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On Margaritaville, Resorts and The Sense Of Destination
tagged: atlantic city vacation renderings margaritaville resorts comments: 6


A rendering of the Margaritaville restaurant / beach bar / casino thingy coming to Resorts has made its way to my desk. Check it out.

Great.
Miss Monkay noted during our trip (her first to Atlantic City) was how weird it was that the casinos and entertainment seemed sequestered away from the Boardwalk, with the only exception being the occasional beach bar. The beach and the boardwalk are things that the city has that no other gaming destination has. Could the issue be with the damp evening ocean air causing mechanical problems at slot machines or other equipment? The worry about grab and go chip theft? Are there statutes that prevent gaming from existing XYZ feet from the Boardwalk? The craps tables at O'Sheas and Casino Royale used to be within 10 feet of the sidewalk!
As for the Beach Bar's we're all for them. We spent an hour or two at Sammy's (as in Hagar) drinking our way through the Red Rocker's signature drink menu while listening to a phenomenal reggae band play perfect renditions of classic cuts of 1970's roots, rockers and dub. The wind shuffled our hair, the sand exfoliated our feet, the air filled our lungs and the booze made us horny. More please.
Atlantic City has what Las Vegas has and also what Reno, Lake Tahoe and Macau has - an actual sense of destination, a place to plop down and relax. Not to take anything from Bossier City or Black Rock or Temecula or Tunica, but far off locales which contain one or maybe a half dozen casinos feel like way points, a place you stop off at in the same way you go to a movie theatre... two hours then scram. A trip barely worth the effort, even if you are there to pick up a casino logo windshield shade, wine decanter or picnic blanket.
I want some fun I can sink my teeth in, dig my feet in and not worry about what is happening at home or how I'm gonna get there after the sixth rusty nail.
Atlantic City.

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Comments & Discussion:
I also wondered why the beaches aren't trumpeted/utilized more. On the one hand, I like that the casinos sort of disappear behind the boardwalk, leaving a "normal" East Coast beach on the other side. The gambling is there if you want it, but it is never in your face the way it is when you are walking the Strip. On the other hand, it does seem like the casinos forget what an asset they have in their front yards. I could see AC easily being marketed as a great beach resort destination with entertainment options that are unparalleled on the eastern seaboard; instead, it seems like the casinos are content to market their offerings as a poor man's Las Vegas. Lots of missed opportunities.
East Coast beches are kind of a "family" thing, and AC doesn't do family very well. Sure there's tons of condos and suck filled with vacationers, but that's not what the casinos look for, and most of the current casino crowd isn't there to swim in greenish, though actually really clean overall, water.
Cesars has gambling just off the boardwalk, as does Resorts. As the building's stand you can't see the boardwalk and beach very well. but it wouldn't take too much to change that other than caring.
I think that we need to establish a difference between "broad market" and "family."
"Broad Market" = "Something for every demographic"
"Family" = Something appropriate for the family demographic"
Casino Resorts may not be Family, but they CAN be Broad Market.
Look at Mandalay Bay or Mirage in Vegas. They're both casinos, and both have high-end dining and gambling as well as some more mid-market gambling and dining. But they also have things for the kiddies too (Wave Pool/Lazy River at Mandalay, Secret Garden at Mirage).
Atlantic City's beaches will broaden the city's appeal, even if they may not make the city "family demographic" they will make it "broad market" assuming it is correctly marketed.
I mean, look at the success of dayclubs/"beach clubs" in Vegas. You can do that in AC more easily than most because there is a real beach.
true...until some drunk gets washed out by a riptide. Also, I believe the actual beach is all city property, so so you really can't get a bar that close to the waves. At least, I've never seen anyone try.
Unfortunately I don't think any for the beachfront Ac resorts have the acrage to pull off a Mandalay or something like that. What I think at leats one of them should do is build a full scale indoor waterpark. Those places are a license to print your own money. At least Steel Pier is finally getting some love. That will help somewhat.
I would think that the AC casinos would utilize the boardwalk more as well. My "fantasy" Las Vegas-type city would be a West Coast version of AC but on a Vegas scale. Basically the best properties in Vegas on a boadwalk overlooking northern San Diego. If only I had a time machine, I'd go back 100 years and make that happen. lol.
Just a note about beaches in NJ. Almost every NJ beach town requires that you buy beach tags to be on the beach. Atlantic City is one of the few places you can walk on the beach without paying for tags. Also, with the casino's there, parking is plentiful. I think this attracts alot of day trippers in the summer to this part of the NJ shoreline.
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