AC Revenue

[DaBurglar]

There was an Associated Press Article in my local newspaper financial/business section that detailed how Revenue in AC has fallen AGAIN for the sixth year in a row since 2007.....this latest report detailed how, since Hurricane Sandy and following all the "new" efforts and changes to marketing AC (i.e.  the "DO AC" campaign), business has NOT picked up for AC, and in fact, with Revel's continued disaster and the continued expansion of gaming in surrounding states, AC has never looked so bleak. I'm both not surprised yet I am disappointed......I now consider myself an "expert" on AC, after 4-1/2 years of continuous visitation and patronage, and I just do not understand why the powers that be cannot get their act together and, at the very least, STOP the bleeding! Revel, in all its mess, DID have that one lone success, their July "Gamblers wanted" promo, which showed exactly what AC needs to do in order to attract BACK some of the business it has lost.....they need agressive, REAL value Gaming promotions to lure back the gamblers who have taken their stakes to places like Pensylvania and Delaware and NYC.   AC needs to loosen its slots, improve its VP paytables, lower the ridiculous room rates they "try" to charge impulse visitors and weekend gamblers, and agressively provide real value gaming promos to people who do visit more than once a year.....all the NON-gaming related attractions and promotions are fine, but they will NOT bridge the gap nor stop the bleeding;  why is this so hard for management and government officials in the state's casino redevelopment authority to see???? Borgata is the only truly healthy casino in AC (run by Vegas people!)   harrah's is also profitable but is dragged down by the dead weight of its three lackluster siblings on the Boardwalk (Caesars, Showboat and Ballsys)  as well as the CRUSHING corporate debt of its parent corporation. Golden Nugget I have recently found actually has a lot to offer and has its act together in terms of cleanliness, room quality and customer service, but its player club offerings need upgrade and its isolation compared to the other properties in AC means it MUST be aggressive in its gaming promos to give people (like me) the reason and motivation to spend time within its walls. What does everyone else think?

[Tedlark]

   So you are calling Revel a bright spot even with the litigations against them and their July "Gamblers Wanted" promotion?
 
  Other than that; I'm speechless.

[DaBurglar]

no revel is a disaster....I said their July Promo was a success in that it did what they intended, it attracted a lot of GAMBLERS (or "players")    The subsequent lawsuits are the result of their incompetence, but they had the right idea. Every year Ac's revenue and profits decline.....this obviously cannot continue.

[Tedlark]

  If Revel had the right idea then the promotion would have gone smoothly and there would be no litigations. I'm not busting on you DaBurglar, rather Revel.

[chattycattty]

It is too bad the direction Atlantic City appears to be trending.  We visited there for the first time ever in May of this year.  We liked it so much we returned in September and brought some friends.  We stayed at Caesars both trips.  We really enjoyed the boardwalk experience.  We liked the fact that it was laid back compared to Vegas.  We did not have to contend with porn slappers, timeshare hawkers, beggars, and in general thought that Atlantic City was cleaner and safer than Vegas.
 
 
 

[marie meijer]

I was approached by beggars in both Bally's and Caesars while playing VP in AC.This never happened to me inside casinos in Vegas or any other casinos anywhere, with one exception.

[DaBurglar]

Well I hardly think AC's problems are simply the result of "beggars", but I do agree with everyone here that beggars are an issue in BOTH AC and VEGAS, since I have encountered them in just about EVERY casino I have ever visited (Including FOXWOODS and Mohegan!)   It goes with the territory, since in every casino someone is always going bust or gambling way above their head, and then they suddenly realize they have no money to get home, or for food, or for booze or dope or whatever....so there is only one alternative (short of crime):  ASK strangers for money.    The problem is greater in VEGAS in my mind simply because of its size and the sheer number of people....but a key difference is WHERE you encounter the beggars.   In Vegas, you find them out in the public streets and in the DOWNTOWN casinos more than the STRIP casinos, since Strip properties have much bigger security staff as well as an image to protect. In AC, where casino security is fast becoming a joke except at Borgata, beggars and machine "hawks" thrive between the hours of 2am and 6am in most boardwalk casinos....whenever I play at those hours I always encounter two or three people with the proverbial "lost bus ticket" story, and I always tell them "there must be a HUGE bin with tons of lost bus tickets somewhere so go look there..."     Machine "hawks" are those players who swoop in NEXT to you while you are playing, see that you have X amount of credits and then brazenly ask you for some of them because they need the money for whatever, and all you are doing is giving it to the casino!    I have to refrain from punching them in the nose, it gets to be so annoying.    But one group I always give money to is the obviously disabled and hurting folks who just sit on the boardwalk with a cup in their hands, usually in wheelchairs.....whenever I hit a big win I make it a point to plop some money in their cups.   For some reason I am ok with giving money to people who DO NOT ask for it but who clearly need it......unless it is outside a 7-11 or convenince store, where alcoholics ask for spare change to go buy a nip or a 40 oz malt....I never refuse them since I know that the DTs can actually be fatal. The AC city police are agressive in hauling off beggars on the streets of Pacific and Atlantic Avenue, so they are not an issue there.   Vegas PD and Clark County Sherriffs are a little more tolerant of panhandlers except during certain busy seasons or on a Friday/saturday night on the strip.  

[dbldbl scotty]

We did not have to contend with porn slappers, timeshare hawkers, beggars, and in general thought that Atlantic City was cleaner and safer than Vegas.
 
 
 

porn slappers / timeshares, no. (plenty of more openly available hookers tho with less teeth than the duck dynasty guys).

But where in AC were you that you did not have machine hawkers and beggars - ten times more imo in AC than vegas.

not to mention, there are crack houses right across the street from the Taj.

AC is seedy. i'm always on alert in any casino - but in AC i'm always looking over my shoulder...

[chattycattty]

I am comparing the boardwalk at Atlantic City to the strip in Vegas.  We like all the little shops up and down the boardwalk and like the fact that they are reasonably priced.  We like the fact that we can walk up and down the boardwalk and at least on the two trips we were there it was not crowded and a lot wider and there was plenty of space for a fast paced stroll. 


 
In Vegas, its wall to wall people on narrow walkways up and down the strip.  You have to use escalators to get by street intersections that half the time do not work.  If you look around there is discarded trash, porn slapper cards, throw up, and discarded drinks littering the grounds up and down the strip.  Not exactly an ideal situation if you like to walk.
 
Vegas is overrated IMO.  Maybe after we go to AC a few more times we will see it differently.  For now, I stand by my previous comments.

[BillyJoe]

I am comparing the boardwalk at Atlantic City to the strip in Vegas.  We like all the little shops up and down the boardwalk and like the fact that they are reasonably priced.  We like the fact that we can walk up and down the boardwalk and at least on the two trips we were there it was not crowded and a lot wider and there was plenty of space for a fast paced stroll. 


 
In Vegas, its wall to wall people on narrow walkways up and down the strip.  You have to use escalators to get by street intersections that half the time do not work.  If you look around there is discarded trash, porn slapper cards, throw up, and discarded drinks littering the grounds up and down the strip.  Not exactly an ideal situation if you like to walk.
 
Vegas is overrated IMO.  Maybe after we go to AC a few more times we will see it differently.  For now, I stand by my previous comments.
Well, the one nice thing about Vegas. If you feel uncomfortable in a crowd, you just point your finger somewhere, and holler "POLICIA !!" . You will have a lot of room in an instant.