A SERIOUS, MEANINGFUL THREAD

[DaBurglar]

Pinky Kravitz, a long time AC casino & entertainment personality who hosts a morning radio show in AC was on the CBS Networkshow INSIDE EDITION this evening talking about the AC crisis.......did anyone else see it?    The title of the segment was "AC - What Happened??"    In addition to Pinky they had many Boarwalk customers expressing their feelings, and a few AC city officials and a couple casino executives.....The old guy Pinky is a pretty smart cookie, and he hit the nail on the head about the competition swooping in from Pennsylvania, and the casinos did not react fast enough or strong enough and GIVE people a reason to STAY (or return to) AC.   He did point out, as some of us here have, that "competition" is a two way street.....true AC is impacted by competition from Pennsylvania, BUT  the Pennsylvania casinos must compete with AC also!    Clearly they have won that battle in the most one-sided fashion thus far.....TIMING is hugely important in gambling, we all know this (timing is a subset of the more general concept of LUCK).......and yet it seems TIMING is also a huge factor in the real world of business and decision making.......CONSIDER;   Trump Plaza, which most recently stated it is closing in September, has been on the chopping block for a long time and was ALMOST set to close last year, but at the last minute was postponed.   You now have to wonder if the Trump Plaza had just shuttered itself last year if that would have prompted the CET people to maybe leave Showboat alone, at least for another year, given that some people may have felt that with the elimination of both AC club and Trump Plaza their might be enough spillover into other casinos in AC to improve the short term outlook......or perhaps if REVEL had made its critical announcement WELL BEFORE the Showboat announced it was shuttering....could this have prompted the CET people to perhaps leave showboat alone for another year?OR turn it around....if REVEL had known both Showboat and Trump Plaza would be gone by September, do you think their management might have begged the creditors for another 8-9 months to see if any upward movement on revenue could be made with all this new business released into the marketplace?    I would have to say yes because both sides, Revel management and the Banks DO NOT want what is going to happen come August 31 if no buyer is found.

[Galeygoo]

[QUOTE=Tedlark] 

 
  My point is that Atlantic City has been the only go to destination on the East Coast for so long that they got too fat and lazy which easily gave outside entities the opportunity to snatch marketshare away from Atlantic City.
 
  Unfortunately I think that for Atlantic City to totally reinvent themselves and regain their strong position; they must hit absolute rock bottom. Akin to an alcoholic hitting total rock bottom and then taking that first step by admitting they have a problem, only then does the will and desire rise to the top and take control bringing about change and modification.
 
  The blurb in today's financial papers regarding the uptick in Atlantic City's gaming revenue only puts more smoke between the decision makers and the problem.

This is the relevant portion of your post to what this thread is about, and it does point out something that is actually very accurate......AC management (i.e. the casino top brass and marketing) was INDEED too fat and lazy from years of monopoly to respond to the sudden threat posed by Pennsylvania starting in 2006.    That is why, as I said in my original post, AC managed to LOSE a 28 year head start and a natural advantage (THE OCEAN & Boardwalk) in a mere three years....2006 to 2009, the went from fat and happy to bleeding to death.   

And your point about hitting rock bottom is valid....but I think it is totally ridiculous that a place like AC must hit rock bottom in order to change, given the major corporations vested there like CAesars and many others who employ many jighly paid  so-called experts on business and gaming, and with the State of New Jersey being dependent on AC's tax revenue!!   Its awful for the thousands and thousands of employees that "ROCK bottom" is the only way up......


That said.....this is not a "grass roots" campaign.   This series of RAPID & SUDDEN casino closures is a MAJOR event in the middle of one of the biggest gaming markets (and hence, video poker markets) in the world.....and since this is the Atlantic City portion of the forum, I felt behooved to look at this objectively.    This is a "social forum" with a central theme of video poker and casinos....people come and post and discuss topics of mutual interest and relevance,   Everyone posts what he or she is interested in or what they KNOW......I know AC and my recent experiences revolve around that,  So that means most of my posts will reflect this.  

A lot of people come here and post about the most recent video poker playing session at such-and-such casino.   Most choose to post info or pics about some successful hits they had (you included)...but as expected most OVERALL playing results from each session results in a net loss (not everyone, but most.)       In my case, instead of posting the few big hits I had in my AC sessions, I posted about the very real, true, horrible statistical results I kept seeing in AC, and my hope was others would either corroborate or simply show my results were just Aberrations.   Neither happened, all that did happen was several vocal people complained about my complaining.  

But now, the situation finally blew up,,,,,whatever people want to say about my views regarding AC, it is clear that the destination is in deep trouble and that many of the things I said about it AS MY OPINION turned out to be more true than even I realized.....and BIG deal.   I am not happy about it, I think it sucks big time.   8,000 people (not 6,000 like I previously stated) are out of work come September.....and now people like myself, who truly LIKED at least what AC represented and wanted it to succeed, will have to decide if what remains of AC after September is worth patronizing.    I loved the accessibility of the place, it was easy to get around and all I had to do was get on a bus (no airplane/airport to deal with)    For me this is a HUGE issue and one I would not expect everyone else to understand.



[/QUOTE]
Who are you two and what did you do to Ted and DB? j/k  nice posts, guys

[pokerforme]

I agree this is one of the better AC threads ever....hope it stays that way

[DaBurglar]

I agree this is one of the better AC threads ever....hope it stays that wayit will so long as no one else tries to kill it with your "I hope it stays that way" type snottiness.....

[olds442jetaway]

[QUOTE=olds442jetaway]I really miss Boardwalk Empire. Have the DVD set though for memories.AMEN     Although I will have a hard time watching the upcoming 5th and final season since they killed off Richard Harrow!    He was truely the most compelling character on the show and whenever Richard Harrow was on screen (played by Jack Huston), he STOLE the scene.FYI -  When Boardwalk Empire debuted in 2010, I had been going to AC about 1 year and was still getting to know it while also starting to realize just how much trouble the place was in and how crappy the VP was......anyhow, this show on HBO, Boardwalk Empire, temporarily at least spurred a lot of interest in AC, and many thought it might be a nice little kick start to a slow but steady recovery.......but naturally, NO ONE (not one of the boardwalk casinos) did much with the show or its appeal, other than a couple places hosting Sunday night parties to watch the HBO episodes the first 2 seasons (they stopped it after the 2nd season.)   Resorts did have its waitresses switch to 1920s costumes that show a lot of skin, and it promptly resulted in several lawsuits by a few of the older less svelte waitresses who had been their for 20 plus years!   Doh!!![/QUOTE]

    Even though the show is tense and serious most of the time, I think a Broadway Musical of the show or some of its greatest scenes with super period music and costumes would be a smash. Of course it would have to open in A/C and then make the circuit. I would be one of the first to attend if ever made.

[Tedlark]

  DaBurglar there you go again with your comments about snottiness. We, the forum as a collective, get the fact that you are disgruntled with the sad state that Atlantic City is in; as seen through your eyes. But, we also get that you are still singing the same tune over and over and over and over and over. It's like we are all extras in the movie "Groundhog Day" because your new posts about Atlantic City could very well be old posts that you cut and pasted.   Yes, this can be an exciting thread but you again try and step on me. Please do not make a stupid comment regarding job losses and that you must be the only one here who gets it because, quite frankly, those of us here who live in Illinois fully understand. The errors, poor choices, and decisions that Illinois politicians are making give cause to outsiders to laugh when they see how BAD things are in Illinois.    I went to a public university, much like billyjoe and many others here, and I have really come to resent your better than thou attitude and the more you write those long drawn out rebuttal posts proves to me your boorishness. You occasionally try to make a "touchy feely" tug on the heartstrings post but to me you do this merely as a disguise. Given the opportunity, I will continue to rebut you.

[Tedlark]

  Olds I would be more receptive with a Broadway version of Boardwalk Empire than I would with a Broadway Version of The Beverly Hillbillies. The kinfolk didn't say "Jed get your behind to Broadway."

[chattycattty]

  DaBurglar there you go again with your comments about snottiness. We, the forum as a collective, get the fact that you are disgruntled with the sad state that Atlantic City is in; as seen through your eyes. But, we also get that you are still singing the same tune over and over and over and over and over. It's like we are all extras in the movie "Groundhog Day" because your new posts about Atlantic City could very well be old posts that you cut and pasted.   Yes, this can be an exciting thread but you again try and step on me. Please do not make a stupid comment regarding job losses and that you must be the only one here who gets it because, quite frankly, those of us here who live in Illinois fully understand. The errors, poor choices, and decisions that Illinois politicians are making give cause to outsiders to laugh when they see how BAD things are in Illinois.    I went to a public university, much like billyjoe and many others here, and I have really come to resent your better than thou attitude and the more you write those long drawn out rebuttal posts proves to me your boorishness. You occasionally try to make a "touchy feely" tug on the heartstrings post but to me you do this merely as a disguise. Given the opportunity, I will continue to rebut you. Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Buffilita]

It seems to me the Atlantic City casinos are no different from any other industry that has fallen victim to a down economy and a changing society. Online shopping has severely cut into retail. Fine dining restaurants have been replaced by family-friendly and fast food establishments.

People don't have the disposable income they used to. I see more couples pooling their money into one machine and/or folks going from machine to machine looking for that quick hit.

The free market system will allow the strong to survive and the weak will not. Casinos need to look at their customer base, as the old reliables (such as myself) fade out. The twenty and thirty-somethings can't go an hour without their smart phones. We are a society that wants everything immediately. A strong casino marketing program has to include online gaming in order to address labor and overhead costs as well as serve the upcoming generation of gamers.

I only have a lowly B.S. degree in political science from a public university, but that's how I see it.

[yankees4ever31]

Here's my view:

Atlantic City has many issues, not just one. It's no longer the "hip" place to be. The twenty-somethings of the world aren't the typical gambling types that AC was built off of. How do you change this? By adapting to the times, something that AC has NOT accomplished.

Perfect examples of this would be Trump Plaza and the Atlantic Club. Both are closing or have closed and both look and feel like they did in the 1980s. What twenty-year old would sign up for that?

One thing that is missing from Atlantic City is the vibrant clubs that are now the pulse of Las Vegas. In the movie “The Player: Secrets of a Vegas Whale", Steve Wynn discusses the downturn of 2008-2009 and says the only part of his business that was exponentially growing year-over-year during that time was the club scene. From pool clubs to extravagant night clubs, millions of dollars in revenue is generated every night from the club scene in his hotel (that doesn't included the people that went gambling after the club).

Atlantic City has a few clubs, but when you go inside, only two are a fraction of what party-goers want now. MUR MUR in Borgata and The Pool in Harrahs capture some of the feel, but that's it. The other clubs in AC are no different than those found at the Jersey Shore or in Philadelphia.

Until Atlantic City begins to understand the new generation of gamblers, party-goers, and social media trends, they will never be able to gain traction while there are other local businesses that offer similar experiences.

There just isn't enough of an "experience" to make AC the go-to hotspot.

-yankees4ever31