained.” The possibility could mean few prospective buyers would trouble to bid in November.

Deutsche Bank finds buyer for Cosmopolitan

Interest in the struggling Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas has been lackluster after Deutsche Bank started foreclosure proceedings earlier this year. So it’s not a surprise that an affiliate of Deutsche Bank, Nevada Property 1 LLC, bought the property out of foreclosure for $1 billion last month.
   
Additionally, it was announced the Perini Building Co. has signed a “guaranteed maximum price contract” to complete construction of the property. Perini had continued working on Cosmopolitan even when the property’s future was uncertain.
   
Friedmutter Group and architecture company Arquitectonica Corp. of Miami, both of whom were part of the original design team, will remain under the new ownership. Two new companies have been added to the design team—Related Cos. of New York and W.A. Richardson Builders of Las Vegas will oversee the project.
   
Deutsche Bank has not announced who will operate the hotel or run the casino, but contracts are expected in the coming weeks.
   
Some people also expect some announcements concerning design changes at the property. Design changes could push back the opening of the property from the original late 2009 or early 2010 projection.

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

As the first great “must-see” attraction on the Las Vegas Strip, the Mirage volcano launched the city into the modern casino era. Since then, however, there are plenty of other free shows that eclipse the volcano, so Mirage President Scott Sibella decided to upgrade it, even though it had been tweaked as recently as 1997.
   
Sibella put together a team consisting of the groundbreaking water-sculpting group, Wet Design—which originally designed and built the volcano—and two talented musicians, former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and his musical collaborator, Indian virtuoso Zakir Hussain. Wet Design has created new fire effects that will hurl ropes of flames into the air, with choreographed “FireShooters” spaced tightly in the lower lagoon. Lava-like effects will flow from the different levels of the volcano, creating a more natural environment than the previous volcano. Visitors standing close to the volcano show will be able to feel an increase in temperature of up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Wet Design’s Jim Doyle.
   
The new volcano show will open in early December, and work progresses with the installation of miles of pipes channeling the gas that will trigger the flames.

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

The proposed partnership between Harrah’s Entertainment and AEG to build a 20,000-seat, $500 million arena in Las Vegas might be dissolving, but all indications are that the arena will still be a reality.
   
The Sports Business Journal reported last month that Harrah’s is out and that a group including Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer, MGM Studios CEO Harry Sloan and Wall Street Financier David Bonderman will instead partner with AEG.
    
Harrah’s, however, issued a statement saying it will “continue to make land available for the project,” adding that, “We remain in negotiations with AEG to finalize the arena transaction.”
    
The overriding goal of the project is to lure a National Hockey League team to Las Vegas by 2010 or 2011. The announcement might be good news, because the NHL is not excited about having one casino operator develop the arena, possibly deterring other gaming companies from using it or buying luxury suites.
   
The project was first announced in August 2007. At that time, both companies said funding for the project was in place, and would go forward despite the troubled credit market.

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

After years of fighting with the city of Philadelphia to preserve its original site along the Delaware River, Foxwoods has agreed to move its casino location to the downtown area of the city, in the Gallery at Market East, a 1-million-square-foot retail complex. While the highest court in Pennsylvania had confirmed that Foxwoods was entitled to build at the original location, Philadelphia officials were still battling construction.
   
The deal was reached after extensive negotiations involved Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Foxwoods officials.
   
“I commend Foxwoods’ leaders for being open and responsive to the concerns of the communities in which they operate,” Rendell said.
   
The Gaming Control Board must still OK the deal, as well as several approvals by Philadelphia government agencies before construction can begin.
   
SugarHouse, the second Philadelphia casino planned for the waterfront, says it will stay put.

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

The state Department of Labor has joined with the Atlantic City Casino Consortium to fund specialized training for 2,700 casino employees. The $1.1 million grant will pay for on-the-job classes in the culinary arts, administration and management, customer service and computer technology, among other programs.
   
The Atlantic City Casino Consortium includes Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Trump Entertainment, Harrah’s Entertainment and Tropicana Casino Resort.
   
Meanwhile, a one-day seminar for gaming professionals will be offered by the Casino Career Institute on Thursday, October 16 at Atlantic Cape Community College.
  
“Controlling Casino Operations,” led by CPA Michael Wozniak, will help employees understand the system of checks and balances that ensure reliable financial accounting and protect assets in the casino environment.
   
Topics include the regulatory process, revenue cycles for table games and slot machines, cashiering operations and organizational controls.
   
The seminar will be held at the Charles D. Worthington Atlantic City Campus. The fee is $295 per person. Participants can earn eight Continuing Professional Education credits under the accounting and auditing categories of the New Jersey Board of Accountancy. To register, call 609-343-4814.

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

Developer Richard Fields, who has agreed to pay $316 million for the Trump Marina Hotel Casino, says he has financing in place for the deal, which will turn the property into a Margaritaville resort.
   
Without disclosing details of the transaction, Fields last month assured business and labor leaders in Trenton that everything is “go” on the project, pending regulatory approvals. He pledged to keep the facility open and most casino and hotel workers on the job during the transition.
   
“I wanted to come here in person and tell you we intend to keep the marina, hotel and casino open during the entire rebranding and refurbishment process,” Fields said. “In addition to creating hundreds of new construction jobs, we want to keep as many of the hotel staff working as possible.”
   
Fields’ Coastal Development LLC has joined with Margaritaville Holdings LLC, owned by singer Jimmy Buffett, to tap into the vast popularity of Buffett’s endless-happy-hour persona. Buffett has turned his most popular song into a corporate brand that includes a string of restaurants and retail shops, as well as a casino now under construction in Biloxi, Mississippi, plus Margaritaville restaurants at Harrah’s Las Vegas and at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.
   
The Atlantic City deal must be finalized by the end of 2008.

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

New Hilton Atlantic City President Michael Frawley, the former general manager of the company’s Resorts Tunica and Bally’s Tunica properties in Mississippi, has been tapped to replace former President Anthony Rodio (r.), who resigned at the end of August.
   
Starting in 2006, Rodio served as regional president at both Hilton and Resorts, until a change in management last summer shifted the players at both properties. John Pasqualoni, onetime CEO of Seneca Gaming in upstate New York, was appointed to head Resorts, and Rodio was assigned to lead the Hilton only. Rodio called his departure “amicable” and says he wishes the organization “nothing but the best.”  
   
Rodio didn't stay unemployed for long. He now runs the Argosy Casino in Lawrenceville, Indiana for Penn National Gaming.

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

The 2009 “Babes of Borgata” calendar is due next month, just in time for Thanksgiving.
   
About 100 employees of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa auditioned last month to appear scantily clad in the popular calendar. Only 14 made the cut.
   
They were photographed by fashion photographer Gian Andrea Di Stefano,  who used the new Water Club tower as a backdrop.  
   
Six thousand calendars will be printed. The chosen babes will appear at promotional events throughout the calendar year to promote the casino (and their own bodaciousness).   
   
Across town, Trump Taj Mahal held its own beauty roundup last month. Lovelies from throughout the region turned out for a chance to be among the next crop of Rounder Girls, representing the “poker lifestyle” magazine (and making their parents proud).

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

Look skyward after dark this month and you may see an unusual rosy glow. The Atlantic City skyline, like skylines in other major East Coast cities, will turn pink for the seventh year in a row as part of the annual breast cancer awareness campaign, Lights for the Cure.
   
Launched in 2002 with 18 buildings in Center City Philadelphia, the campaign (sponsored by the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure) now extends to New Jersey and Delaware and includes landmarks on land, at sea and in the air.
   
So keep your eyes on the skies and remember what these lights represent: awareness, hope and early detection for the more than 180,000 women and 1,700 men who will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

Resorts Atlantic City will welcome Food Network celebrity chefs Tyler Florence and Duff Goldman and Emmy-winning chef Christina Pirello of Christina Cooks for a five-course dinner open to the public on Saturday, October 18.
   
Working with Executive Chef Barry Markowitz and the Resorts culinary team, the superstar chefs will discuss each course of this memorable meal as it is served.  
   
Guests can delight in a menu that includes an arugula and parsley salad with fried olives and chick pea cake; pumpkin arancini with bleu cheese fondue in port wine syrup; and porcini roasted veal with raisin caper salsa verde and roasted fennel.
   
Florence, called the “Sexiest Chef Alive” by People magazine, is a regular on NBC’s Today Show and has also appeared on The View, Good Morning America and Access Hollywood. Goldman is among the most sought-after cake makers in the country and hosts the Food Network’s Ace of Cakes series. Pirello is the author of two best-selling cookbooks and is beginning her seventh season on PBS.
   
Tickets for this dining/entertainment event are $110. Call Ticketmaster at 800-736-1420 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

Just before the Atlantic City casinos begin a full smoking ban in October, Pennsylvania’s seven casinos started last month to restrict smoking to 25 percent of the gaming floor. But a built-in loophole in the state Gaming Control Board’s new mandate makes it possible for casinos to sidestep that ban to a significant degree.
   
Ninety days after the Clean Air Act goes into effect—by December 10—slot machine licensees can increase the smoking areas to 50 percent if they can show that revenue in the smoking section is more than in non-smoking areas.
    David Jonas, former Harrah’s AC president and how head of Philadelphia Park, says the strictest ban should prove “a pretty easy bar to jump over.” He said Philadelphia Park is expecting a “short-term hit” and losses of about 10 percent of gross slot revenue due to new smoking restrictions (or about $3 million per month).
   
Atlantic City has pointed to its own city-enforced partial smoking ban for a 5.2 percent decline in casino revenue this year. The full ban, says Joseph Corbo, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, “will dramatically affect our ability to compete with casinos in other jurisdictions that permit smoking.”
   
Diehard smokers are expected to defect to Connecticut, where there are no smoking limits at all.
  
 And in Pennsylvania, anti-smoking lobbyists think the state’s negotiable ban just stinks.
   
“Having a smoking section of a casino floor is like having a non-chlorinated section of a swimming pool. It’s ridiculous,” said Greg Hartley of SmokeFree Pennsylvania in the Allentown Morning Call. “We held our nose and accepted it so we could get the rest of the law passed.”

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

After months of speculation and at least one extension of the sale process, a lead bidder for the Tropicana Casino & Resort has been identified.

Conservator Gary S. Stein last month entered into negotiations with the Cordish Company, which has offered cash and securities totaling $700 million for the property.
   
The bidding partners include Baltimore-based Cordish, one of the world’s largest real estate development firms, and former Atlantic City gaming executive Dennis Gomes, who tried unsuccessfully to buy Donald Trump’s casino organization in 2007. Gomes served as Tropicana’s chief executive when it was owned by Aztar.
   
Aztar was acquired by Columbia Sussex Corp. in 2006, but the Kentucky-based company’s stay here was short-lived. Less than a year after it took over operations at the Trop, in December 2007, Columbia Sussex lost its license after the Casino Control Commission deemed it unfit to run a first-class operation.
   
In the months that followed, attempts to find a buyer were deterred by both the economy and the global credit crisis. Stein, appointed by the state to oversee the transition and choose a buyer, said the first round of bids was too low, and deadline to sell, originally set for April, was extended to October 16.
   
In September, Casino Control Commission Chairwoman Linda Kassekert said of the sale, “I’m hopeful we’re near the end of the process now.”

Baltimore-based Cordish Company’s  expertise is in gaming and lodging, entertainment and mixed-use projects, sports-anchored developments and retail, office and residential construction. Many of its developments involve public/private partnerships, including Atlantic City Outlets—The Walk.
   
The transaction is subject to completion of an asset purchase agreement, approval of the commission and other conditions.
   
One potential investor, Joseph Palladino, reportedly offered $950 million for the Tropicana during the first round of bidding. The property, which includes the state’s largest hotel, has been valued at up to $1 billion. It’s unclear if Stein actually received this bid and how it was evaluated.
   
Cordish also was involved in the development of the Hard Rock Seminole casinos in Florida and recently opened a racino at Indiana Downs racetrack.

By Casino Connection Staff   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

As the foundering economy and parched credit markets force casino developments across the city to put the brakes on development, City Council warns that it may push for firm construction deadlines.
   
Councilman Dennis Mason says the city is frustrated by the delay in building Pinnacle Entertainment’s $1.5 billion Boardwalk resort. The Sands Casino was imploded in October 2007 to make way for the new resort, which was scheduled to break ground this year. That timetable was pushed back after another implosion—in the U.S. credit markets. City Council did not comment on how their action would affect the national credit environment.
   
Now Revel, with an active construction site on the north end of the Board-walk, may build one tower instead of two, and MGM Mirage Inc. has announced it will postpone construction on a $5 billion Atlantic City development in the Marina District. Harrah’s, meanwhile, has put its expansion plans on indefinite hold.
   
Though the city cannot force developers to move ahead, Mason insists there are ways to “hold their feet to the fire.”
   
Pinnacle Chairman Dan Lee has publicly lamented the forces delaying his project, and told the Casino Control Commission last month that the company still plans to build.
   
“We’re in this thing for $400 million,” Lee told the commissioners. “We’re not just going to sit on it.” But he would not give a firm date, saying, “It could be any time for breaking ground, from the first part of next year to a year and a half from now.”
   
Speaking for Revel, representative Joe Jaffoni says the original plan was to build two towers in separate phases, so that plan remains unchanged, at least for now.
   
MGM spokesman Gordon Absher also declared that his company is “enthusiastic and confident about the Atlantic City market” and has no intention of down-
sizing.
   
The ambitious plan, announced last October before the credit markets tumbled, would include the city’s largest casino and tallest building, and three hotel towers with more than 3,000 rooms. The MGM project also calls for 500,000 square feet of retail space, a world-class spa and a state-of-the-art convention center. The proposed 280,000 square feet of casino floor would make it the city’s largest.
   
The development is planned for 72 acres next to the Borgata, which MGM co-owns with Boyd Gaming. For now, MGM will focus on assembling the financing for its epic $9.2 billion CityCenter project in Las Vegas, due to be completed in late 2009. Company officials say groundbreaking for the Atlantic City project will occur sometime in 2010.
   
In another sign of the times, a reprieve for 17 Boardwalk businesses due to the Pinnacle delay proved temporary last month when the lease went up from $475,000 to $790,000 per year. Pinnacle acquired the 1700 block of the Boardwalk for its pending development, and planned to demolish the businesses this year.
   
When construction was delayed, it then gave the businesses the option of remaining open for another year. The business owners say they cannot afford the increase; Pinnacle says without it, the company cannot cover taxes and insurance on the properties.
   
The popular restaurant Opa, which anchored the block, is scheduled to close its doors for good sometime this month.

By Jeffrey Vasser   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

Last month, the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority unveiled the results of the 2008 Visitor Profile Study. The study was conducted over a one-year period by Spectrum Gaming Group, which identified the social, behavioral and attitudinal characteristics of typical visitors to Atlantic City and quantified their economic value.
  
 Over 12 months, 3,099 visitors were interviewed to establish a statistically significant sample to compare to the previous study.     
   
Visitors were interviewed across multiple timeframes at 21 locations on various days of the week and times of day. Most interviews were conducted in the afternoons and evenings, but sampling was also conducted early in the morning and late at night.
   
The profile was undertaken during a period of both promise and concern for Atlantic City—the first year of decline in annual casino revenue, during the emergence of competition in Pennsylvania, at a time of nationwide economic downturn.
  
At the same time, visitors to the resort have been treated to a growing array of new attractions: The Pool at Harrah’s, the expansion at Atlantic City Outlets-The Walk, dining at Izakaya, the Melting Pot and McCormick and Schmick’s among others, spas like Immersion and Qua Baths & Spa, hotels like the Chelsea, the Water Club and Courtyard by Marriott, and a new hotel tower at Harrah’s.
   
The 2008 study reflects the challenges and opportunities our business community and public sector must address. It demonstrates that Atlantic City remains an attractive destination for gamblers and is increasing its appeal to other travel segments, including general tourists, convention visitors and shoppers. Let’s take this data and use it as an opportunity for action and not complacency.
   
While the executive summary of the survey is available on the ACCVA’s newly redesigned website (visit atlanticcitynj.com), I’ll go over a few key points here.
   
The survey says 94 percent of visitors expressed satisfaction with their overall experience in Atlantic City, 96 percent of visitors say Atlantic City is becoming more attractive and 99 percent would recommend Atlantic City to friends or family members. That’s good news for all of us.
  
Nearly one-fifth of the adults surveyed—18 percent—said they now visit Atlantic City more often. Of those, 28 percent cited “more things to do” as the primary reason for increased visitation, and 20 percent cited “new/better attractions,” including new shopping, gaming and dining attractions.
   
Among adults who expect to visit more frequently, 28 percent are primarily shoppers, 25 percent are general tourists and 21 percent come for concerts, shows or special events.
   
Despite favorable perceptions, Atlantic City does face challenges from alternative resort and gambling destinations. One-third of all visitors (34 percent) regularly gamble elsewhere, most frequently in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and New York.
   
Other key findings of the Visitor Profile Study:
• The most important factors in deciding to visit include convenience, ease of parking, ease of travel to and within Atlantic City, dining and restaurants, and room availability and rates.
• Half of those who come primarily to attend a concert or other entertainment spend at least $390 per trip (up from and average of $259 in 1998).
• Half of all overnight visitors spend at least $755 per trip (up from an average of $506 in 1998).
• Conventioneers stay approximately three nights per visit and spend a median $200 on gambling, $200 on food and beverage, $150 on shopping and $300 on lodging.
• Those who come primarily to shop visit six times a year and spend a median $310 per trip; 100 percent would recommend Atlantic City to friends or family.

The ACCVA will conduct visitor profile studies every two years; the results of future studies will help us market to potential and existing customers and ensure Atlantic City’s future as a premier destination resort.

By Joseph Corbo, Jr.   Wed, Oct 01, 2008

July 5, 2006, is a date that lives on in the mind of every employee who makes a living at a New Jersey casino. That’s when the casinos were closed by the state due to a budget impasse. This closure meant significant lost wages and tips and millions in lost revenue for the state.  
    Last year at this time, the Casino Association of New Jersey urged each of you to participate in the CANJ employee voter registration campaign, held at each casino. We had great success with our registration last year, and it’s imperative that our voting block is heard loud and clear this year.
    We have more than 41,000 employees. Along with their families, that could easily make us 100,000 strong. With the upcoming elections in November, CANJ believes this is the appropriate time to renew our efforts to register each and every casino employee.  
    Election Day is November 4; the voter registration deadline is October 14. So please contact your human resource departments for information on who can register and how.
    On a related topic, the time has come for a law that allows casino employees and their immediate families to hold public office in Atlantic City, which is currently prohibited by law.  
    As a result of the prohibition, Atlantic City has lost the opportunity to consider many great candidates over the years. For this reason, CANJ supports legislation sponsored by state Senator and Atlantic City resident Jim Whelan and Assemblyman John Burzichelli. S-1987 and A-3122 would permit casino employees and members of their immediate families to serve as part of Atlantic City’s governing body, bringing some very successful, intelligent and hard-working individuals in our industry to this process. Repealing this prohibition will also help take away the stigma associated with this limitation, which does not restrict any other business or industry in our state.
    CANJ has created an outreach program to provide postcards you can send to legislators across the state, voicing a position of support for this important legislation. Each casino will soon provide notification on how to obtain the postcards.
     It’s important to the political process that citizens voice their opinions on legislation and policies. Significant constituent contact helps shape legislators’ positions; it also helps them understand how important an issue is for their constituents.  
    Together, our voice will be heard, loud and clear. In the coming months we urge you to participate in the electoral process by registering to vote, if you haven’t already, and casting a ballot in the November election. We also ask you to participate in
our outreach program and help us let the legislature know we support S-1987 and
A-3122.  
    As we learned during the state government shutdown in 2006, everyone in our industry is affected by the political process. So please take the time to exercise your freedom to vote. Stand up and be heard.

Wed, Oct 01, 2008

No, it’s long past time.
     Last month, Assemblymen John Burzichelli and Matt Milam introduced a bill to remove the prohibition against political activity by the 8,900 casino workers who call Atlantic City home—a full one-third of the population.
   
The bill passed the Assembly Tourism and Gaming committee and now heads to the Senate Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee, where former Atlantic City Mayor and now Senator James Whelan leads the panel that will consider it. This is a move I’ve urged state officials to make for 20 years, but it’s been rebuffed at every turn. The people in the casino industry are the most vetted in the state. Even technicians at our nuclear plants don’t go through the regulatory scrutiny that licensed casino workers do.
   
According to the Casino Control Commission, only 2,800 casino workers are licensed; the rest work outside the actual casino itself. But even non-licensed employees are barred from seeking political office. In 30 years of gaming, we’ve closed the political process to one-third of our residents. Not only do the regulations keep them from running for office, but from participating in the process! A casino employee cannot give money or time to a candidate. During the Whelan administration, casino workers volunteered to help the city get its technological house in order, but could not because of the existing regulations.
   
This legal prohibition undoubtedly stifled interest in the political process. If you’re told you can’t run for office or work for a candidate, you’re being told you are not good enough to serve the public. It’s an underlying message that comes through loud and clear.
   
For years, we’ve endured a succession of terrible elected officials, with some exceptions. It peaked recently with the Callaway scandal and its associated impacts on other public officials.  By removing the prohibition on Atlantic City residents running for public office, we open up a huge pool of potential candidates, talented people who will finally be able to take charge of the political ramifications on their own lives.
   
Some question exists whether casino employees can be neutral about issues that impact their properties. This isn’t a problem in other jurisdictions and it won’t be a problem here if elected officials will recuse themselves from decisions on issues that impact their workplace.
   
Ironically, we’re coming up to a mayoral election where the ill effects of this prohibition are abundantly clear. The election features a former casino employee forced to quit his job when he was elected mayor, and two candidates who probably wouldn’t even be viable if not for the ban on casino employees.
   
The good news is that the election will only decide who fills the remaining year of the term of the disgraced former mayor, Bob Levy. My fervent hope is that the winner will simply be a caretaker who will do no harm while waiting for a “real” mayor to be elected to a four-year term next November. But my hopes for Atlantic City politicians have been consistently dashed in the past 30 years, so this will probably be no different.
   
Hopefully, the Burzichelli-Milam bill will be successful. But it needs to sail through the legislature and be signed by Governor Jon Corzine with no changes. Key licensees must be included; the bill should also apply to the state legislature and governor’s office. Right now, all casino employees (not just Atlantic City residents) are prohibited from running for the state legislature or governor. This must end. The same logic that allows them to run for office in Atlantic City also applies at the state level. Is there any other group of people who are prohibited from running for office in the state of New Jersey? I think not.
   
So let’s all vote on November 4 with the fervent hope that soon we can vote for a casino worker running on the ballot.

By   Fri, Sep 19, 2008

By Frank Legato   Thu, Jun 19, 2008

By Roger Gros   Mon, May 19, 2008

By Roger Gros   Mon, May 12, 2008

By Roger Gros   Tue, Mar 11, 2008

By Roger Gros   Wed, May 23, 2007

By Roger Gros   Wed, May 23, 2007

By Frank Legato   Tue, May 22, 2007

By Roger Gros   Tue, May 22, 2007

By Frank Legato   Thu, Mar 01, 2007

By NBC 40 WMGM   Tue, Feb 02, 2010

Convention Center:  Feb 3-7 is the International Power Boat Show. Feb. 20 Spirit Unlimited Cheerleading Competition. February 26th to 28th is the Atlantic City Classic Car Show & Auction.

Boardwalk Hall: February 27 Show of Shows, featuring the Philadelphia Mummers String Band Association, 12:00 noon and 5:00 p.m. in Boardwalk Halls arena. 

February 25 9th Annual Men R Cookin at Atlantic City Boys & Girls Club to benefit Boys & Girls Club

It's the Second Annual Atlantic City Restaurant Week from February 28th to March 6th.  70 restaurants with prefix menu's at prefix prices... mark your calendar NOW!

For more information go to http://www.acrestaurantweek.com/

January 30 2010 Casino Connection Magazine update with Lisa Johnson on NBC 40

By NBC 40 WMGM   Fri, Jan 29, 2010

By NBC 40 WMGM   Sat, Jan 23, 2010

By NBC 40 WMGM   Thu, Jan 21, 2010

Late last month the founder  of Beal Bank, who is also known as a high-stakes poker player, made a surprise move by joining billionaire Carl Icahn in a new bid for Trump Entertainment. Beal hopes to convert his multimillion-dollar loan into equity in the company.

“Trump jumped ship at the last minute,” Icahn attorney Edward Weisfelner said in court, “and left Mr. Beal standing at the altar.”

see entire article here:  http://casinoconnectionac.com/issue/january-2010/article/games-the-same-but-players-have-changed

By NBC 40 WMGM   Wed, Dec 02, 2009

http://casinoconnectionac.com/issue/november-2009/article/ac-outlets-the-walk-your-holiday-headquarters

 

By NBC 40 WMGM   Wed, Sep 30, 2009

By NBC 40 WMGM   Tue, Sep 22, 2009

FAREWELL TO A LEGEND

Atlantic City bids goodbye to a favorite adopted son, the late Arturo Gatti, September 19 at Bally’s. A professional card has been established, with fights being sandwiched around highlight presentations, speeches and tributes to the most prolific fighter in Atlantic City history.

Gatti, based first in Montreal and then in Jersey City, became the only sure thing in a town known for gambling. Twice a year, he’d fill up Boardwalk Hall against any opponent, and his loyal fan base substantially spiked the drop in nearby casinos. Gatti was responsible for nine consecutive sellouts here, including the second and third bout of his famed trilogy against Micky Ward, and a matchup with Floyd Mayweather that established a non-heavyweight record for gross sales receipts in Atlantic City.

Gatti’s appearance was the brainchild of Bally’s then-President Ken Condon.

“We should have a special day for Arturo,” Condon said while Gatti was still alive. “I’d be the first to put that together.”

The tribute is appropriate. While earning about $20 million for himself, Gatti performed some other memorable deeds. He stayed with one promoter, Main Events, for his entire 16-year career. That’s now unheard of. He waged several Fights of the Year in boxing and created high paydays for Ward, Ivan Robinson, Mayweather, the gaming industry and HBO.

Gatti died under mysterious circumstances July 11 in Brazil (authorities first believed he was murdered by his wife, then changed the determination to suicide, which the boxing community does not believe).

He is sorely missed, not only for the exciting boxing, but for his effervescent, approachable personality. Gatti could laugh at himself, display respect for his opponent and make good copy for the media. He reminded those around him why they loved boxing.

Casino Connection salutes the athlete who symbolized the boxing-gaming marriage and carried a presence we may never see again.

By NBC 40 WMGM   Tue, Sep 22, 2009

By NBC 40 WMGM   Mon, Sep 21, 2009

Here is a link to the written article "Colony's Atlantic City Headache" on casinoconnectionac.com.

 

By NBC 40 WMGM   Sat, Sep 12, 2009

Don Marrandino named president of Harrah's Eastern Division Tides Story