It’s happening at Atlantic City Hotels and Casinos

With the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean as the backdrop, just about everything you do is somehow better, but even more so if it’s free. If, like many people, you’re worried you won’t be able to vacation somewhere as exciting as Atlantic City (AC) this year, relax and start packing your suitcase because here are five completely free and totally fun things to do in one of the greatest spots in all of the U.S.

1. Learn about Atlantic City’s History: Located on Garden Pier on Boardwalk at New Jersey Avenue, the Atlantic City Historical Museum showcases the widely diverse history of AC offering both free admission and parking to visitors. Before heading to the beach you can learn about Atlantic City’s culture through the permanent exhibit titled “Atlantic City, Playground of the Nation” which features vintage postcards and photographs, artifacts from the area, and also memorabilia from the famed Miss America pageants held in the city.

2. See a Free Outdoor Concert: Throughout the summer months concerts are held at Kennedy Plaza on the Boardwalk courtesy of the AC Free Public Library. Also free are summer concerts at Bally’s Casino in the Dennis Courtyard as well as multiple entertainers located all along the Boardwalk.

3. Experience Korean War History in Atlantic City: See the New Jersey Korean War Memorial on Brighton Park which is free to the public and offers a definite feeling of the area’s deep rooted history. The war memorial is open daily and gives visitors a chance to experience the important legacy left by our veterans.

4. More Free Culture and History in Atlantic City: Visit the tranquil Civil Rights Garden, located on Pacific Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, and see its gorgeous flowers, the meandering pathways, and the awe inspiring eleven granite columns with inscriptions detailing the events that occurred during that time.

5. Enjoy the Wonders of the Beach and the Atlantic Ocean: There are no pricey beach badges or any type of fees needed to enjoy the beauty of Atlantic City’s beaches and any number of fun activities taking place there all year round.

Besides the usual swimming, sunbathing, and volleyball games, surfing is also permitted at three different beaches, either New Hampshire Avenue’s Crystal Beach, the Delaware Avenue Beach, or the Downtown Beach at Raleigh Avenue. None of the surfing beaches are staffed with lifeguards, and if you want to kayak or windsurf over at Jackson Avenue Beach, also without a lifeguard, be sure to bring your own equipment as there are no rentals.

As if all of that isn’t enough, fishing is permitted along the jetties near the Oriental and Main Avenue Boardwalks and you won’t even need to buy a license for salt-water fishing here. Just remember that no fishing is allowed near bathing beaches during the hours of 10am to 6pm when the lifeguards are on duty.

With all of the free things to do in Atlantic City you’re sure to need more than just one day to see and do everything the area has to offer. But luckily, since none of these fun activities require any money, maybe you’ll be able to stay an extra few days and really experience the city in all its glory.

Image Courtesy : http://dogandponyshowwebsite.com/a-fun-trip-with-me-to-atlantic-city-nj-come-join

Filed under: Activities, Entertainment by Jen - No Comments →

The resurrection of Atlantic City by the inception of casino gambling twenty years ago was a slow process, and with increasing competition, there is growing uncertainty as to whether the city’s future will be one of continued growth, stagnation, or a return to the decay and decline that made Atlantic City turn to gaming in the first place. Recent casino and urban development has pumped billions of dollars into New Jersey’s economy, generating in new tax revenue and creating more jobs than the city had residents. However, the casino industry has not restored Atlantic City to its former position as playground of the world or the major hospitality center of the United States as was anticipated in the Casino Control Act. Let’s go through some of the reasons and the facts that might help us understand this trend and whether it is a short-term glitch or a long-term phenomenon.

The more typical experience is that of Atlantic City which has not reaped great benefits from its casinos, despite their contributing nearly seventy percent of the tax levy. The Atlantic City casinos collectively employ more than forty thousand people, wages are relatively low; study found that a third of the hotel jobs in the city paid very less.

Atlantic City Hotels and Casinos have provided the needed resources for the redevelopment of the city. They have created thousands of moderate income jobs in a year round environment, catering to millions of tourists per year. Of course, the state of New Jersey has received substantial tax benefits as a result of casino revenues. The revenue from entertainment and gambling related taxes at Atlantic City is second only to Las Vegas in the United States. With such a seemingly positive cashflow, how can the economy not do well?

There are several reasons that we think could be causing this. Political errors and the overall economic slowdown are perhaps the biggest ones. Because of disputes between Atlantic City, Atlantic County, and the state of New Jersey, the failing infrastructure and the social degeneration of the community continued up until five years ago. Under the New Jersey Casino control act, two percent of the gross revenue from casino operations was to be provided to the state of New Jersey for redevelopment projects within Atlantic City. Under the act, these funds were earmarked for urban redevelopment. The state believed that it did not need to use these funds in Atlantic City, assuming that the total investment in Atlantic City by hotels and entertainment facilities would be sufficient to stimulate growth within the community. The infrastructure and the need for city housing would be accelerated by the development of the casino industry itself. This assumption, combined with the overall nation-wide economic slowdown may have been one of the primary reasons for the current slowdown at Atlantic City.

It is interesting that, in sharp contract, other states and local governments have not hesitated to spend millions in efforts to attract new jobs into their economies. The state of New York authorized sic new tribal casinos and slot machine gaming at eight race tracks. This was motivated in no small measure by the need to close the gap against large impending state deficits, relating both to the economic slowdown and to the anticipated economic consequences of the terrorist actions and the subsequent war on terrorism. This sort of further reinforces that casino development can still be a very favorable thing for the State and its economy if done well.

More than 500 casino employees have been laid off in the past three months alone in Atlantic City and other leading gaming jurisdictions. The peripheral businesses for the casinos – hotels, atlantic city shows, Etc. are slowing down the fastest and even gaming revenues are showing signs of decline. Will Atlantic City survive this scare and come out ahead in the long run or is this the beginning of a new troubling era for it? Time will tell.

Filed under: AC Buzz by Jen - No Comments →