Someone mentioned AC in another thread. I assumed it was a country, but when I looked up postal code abbreviations, there was no AC. It turned out that AC is Atlantic City. I’d never heard it abbreviated before. That led to these posts:
Now, I have no intention of ever going to Atlantic City. Or New Jersey. I went to Boston and Baltimore and Washington DC a few decades ago, and they were hot, muggy, and a little weird to this SoCal native. I’m happy on the Left Coast. But I thought I’d post just in case people want to talk about the topic.
To my note in your OP, I’ll also add that the advent of legal gambling in AC and its follow-along vices made for one of Bruce Springsteen’s greatest songs.
I visited Atlantic City once while living in Philthydelphia. I walked the boardwalk for a bit, went into a casino, and played a slot machine. I put in my first quarter and won $4.00. I left the casino and found my car, returning home a winner.
My first trip (also first time in a Casino of any kind) I won $75 on the quarter slot machine. I’ve had a gambling problem ever since (currently in remission).
I’ve been to Vegas and Atlantic City. Atlantic City’s casinos are trying to imitate Vegas on the cheap. Vegas is flashy and garish. Atlantic City is toned down from that and dull by comparison. They concentrate on the gambling but little else.
The Schenectady casino is a cheaper and duller version of Atlantic City.
I have fun in Vegas. I don’t gamble (ever, just don’t care for it even the tiniest bit) but I love the restaurants, walking around the little stores, and catching a show now and then. It’s a fun place to go for a quick weekend getaway without paying a lot. My wife and I go every year (except 2021).
I absolutely hate gambling. When I was married, my in-laws took us to a casino. They gave us each $100 worth of rolled quarters. I went off and played slot machines, trying to get rid of the money so I could go sit in a bar.
It seemed that I’d be almost out of quarters, then I’d win. Fück! I played multiple lines at a time, trying to get rid of my quarters quicker and I’d win again. It was awful.
I first went to AC before there was gambling. It was nicer then to me.
I’ve gambled there once, just once and I won a little, just a little. I’m not a gambler.
We just got back from beautiful Cape Map the southern tip of New Jersey and the countries oldest Shore Resort. On the way we tried to visit Lucy the Elephant but this strange relic of the past was 100% covered for a major refurbishment. A sad waste of time for us.
Little known fact about Lucy the Elephant, she use to have a bigger brother next to Coney Island. Elephantine Colossus - Wikipedia
The last time I played the slots I went through $20 without a single win. It took all of 3 or 4 minutes. I felt like I just ran a twenty dollar bill through a shredder.
I’ve been to Las Vegas once. It felt improper to visit Vegas without gambling at all, so we put in a quarter for each of us (well, on my sister’s and I’s behalf, since we were children at the time). My lifetime net on Vegas gambling is thus negative 25 cents, which I note is far better than the net of most visitors to the city.
I used to love Atlantic City in the 50s, before gambling. We went every summer and actually stayed in Ventnor one block from the end of AC, also one block from the beach. Went to the beach and swimming in the surf every day and every evening my brother and I walked the boardwalk downtown, played mini-golf, ogled girls and eventually took the jitney back to the end of the line. Those were the glory days of AC.
What happened? I think the combination of cheap air fares and the Interstates, destroyed it as a summer spot for Philly (and maybe NY) residents and then they went for gambling that really ruined it. What a shame.
I go every couple of years for a Anti-money laundering conference.
And yes to the food, shopping (the ones at Caesars place are very nice), etc.
BUT! The smoking! You cannot just walk to the room elevators, you have to walk thru the casino maze, and you come out stinking. Some of the most modern hotel/casinos have really good air filters, but it is still bad.
To really love gambling, you have to get that “addicts rush” from losing. I exclude friendly poker games and the like.
The Philly people go mostly to the Wildwoods area since the gambling came in. Wildwoods is kind of weird as it still has a stuck in the 50s vibe but in a good way. Wildwoods is not much further than AC, so that became the summer place for Philly.
AC is mainly about gambling, shows and conventions now. The beach resort is very secondary.
New Yorkers or Bennies as we call them, most stick to Monmouth and Ocean county beaches.
I was traveling with my son and our flights were totally screwed up. We ended up spending a few hours at the (John Wayne?) airport in Vegas. There were slots(?) in the airport.
Bored, I took my son over to check out the slots. You’d think I’d tried to hijack a plane! My 8 year old son wasn’t supposed to be even close to gambling. Police escorted us away.
When I went earlier this year, I put on my mask and it helped a lot. And nobody looks at you funny for wearing it as they might pre-Covid.
I have extremely bad allergies, bad enough that there are certain places in Vegas that I can’t be in for very long without being sick because of all the smoke. But not everywhere is like that, fortunately.
