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AirTran Doubles Down With New Atlantic City Route

The impending arrival of warmer temperatures and sunny days on the east coast combined with the people's need to budget vacations better this summer means that previously underestimated destinations like Atlantic City may be getting some answers to their recession prayers.

Luckily for the struggling casinos and massive hotels that dot the boardwalk, the first wave of relief will arrive on June 11 when AirTran Airways begins direct service between Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson and Atlantic City International twice daily. As the 59th destination for the carrier, AC will now have all kinds of options for budget airline connections, including the option to make it a blowout week by flying between Las Vegas and Atlantic City via Atlanta, if your slots finger stays sharp.

With AC desperate to funnel anyone with some jingling pocket change into their casinos, the AirTran introductory fares on this route begin at a suggestive $69 each way. Pair this with a cheap room at one of the older casinos and don't loose too many Benjamins, and you've got the cost of a vacation in Vegas beat by a couple hundred dollars. Good old AirTran—always flying to the sunniest spots with the flashiest coin.

Related Stories:
· Airtran rolls the dice on Atlantic City [Today in the Sky]
· AirTran Airways Hits the Jackpot with New Service in Atlantic City, N.J. [FOX Business]
· New Routes Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: gTarded]

Tags: March Madness / Sportsbooks / Betting / Vegas Travel / Gambling / → All Tags

The M's Sportsbook Will Take Your Mobile March Madness Bets

While it might be hard to justify staying away from the action of the Strip in Las Vegas, the just-opened M Resort (about 15 minutes from the Strip) boasts a mobile gaming network.

This means that you can play games like slots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat and poker on mobile hand-held devices throughout the resort. Also now that March Madness is here, you can watch your bracket picks win or lose in the hotel's sportsbook all the while gambling to (hopefully) raise more funds for those sports bets.

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Atlantic City Gives Trains Another Try

As we mentioned this weekend, Atlantic City hasn't been breaking any attendance records lately. We have to say, there's one good reason why Vegas-on-the-turnpike has never really turned that corner from senior citizens long weekend getaway to A-list resort town: There's just no great, affordable way to get there.

But East Coasters looking for a gambling fix can kiss the Greyhound goodbye, as AC is set to finally introduce regular train service to and from New York.

The town has had train service to New York before--but never any that made a profit and stuck around. Starting February 6, the new train will offer round-trip service between New York's Penn Station and AC for the pretty reasonable price of $50 each way. First-class tickets go for $75, and the Borgata, Caesars and Harrah's will each offer shuttle service from the train stop.

It's a long-awaited upgrade for sure, but is it enough to make anyone actually go?

Related Stories:
· By rail from NYC to Atlantic City [Detroit Free Press]
· Atlantic City in Freefall: How to Get People Gambling Again [Jaunted]
· Atlantic City Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: oliverN5]

Tags: Budget Travel / Gambling / Las Vegas / → All Tags

Las Vegas Happy to Relieve You of Whatever Amount of Money You Have Left

Las Vegas has long trafficked in excess, doing a brisk business as a destination where it's standard operating procedure to blow your whole wad in a weekend. But what happens to Vegas when people don't have a wad to blow anymore? Is it still worth a visit? The answer is a resounding yes, according to USA Today, which offers a variety of tips on how to have fun in the casino resorts even if all you have in your pockets is some loose change, a bus schedule, and a flask of Early Times whiskey. In fact, Vegas will be glad to relieve you of whatever cash you happen to have left.

A few tidbits: instead of blackjack, play Pai Gow poker, an Americanized version of an old Chinese game. Most hands only cost $10, and often result in a "push," in which you get to keep what you wagered, extending your time at the table even if you will eventually lose it all to the dealer. And there's no need to blow a few hundred bucks on tickets for one of the endless incarnations of the Cirque du Soleil franchise when free entertainment abounds on the Strip. The fountains at the Bellagio are a good bet, with dramatic water shows set to music every day that are visible from the sidewalk. Not to be outdone, the Mirage gets a new volcano on Monday, with flames that do a five-minute dance for free. And of course it doesn't cost anything to walk through the various casino resorts on Las Vegas Boulevard, but it takes some serious will power not to indulge in any of the sybaritic pleasures on display.

My personal suggestion for a good time in Vegas that won't cost a dime: a hike through Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area. Just watch out for those scruffy wild burros. They'll hurt your feelings.

[Photo: USA Today]

Related Stories:
· Las Vegas Still Offers Fun at Low Stakes [USA Today]
· Budget Travel Coverage [Jaunted]

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Philly Chinatown to Casinos: Take a Hike

It seems like only yesterday that communities across the United States were clamoring for casinos, anxious for the boost in employment and tax revenue that they seemed to promise. Today, it's a different story. In the latest case of NIMBY (not in my backyard), state and city officials are pushing for a 3,000-slot-machine casino to be built at the edge of Philadelphia's small but vibrant Chinatown area, a move that has many residents hopping mad. The developers of Foxwoods Casino Philadelphia say that the project would revitalize a long-neglected area a half block south of Chinatown, helping rather than hurting local businesses. Opponents of the casino, however, fear that having a gambling den so close to home would exacerbate the problem of compulsive gambling, which has caused great damage in the Asian-American community in recent years. The Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, for example, estimated that nearly a third of its 40,000 daily customers were Asian, a far higher ratio than seen in the general population. We're not opposed to casinos on moral grounds - people are free to do dumb things with their money if they like - but we do feel like they put up a bit of a false front. Take any casino in Atlantic City, for example. Based on the advertisements, you'd expect to see James Bond wearing a tuxedo and playing baccarat. What you get instead are obese guys wearing sweatpants and oxygen tank-toting grannies on Rascal scooters feeding quarters into slot machines until their eyes glaze over. It's not a pretty picture. But things aren't looking good for Chinatown, as the City Council recently dedicated the area an entertainment district, paving the way for construction to begin. Until it's built, though, residents can always gamble away their life savings in the stock market.

[Photo: gamblingplanet.org]

Related Stories:
· Philadelphia's Chinatown Seeks to Keep Out Casino [AP/Yahoo! News]
· Philly Chinatown [semi-official site]
· Rascal Scooters [official site]
· Casino Coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Travel Referendums / Gambling / Casinos / → All Tags

The Other Election: You Vote, We Gamble (Maybe)

While the world has been wrapped up in Obamamania for the last couple of days, there's other election news worth talking about from a travel perspective.

One issue that has been showing up increasingly on ballots is gambling. See, when state lawmakers face the tough decision of whether or not to save their budgets by allowing casinos, they do what politicians do best: Decide nothing and pass the issue on to voters in the form of referendums.

So Election Day has lately become Christmas morning for the gambling industry. This year, the gambling forces found little luck at the polls, with voters rejecting proposed casinos in Maine, Ohio and even Guam. The only victory for gambling was in Maryland, where voters gave the OK to slot machines at five locations around the state.

Related Stories:
· Md. Voters Give OK to 15,000 Slots [Baltimore Sun]
· Western Maine Casino Proposal Shot Down by Voters [Forbes]
· Casino Bet Fails [Toledo Blade]
· Guam Voters Reject Casino Gambling [Pacific Magazine]
· Travel Referendums coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: kckellner]

Tags: Gambling / Surviving Atlantic City / Bars / Nightlife / Restaurants / → All Tags

Surviving AC: The Tropicana Wants to Get You Drunk

Who goes to Atlantic City? We sent Neal Ungerleider to find out.

The three-year old Quarter at the Tropicana is one of Atlantic City's two Las Vegas-style shopping complexes. (The Pier Shops at Caesars is the other.) The stores include some A-list franchises--Brooks Brothers, Swarovski and a nearly-open Brookstone--along with some awesomely left field shopping spaces like the Old Farmer's Almanac General Store and a branch of New York City's Spy Shop.

But that's beside the point. From what we've seen, it's definitely the best place to eat and get drunk in Atlantic City. A ritzy food court has franchises of New York's Palm steakhouse and Carmine's, Philadelphia's Cuba Libre restaurant and several others, including a Jeffrey Chodorow Russian-themed restobar with suspiciously little Russian food on the menu.

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Surviving AC: Know Your Demo

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.

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Surviving AC: The Celebrity Chef Invasion

Who goes to Atlantic City? We sent Neal Ungerleider to find out.

With Atlantic City casinos in a competitive frenzy for guests' dollars, everyone needs a gimmick. It seems like Caesars has found a successful niche of its own: Hosting television food show-related events.

We arrived in Atlantic City during the Toast to the Coast festival, which trotted out celebrity chefs/cooking personalities Roland Meisner, Ingrid Hoffman and Guy Fieri for cooking demos and offered a live show with Giada De Laurentiis. There was also the chance to meet Hoffmann and Fieri at a pool party over at Harrah's (whose previous guests include both Kim Kardashian and Tila Tequila), along with a food expo and several other events spread throughout Harrah's Atlantic City properties.

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Surviving AC: This City Loves Asian Card Games

Who goes to Atlantic City? We sent Neal Ungerleider to find out.

Judging by the casino floors of Atlantic City, the town's current gambling trend is Chinese-style card games. Not only that, but nearly half of Atlantic City's casinos have opted to locate Chinese card games in special Asian theme areas. "Disney China" architecture and design with passable noodle shops? Find it here.

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Surviving AC: The Weird, Wild World of Branded Slot Machines

Who goes to Atlantic City? We sent Neal Ungerleider to find out.

Let's cut to the chase when it comes to slot machines: The babies are essentially random number generators. Ever since the great switchover to computerized slot machines, the games have been based on internal software that uses an RNG to determine what will show up on the reels.

Nonetheless, slots are popular. They dominate the floor space of nearly all Atlantic City casinos. In the quest to attact gamblers to machines, manufacturers have increasingly turned to offering licensed slots based on popular television, film, music and cultural properties.

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Surviving AC: Automated Poker Tables Ditch the Dealer

Who goes to Atlantic City? We sent Neal Ungerleider to find out.

Poker is, by far, America's favorite card game. But there are only so many bells and whistles you can add to win new fans. So enter the newest gimmick of all: Automated poker tables.

Over at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, 14 new PokerPro tables made their debut in the building's East Tower for a field trial earlier this month. The electronic tables have room for 10 players, who sit at individual video touch screens. The game automatically shuffles and deals the cards for all players--and automatically identifies winners after each hand. In other words, the dealer has been completely shut out of the equation.

But how do the games play? From our experience, it's a mixed bag. On the one hand, the pace of the game is a bit faster than traditional poker thanks to computerization. The machines also--let's face it--attract inexperienced poker players who view the tables as stepping stones between the video slots and real poker. But the interpersonal aspect of the game is completely gone. A good dealer can add personality and spirit to a game, just as much as a bad dealer can ruin it. With no dealer in play, it just feels like... video poker for ten people.

Related Stories:
· No Dealers, but Plenty of Action [Press of AC]
· Atlantic City Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Pokertek]