East Coast Gambler

Whitehouse subs is opening a 2nd location in Atlantic City.  This one will be at Trump Taj Mahal.  There are huge lines at the little sub joint and people love Whitehouse subs.

This should be a good thing for both the family and the casino.  Personally (of course), I think people love the thought of Whitehouse Subs more than the actual sandwiches which use below par deli meats.  I’m a New Yorker and those south Jersey and Pennsylvania deli meats fail by comparison.

To each their own.  I’ve tried the original and won’t bother wasting my time at either.

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It’s possible that Trump Taj Mahal will be getting their own Scores strip club soon.  The two parties are currently negotiating a deal to lease about 10,000 square feet of space.  Of course, New Jersey does it’s strip clubs “classy”,

New York law does not prevent adult club entertainers from baring their breasts, Silver said. But in a New Jersey casino, or in any state business dispensing alcohol, nothing a bikini covers can be exposed. Starlight’s application mentions a bare minimum of pasties and thongs, or G-strings.

Customers, too, would be subject to a dress code, though Starlight’s application doesn’t elaborate on that.

This could be more beneficial to Trump properties than I initially thought.  Atlantic City is a cheap alternative to Las Vegas for dudes in NY, NJ and PA to have bachelor parties.  While, casinos typically don’t have strip clubs, the laws in New Jersey make this possible.  A strip club would make Trump a good destination for bachelor parties.

Image: Gothamist

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Resorts, in Atlantic City, has been flailing for a while now but it now has a new owner and possibly a savior in new owner Dennis Gomes.

The sale saves Resorts amid predictions that the aging and undersized Boardwalk property simply would not have survived much longer unless it came under new ownership. The announcement gives some lift to a gaming market stuck in a four-year economic slump and dealing with growing competition from rival casinos in surrounding states.

I don’t like Resorts as it is currently operated.  I feel dirty just walking into the casino.  Gomes has been trying to get into the Atlantic City casino market for a while as he was trying to gain control of the Tropicana.  I’m looking forward to seeing what he’ll be able to do with this grand old building.

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Making bank, might be a little strong, but I was a little surprised when I saw that Trump Marina was making more money from $1 blackjack than higher limits (I’m guessing $10).

(Trump Marina’s Don) Browne noted that the $1 tables are averaging about an $1,100 win per day for the casino, compared to about $950 for higher-stakes blackjack games at Trump Marina. On weekends, the average daily win on the $1 tables jumps to about $1,500.

Earlier this year I saw the money behind the reason for so many $25 limit tables in casinos.  I guess for Trump this is a good thing, but the odds are not with the player.  Because of the .25 extra I would tend to stay away from this kind of game.  Even if I could get drunk on crappy beer and well drinks.

For full odds/strategy check the wizard of odds.  And because a picture of Ivanka Trump is more interesting than a picture of Trump Marina..

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Revenue at the casinos in Atlantic City have been dropping monthly for over two years.  The dealers union doesn’t care about that and was able to get dealers at the Tropicana a raise of 18% over the next 5 years.

As part of the agreement that was reached today, dealers will receive an eighteen percent raise spread out over the next five years. It was the first union agreement that dealers have ever completed in Atlantic City, and residents are commending the arrangement.

“With all of the negativity that has surrounded us (Atlantic City) here in the past couple of years, it was nice to see that the casino and their employees could come to an agreement on fair pay,” said Lillian Bell. “Hopefully, the other casinos can follow suit and create new deals with their workers.”

I’m all for getting what you can, when you can but at face value this seems as if it’s trying to get blood from a stone.  In the short term this may be good for the dealers, but if things don’t pick up in Atlantic City the raises won’t matter because there won’t be a need for dealers and hours will be cut because of increased cost.

The Tropicana did what they had to for business today and they’ll do what they have to for business tomorrow…for better or worse to the dealers.

Photo: Flickr: Brian G. Wilson

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I haven’t stayed at Bally’s in about a year and my last few visits have had me at the Garden and Dennis Towers since they’ve been renovated more recently than the main tower of Bally’s.  In fact, with the Claridge currently being renovated the main tower should be up for renovations next.

I heard that the rooms are still top notch even though the main tower at Bally’s hasn’t been renovated recently.  I didn’t expect to be blown away because, between Las Vegas and Atlantic City, I’ve been staying in newer rooms for the past couple of years.

I asked for, and received, a corner room in the main tower and got the kind of room I expected – a nice and big room that was build for the 80′s.  The room was oddly shaped, but very large.  Complete thoughts on the room at the end of the photo tour.

The room was kind of triangular as you can see from the image above.  You can also see the old tube TV.  I haven’t had a room with a tube TV in a couple of years.  I think that might have been the last time this TV was cleaned.

The seating area was nice and spacious and while the chairs were ugly and uncomfortable they were near an outlet (as you can see by my phone charging).

There was also a pretty sweet view of uptown Atlantic City and the Atlantic Ocean.

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