It’s happening at Atlantic City Hotels and Casinos

What do art, Mr. Peanut, Miss America and sand art all have in common? They are all part of the exhibit at the Atlantic City Historical Museum, of course! Come and visit the Atlantic City Historical Museum for a look at some fascinating memorabilia.

One of the entertaining exhibits at the Atlantic City Historical Museum is a permanent exhibition that is known as, “Atlantic City, Playground of the Nation.” This exhibit begins with a full-size version of Mr. Peanut at the door. This exhibit is like walking through a mini version of the Boardwalk and the beach. It boasts a large display of original sand art. Approximately 100 years ago Heinz pickle pins were given out to visitors and the custom of doing this continues to remain strong. Walking through this section of the museum will delight you as you gaze upon interesting artifacts, souvenirs, costumes, photos and more. There is also a section with Miss America memorabilia to enjoy. While strolling and browsing through this area; a video plays throughout which focuses on the Miss America Pageant, Thomas Edison, and the history that surrounds the museum.

In the Al Gold Photography Gallery the new exhibit, Shore Deco: Atlantic City Design between the Wars is shown. This exhibit dates from the years 1919 to 1939. Mr. Gold was known as Atlantic City’s first Chief Photographer, which he remained until he passed away in 1964.

The Atlantic City Art Center contains three galleries filled with the astounding work of sculptors, photographers, and painters.

A trip to the Atlantic City Historical Museum gift shop features calendars from 1995 to the present, 2009. These “Good Old Days” calendars are reasonably priced and features elements of the days gone by. Other “must have” souvenirs are an original brick from the high school compete with a certificate of authenticity. Purchase one of these bricks to help support the museum and a reputable organization. A video of the exact duplicate of the one playing in the exhibition, “Atlantic City, Playground of the Nation” is for sale here. This video is available in VHS or DVD and entitled, “Boardwalk Ballyhoo: The Magic of Atlantic City”. A book is also available that discusses the “Atlantic City, Playground of the Nation” exhibit. Filled with old photos and delightful history, “Atlantic City: 125 Years of Ocean Madness” is also a big seller.

Memberships for the Atlantic City Historical Museum are available at a rate of anywhere from $10 to the exclusive $1000, which is a corporate membership. Open at 10 a.m. everyday, this museum is a nice little day trip that is well worth your time. It is conveniently located in Atlantic City, NJ and showcases the preservation of the history of the area surroundings.

Come and experience this amazing museum filled with all types of interesting facts and features. You will like what you see!

Image Courtesy : http://www.acmuseum.org/intro.htm

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We often read in the media that Atlantic City is a horrible city, a wannabe Las Vegas, and that it is on the verge of dying. Atlantic City certainly does carry that reputation (though we don’t agree with it), however, several entrepreneurs are trying to change this fact. Taking an old run down Holiday Inn and Hilton Hotel that were neighbouring each other, Curtis Bashaw is opening a new hotel named The Chelsea, and trying to convert it into the premier nightlife destination for NJ and Manhattan urbanites. Currently, The Beatrice Hotel in Greenwich Village has been where most of the Northeast New Jersey and Manhattan high-life show up to party. It’s not an easy task but Bashaw has been sure to include a new wave of hip amenities sure to attract some newcomers to the streets of Atlantic City.

On the fifth floor alone, Bashaw has planned for a library, a game room, an oval-shaped bar, and an exclusive Stephen Starr Restaurant which offers top class cuisine. The party atmosphere will be somewhat exclusive as well, at least these are the hopes of Bashaw. He plans to have a bouncer similar to the ones at the Beatrice who will make sure that the party stays exclusive and guests at the hotel are treated as V.I.Ps. Hotel guests will be offered different styles of luxury rooms ranging from as low as $200 per night to as much as $1000. Bashaw’s hopes are that such a hotel will change party-goers attitude towards Atlantic City and make them more inclined to visit. Of course this means drawing attention away for Manhattan’s long-standing Beatrice Hotel so a deal has been worked. Hotel Chelsea is now open for business in Manhattan and we are hopeful that Curtis brings a new wave of excitement into Atlantic City. Go Chelsea!

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Oil just seems to be taking to new and never before discovered heights and the pressure is telling on everyone. With OPEC standing firm on its decision not to increase production beyond a certain point, all of Atlantic City as well as most of New Jersey had to adjust to the best average rate for one gallon of gas crossing $4. At such rates, it is no wonder that people here do not want to travel as much as they would have preferred to initially for entertainment. This year’s visits to Atlantic City are about 10% lower already, according to estimates by Fox News. Maybe it is high time that we all started cutting back on things that we do not need or things we tend to waste our gasoline on. With gasoline soon to reach newer heights, it is time for conserving what little fuel we have got in our cars today. One tip: do not speed unnecessarily as that burns up the gasoline like nobody’s business.

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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.

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