It’s happening at Atlantic City Hotels and Casinos

In the 1970s, there were four men who were the absolute top draws of the stand up comedy industry. They were Richard Pryor, Redd Fox, George Carlin, and Robin Williams. Of these four, many people have seemingly forgotten how big of a star Williams was on the standup circuit. Well, those that have forgotten saw their memories jolted when it was revealed he would appear once again on stage at The Borgata Hotel and Spa in Atlantic City, NJ on November 27th and 28th. This is truly a historic event as Williams rarely makes live concert appearances and for over two decades did no live shows at all.

Robin Williams’ career has spawned more years than many realize. Long before he was a star on the 1970s/1980s sitcom MORK AND MINDY, he had been a successful standup comic. Williams achieved great fame through the sale of scores of LP albums that featured his ribald nightclub act. Upon becoming an even bigger star thanks to his television exposure as well as his starring roles in mildly successful films such as POPEYE (1980) and THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP (1983), Williams’ standup career became even more popular with audiences. His appearances on a number of HBO comedy specials were well received and they spawned several popular VHS video releases.

However, when Williams’ movie career took off, his appearances at standup comedy shows declined. In time, the classic golden age of 1970s standup comedy slowly declined in popularity. As such, stars such as Williams moved beyond the stage and settled into big screen success.

For whatever reason, Williams opted to return to the stand up stage after a two decade plus absence. His appearance on Broadway was well received and it led to greater demand for a new standup act. Robin Williams has complied with the wishes of his fans and has developed ribald new material that shows he has most definitely not lost his knack for being able to entertain crowds. In fact, some say that his new material is among his best ever. This is somewhat amazing because you would assume he would have lost a step or two after his long absence. Actually, the opposite is true. His new material is more mature and less manic. It also shows that he never lost the creative gift that he once had for making an audience laugh. That is why Williams’ return to the stage is looked forward to with such passion.

Ticket prices range from $199 - $291 and the intimate setting of the Borgata’s theater ensures you will have a clear view of the performance. This is a very rare live appearance by a legendary entertainment superstar. It may even be one of his final tours. So don’t miss it!

Image Courtesy : http://www.ticketsforcharity.com/Robin-Williams/2009/Weapons-of-Self-Destruction.asp

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The Borgata, without a doubt, is Atlantic City’s finest Casino/Hotel-Resorts. It’s done to Atlantic City what the Mirage did to Las Vegas in the 80’s - revived it from being more or less a gambling town to the status of an international destination for vacationers and gaming enthusiasts alike. Borgata means “a little village” in Italian. Borgata has quickly risen to its status as the backbone of the Atlantic City casino industry. Borgata aimed to bring the luxury “packaged entertainment” concept from Las Vegas to Atlantic City and boy, did they do a good job at it!

Borgata hotel and spa opened its doors to the public on the second day of the month of July in the year 2003. That’s not very long ago, you’re right, but quite a bit has happened at  Atlantic City in these five-odd years. This world class hotel is co-owned by Boyd gaming and MGM Mirage - another first of its kind, a collaboration rare in the Gaming or any other industry for that matter. The project of Borgata hotel and spa was also considered to be a Tunnel project in the year 1999 because Steve Wynn (yep, the guy that’s credited with making Las Vegas what it is today, and the owner of the hugely successful Wynn and Encore Resort in Las Vegas) wanted to connect the Atlantic City expressway of around 4 kilometers directly to the resort. This tunnel would bring in direct traffic to the Marina Bay where the Borgata is located. This tunnel never saw daylight though, plagued by controversies and lawsuites. Donald Trump sued Wynn suggesting that Wynn was using the tunnel as a driveway to his casino. Despite those setbacks, Borgata opened amidst great hope of a new era of success at Atlantic City.

Fastforward a few years, today, the Borgata is the fastest growing casino in Atlantic City with more customers and revenue going its way than any other casino. It has the largest Poker room in Atlantic City, which was created in 2006 where the major World Poker Tour is organized. Its spa is by far, the best in Atlantic City, attracting people from nearby states including New Yorkers, in large numbers. Several new projects are in place as well - some details are on their Wikipedia page here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borgata

The Borgata, like any other successful operation in the Casino business, has seen its share of controversies and issues. In 2005 they issued a policy recommending that the Hotel authorities fire any cocktail waitresses who gained weight which is more than 7% of their body weight and don’t lose the excess weight within ninety days. Newspapers and tabloids took a generous stab at the Borgata for harrassing their employees. Borgata booked twenty three people on 14^th November for their alleged involvement in the illegal sports gambling ring that was run out of their poker room. After proper investigation it was discovered that out of the twenty three people booked, six were employees of Borgata and four people were known mob associates. Not a good thing for a leading casino to boast about!

Despite these controversies, the Borgata Hotel and Spa has managed to stay ahead in the Casino race and their Poker events are still a classic. With the recession hitting Atlantic City big time in 2008, Borgata is among those few casinos that’s still standing tall and holding it’s own.

Image Courtesy Of www.wgyates.com/project_view.asp?d=5&p=54

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Many newspapers and postcards have described the Atlantic City’s Air Show over the years. Since 2003, the annual Air Show has been held over the Atlantic City Boardwalk every August. In the early history of aviation, Atlantic City played a major role. The meets were organized on the sea shore. This year as well, Leading aviators took part in the event and made the day very colourful and exciting. Did you know that Atlantic City’s Air Show is the largest beach front air show in the world?

Atlantic City’s sixth annual Air Show was sponsored and organized by the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa and was held on August 20, 2008. This year’s event was called “Thunder over the Boardwalk”, quite appropriately so, since the noise from the low altitude of high-speed aircraft manoeuvres deafens the Boardwalk at times. The events like manoeuvres, formation flying and solo routines of military and civilian pilots have made the Air Show a very popular event at Atlantic City that people travel from far and near to attend. This week usually sees close to a 15% surge in visitors to Atlantic City, a much needed spike amidst the economic slowdown that has kept matters rather calm at Atlantic City this year. Many people grabbed spots on the beach Tuesday afternoon to catch a glimpse of pilots flying high. Around four hundred thousand spectators were gathered on the Beach and Boardwalk of Atlantic City for the show.

The entire show was broadcast on WOND 1400 AM radio and was enlightening for the crowd as information about the pilots and the planes and their performances was read out to them. This year’s show included the U.S. Navy’s F-18 Super Hornets, the F-16 CJ Vipers from the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights Parachute Team and the U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue demonstrations. The world’s most talented pilots took part in this event and flew up to 15,000 feet and as low as 50 feet over the ocean.

The crowd really enjoyed the stunts. There isn’t very many casino towns that can boast of an ocean-front and even fewer that host an Air Show. If you were at the party on the beach, you witnessed a very unique event. One of those thousands of little things that keep us in love with Atlantic City for over 15 years now !

• Atlantic City-Boardwalk and Family
• AC AIR SHOW

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