East Coast Gambler

Trump Plaza closed for at least a little while on Friday due to broken air conditioning.  Here’s a report from last night.

Thanks to RDP for the tip!

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Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc is about to emerge from bankruptcy and the bondholders are ready to do work getting Trump Casinos into a better place.  Plans include updating Trump Plaza and selling Trump Marina.

Trump Entertainment’s new owners plan to spend money updating Trump Plaza, and want to attract more families to Atlantic City in order to compete with new casinos closer to their homes in nearby states, Lasry said today during commission questioning.

Coastal Marina LLC, controlled by Richard T. Fields, had agreed in 2008 to buy Trump Marina and turn it into a Margaritaville casino resort. Last year, Fields renegotiated the deal, which included settlement of an unrelated lawsuit, and then reached yet another plan with bondholders to buy the Marina before Trump switched sides and aligned with them.

These are welcome changes and potential additions.  My last experience at Trump Plaza was nice, but the casino doesn’t seem as if it’s been updated since the 80′s.  A makeover will do nicely.

I’m not a parrothead, but I love the attitude of Jimmy Buffett fans.  All they want to do is drink and have a good time.  Even if Trump Marina doesn’t become the next Margaritavile casino, new owners and a major face lift will do the casino good.  It’s the only ugly property at the marina area, which is becoming more popular with young casino-goers every day.

Photo: www.oldvegaschips.com

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It shouldn’t be a surprise that Las Vegas earns more than Atlantic City on things other than gambling.  However, it’s a little shocking – not surprising – to see how much Las Vegas’ percentage of revenue comes from sources outside of gambling versus Atlantic City.

…But Atlantic City still has a long way to go before it can reach Las Vegas’ level, where about 60 percent of revenue comes from nongaming ventures, said Cory Morowitz, of Morowitz Gaming Advisors LLC, in Galloway Township.

Last year, nongaming revenue in Atlantic City was probably less than 10 percent after discounting comped goods, Morowitz said.

“I don’t think we can get to 60 percent,” he added. “We just don’t have the room size that Las Vegas has. Rooms are the biggest driver.”

As I mentioned there’s no surprise that the nongaming revenues are greater in Las Vegas than Atlantic City.  Las Vegas has put a lot of effort into creating those revenue streams for better or worse.

Borgata was the first casino to really put effort into creating nongaming revenues and Harrah’s Resort and Tropicana have followed suit by enhancing their club experiences.  Bally’s is starting down that road by renovating their properties (Claridge and Wild Wild West) and Harrah’s is considering rebranding Showboat.

These are all good steps to separating Atlantic City from the rest of the East Coast casinos that have been popping up over the past few years.

In addition to expanding their club scene I think (actually, I know) that better restaurants and more shows need to follow to grow this revenue stream and separate Atlantic City from the rest of the casinos.

Gwen Stefani - No Doubt - Borgata

Photo: Flickr: woundsarebleeding

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There’s a first time for everything.  My last trip to Atlantic City had me in a Bayview Tower room at Harrah’s Resort for the first time.  I’ve read and heard good, but unspectacular, things about the rooms.  That just about sums up my thoughts on the rooms too.

The Bayview Tower is a newer tower at Harrah’s Resort, but not brand new like the Waterfront Tower.  The rooms feel bigger than the Waterfront counterparts, but the decor of the rooms is horribly out of date.  To give an idea, I’ve only seen a picture tube TV once in a hotel in the last few years.

You notice the 1980′s feeling wood in the photo above.  If the main room didn’t make you feel like you were in the 80′s the huge bathroom might give you a complex as you see the gold trim on the shower and tub.

When you look at the more modern granite counter top and marble floor you my get a little confused and think you’re in the 90′s.

The water closet brings you even closer to the 00′s with no phone (thankfully) and a super powerful toilet.

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Harrah’s recently sent out a survey to guests at Showboat in Atlantic City.  The survey leads me to believe that they’re considering rebranding Showboat to something more hip – say Planet Hollywood.

I just received a survey via e-mail from Harrah’s on what I think about them remodeling the Showboat into a Planet Hollywood Casino. They asked about what room rates I would pay, what I normally do in Atlantic City, what I normally spend and a few questions about Vegas. It also asked me if I recognized a few different Virgin (as in Sir. Richard) brands.

The Mardi Gras theme of Showboat is a little dated so rebranding could make sense.  Harrah’s needs to keep focus on the rebranding if they want it to succeed.  They tried to brand the boardwalk side of the casino to be more “hip” when they added the House of Blues a few years ago.  Since then they’ve updated parts of the casino with no real concept.

I followed up with the original poster on TA and was told that the survey also inquired about Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin properties.  I’m curious to see if & how that could be incorporated into a new casino.

It’s nice to see Harrah’s doing small things to improve their east coast properties on the surface.  I recommend they bring in a customer service consultant to bring that up to snuff.  Outside of hosts, nobody tells the same story when asked a question about the properties.  The staffs don’t come across as sincere or nice.

These east coast improvements (here and here too) are all low cost moves to improve the casinos for short and long term.  These moves will make the properties easier to sell when the economy turns around if Harrah’s decides to go that route.

Photo: Flickr: Jose P

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Last week I had a bit of a tirade on the poor customer service I had from the phone rep I dealt with at Ballys.  Sure I may have been cranky, but this wasn’t the first time I’ve run into a Bally’s rep with no information, personality or answers.

I call it like I see it and a recent trip to Harrah’s Resort showed me that all of Harrah’s east coast properties don’t stink.  Even though Harrah’s Resort was under-staffed almost everyone I ran into was fantastic – save the bartenders at the Exibition Bar that refused to turn on the USA soccer game.

Housekeeping was kind and always greeting me passing by.  Even though there were lines almost everywhere I went to eat the people on staff at the end of the line were pleasant.  The dealers and pit bosses were all in good spirits – this hasn’t always been the case.

Customer service at Harrah’s Resort has been pretty middling over the years, but there seems to have been a turn-around in and I’m happy to see it.  Keep it up, you’re one of the bright spots for Harrah’s east coast casinos.

Photo: Flickr: Atlantic City

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