Surviving AC: Know Your Demo
6/29/2008 at 3:00 PM
Tags: Gambling, Surviving Atlantic City (all tags)
While Caesars makes a play for the television foodie market, other casinos have cornered niches of their own. While in Atlantic City this weekend, the following celebs headlined:
• Blues Traveler (Tropicana)
• Charo (Hilton AC)
• Chicago (Borgata)
• Joan Rivers (Harrah's)
• Ringo Starr (Trump Taj Mahal)
• Steely Dan (Borgata)
Interesting enough. Who are the other upcoming headliners? Mickey Rooney, the Beach Boys, Three Dog Night, the Village People, Jefferson Starship, War, Grand Funk Railroad and America. Between Rooney and the rest, it's safe to say the twin demographics in AC are the 65-and-over crowd and Baby Boomers.
With its reputation as Atlantic City's most upscale casino, the Borgata shoots for the well-heeled, middle-aged boomer set, and Chicago and Steely Dan are right on target. Then we realized that the upcoming guests include Melissa Etheridge, Boz Scaggs, John Legend and Van Morrison. Bingo: Wealthy boomer heaven.
As for the rest, Showboat consistently attracts a younger crowd thanks to guests at the House of Blues venue like 50 Cent, Gretchen Wilson and (very young) Weird Al Yankovic. Tropicana is a mixed bag, with Blues Traveler sharing space with Gladys Knight, Peter Frampton and Boston. Meanwhile, Harrah's opts for their multiple Atlantic City properties to primarily offer big-ticket stage shows (The Wedding Singer at Borgata, Defending The Caveman at Bally's), while sending high-profile guests like Jay Leno and Tony Bennett over to Caesars.
Resorts is largely eschewing headliners with only Damon Wayans scheduled for the summer; ditto for Trump Plaza. The Taj Mahal, meanwhile, is bringing in Rush, Michael McDonald, Tom Jones, Foreigner and psychic Sylvia Browne.
In other words, you don't need to be Sylvia Browne to realize that in Atlantic City, '70s music is king.
Related Stories:
· Atlantic City Travel coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Wikimedia]
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