Angela
IndoForum Pro E
- No. Urut
- 88
- Sejak
- 25 Mar 2006
- Pesan
- 45.487
- Nilai reaksi
- 35
- Poin
- 0
So, let me tell you about my great-great-uncle Benny. He was infamous in our family for taking the heat for Nucky Johnson. If you've seen ""Boardwalk Empire,"" you know Nuckyplayed by the one and only Steve Buscemi, with those unforgettable cheekboneswas the guy who practically owned Atlantic City back during Prohibition. Yeah, Uncle Benny was his guy, his henchman. My family's history with Atlantic City doesn't just stop there, though. Get this: my grandma, when she was just a kiddo, would run chits from bookies to the folks staying at their hotel, totally clueless about the shady business she was a part of. But, man, even with all that dodgy stuff, my elders would light up talking about Atlantic City you can find out more. They'd reminisce about those wild diving horses and Tony Grant's Stars of Tomorrow. It was like their own little wonderland.
Ever heard of ""conspicuous consumption""? Well, Thorstein Veblen hit the nail on the head with that one in 1899. Americans were already big on traveling, and only the richest could afford those swanky vacations. But then, bam! Railroads got cheaper and faster, and poof, the middle class could get in on the action. Atlantic City nailed the timingprime spot, right time. Up until the sixties, if you were looking for summer fun on the East Coast, Atlantic City was your jama stone's throw from New York and Philly, with cheap thrills for everyone. Fast-forward to the seventies, though, and the city's vibe was fizzling out cbc. Vegas was the new hotspot for fun, and air conditioning killed the need for a seaside breeze. New Jersey gave casino gambling the thumbs up in '76, which kind of helped but didn't bring back the glory days. When I was growing up there in the nineties, the glamour was just a ghost. My brother and I would count those cash-for-gold shops on Pacific Avenueeighteen in just four blocks, I kid you not.
Now here's the kicker: Atlantic City's grip as a regional gambling haven is slipping away. These past few years, Pennsylvania and Delaware got in on the gambling game. Pennsylvania even shot upcnn to second place, right after Vegas, in the U.S. gambling market, leaving Atlantic City in the dust. By last year, the casino revenue in AC had tanked over forty-one percentfrom more than five billion to a measly three billion. With gambling now on their doorstep, why the hell would anyone trek an hour and a half to Atlantic City?
So, a couple of years back, the casino bigwigs in Atlantic City got together and decided to throw cash at this nonprofit, the Atlantic City Alliance, to jazz up the city's image. They want folks to see AC as more than just a place to lose your paycheck. They're selling it like it's got everythingflip-flops to fancy shoes, posh eats to street treats. But, honestly, it's hard to picture what they're aiming foris it Paris or a state fair vibe? Then, bam! They drop this new slogan on us""Do AC,"" ditching ""Always Turned On"" and ""America's Favorite Playground."" It's like they're saying, ""AC can be whatever you want it to be."" They're banking on this new online-gambling law in Jersey to give them a boost, hooking up online casinos with the brick-and-mortar ones. But it's not just about bettingthis ""Do AC"" thing is pushing the city as a must-visit resort beyond the neon lights and dice rolls. If they can reel in the tourists, maybe, just maybe, the developers will come build up those empty lots into something shiny and new, pulling in even more visitors.
Even with all that, Mother Nature had to throw in her two cents. About six months after ""Do AC"" hit the streets, Hurricane Sandy swiped at the city. Sure, parts of the boardwalk got chewed up, but the core was still solid. The news went nuts over the damage at Seaside Heightsyou know, the ""Jersey Shore"" place. But for Atlantic City, the storm did a number on people's heads more than anything else. The city's hollering that it's open for business, but tourists aren't buying it bbc.
Atlantic City's latest gamble, the Revel casino, was this massive 2.4-billion-dollar glass giant supposed to be the next big thing. The place has got this ginormous pinball sphere on top, like it's something special. But just over a year after throwing open its doors, Revel's crying bankruptcy. They managed to pull through with a Chapter 11 restructuring, but those swanky vibes they were banking on? Didn't bring in the crowds. Now they're trying to spice things up with the ""DigiPit,"" where you can watch acrobats do their thing while you lose your dough on digital slots.
"
Ever heard of ""conspicuous consumption""? Well, Thorstein Veblen hit the nail on the head with that one in 1899. Americans were already big on traveling, and only the richest could afford those swanky vacations. But then, bam! Railroads got cheaper and faster, and poof, the middle class could get in on the action. Atlantic City nailed the timingprime spot, right time. Up until the sixties, if you were looking for summer fun on the East Coast, Atlantic City was your jama stone's throw from New York and Philly, with cheap thrills for everyone. Fast-forward to the seventies, though, and the city's vibe was fizzling out cbc. Vegas was the new hotspot for fun, and air conditioning killed the need for a seaside breeze. New Jersey gave casino gambling the thumbs up in '76, which kind of helped but didn't bring back the glory days. When I was growing up there in the nineties, the glamour was just a ghost. My brother and I would count those cash-for-gold shops on Pacific Avenueeighteen in just four blocks, I kid you not.
Now here's the kicker: Atlantic City's grip as a regional gambling haven is slipping away. These past few years, Pennsylvania and Delaware got in on the gambling game. Pennsylvania even shot upcnn to second place, right after Vegas, in the U.S. gambling market, leaving Atlantic City in the dust. By last year, the casino revenue in AC had tanked over forty-one percentfrom more than five billion to a measly three billion. With gambling now on their doorstep, why the hell would anyone trek an hour and a half to Atlantic City?
So, a couple of years back, the casino bigwigs in Atlantic City got together and decided to throw cash at this nonprofit, the Atlantic City Alliance, to jazz up the city's image. They want folks to see AC as more than just a place to lose your paycheck. They're selling it like it's got everythingflip-flops to fancy shoes, posh eats to street treats. But, honestly, it's hard to picture what they're aiming foris it Paris or a state fair vibe? Then, bam! They drop this new slogan on us""Do AC,"" ditching ""Always Turned On"" and ""America's Favorite Playground."" It's like they're saying, ""AC can be whatever you want it to be."" They're banking on this new online-gambling law in Jersey to give them a boost, hooking up online casinos with the brick-and-mortar ones. But it's not just about bettingthis ""Do AC"" thing is pushing the city as a must-visit resort beyond the neon lights and dice rolls. If they can reel in the tourists, maybe, just maybe, the developers will come build up those empty lots into something shiny and new, pulling in even more visitors.
Even with all that, Mother Nature had to throw in her two cents. About six months after ""Do AC"" hit the streets, Hurricane Sandy swiped at the city. Sure, parts of the boardwalk got chewed up, but the core was still solid. The news went nuts over the damage at Seaside Heightsyou know, the ""Jersey Shore"" place. But for Atlantic City, the storm did a number on people's heads more than anything else. The city's hollering that it's open for business, but tourists aren't buying it bbc.
Atlantic City's latest gamble, the Revel casino, was this massive 2.4-billion-dollar glass giant supposed to be the next big thing. The place has got this ginormous pinball sphere on top, like it's something special. But just over a year after throwing open its doors, Revel's crying bankruptcy. They managed to pull through with a Chapter 11 restructuring, but those swanky vibes they were banking on? Didn't bring in the crowds. Now they're trying to spice things up with the ""DigiPit,"" where you can watch acrobats do their thing while you lose your dough on digital slots.
"
