Atlantic City Casinos Blog

   This is one promotion the women in your life won’t want to miss.

   Trump Marina is hosting its annual Ladies Appreciation Day on Sunday, March 8 from noon until about 5 p.m. There will be free chair massages, a women-only blackjack tournament and handsome men handing out roses and chocolates to the women in attendance. It’s all free, no obligation to gamble.

   Here’s a tip if you want the free massages. Get there early. From noon to one, the lines are short and you might even be able to go back for seconds. But as the afternoon wears on, the lines get longer.

Play All Year. For Free!
Our Year of Free Gaming Giveaway is going strong, but this unprecedented promotion ends soon! Don’t worry, there’s still time to earn entries. Just visit Trump Taj Mahal or Trump Plaza now through March 7 and play your favorite slots. You’ll get one entry for every 10 Tier Points you earn. Then find out if you’ll be playing for free – all year long! The big drawing is on March 7 at both Trump Taj Mahal and Trump Plaza. Each casino will select a winner every hour from 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. If you’re one of the lucky winners, you’ll receive $1,000 Bonus Slot Dollars every month for the entire year. Free gaming…why play anywhere else?

$25,000, One Day to Give it All Away!
Here’s a great chance to pocket some extra cash. Win your share of $5,000 every hour from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 5 at Trump Taj Mahal. Each hour is your big chance to win $250, $500, $1,250 or even $2,500! Inquire at Trump One Services for your free entry. Activate yours by playing slots or table games or visiting Trump One Services between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. on the giveaway day.

BMW 1 Series and $10,000 Cash Giveaway
You’re number “one” (well, you could be). Trump Taj Mahal is giving away a 2009 BMW 1 Series on Saturday, March 14. This sporty, powerful, and luxurious BMW 1 Series is simply a fun car to drive. Play slots or table games for a chance to get behind the wheel of this elegant automobile. All you’ll need to do is swipe your Trump One Card at any Rewards Center Kiosk, now through Friday, March 13. Then activate those entries on March 14 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Plus, we’re giving away $10,000 in additional cash prizes! Listen for your name at the 7 p.m. $5,000 cash drawing. Then listen again at 10 p.m. as we give away more cash – and, of course, the BMW!

For Slot Dollars: It’s the Day of All Days!
We’re going Slot Dollar crazy on Monday, March 23. You could win $500 Bonus Slot Dollars every 15 minutes, from noon – 8 p.m. Inquire at Trump One Services for your free entry. Activate your free entry on the giveaway day by playing your favorite slots or by visiting Trump One Services. Then we’ll call out a lucky winner every 15 minutes. So listen closely for yours! Plus, when you play on March 23, you’ll earn 2X Slot Dollars all day! Be sure to register with your Trump One Card at any Rewards Center Kiosk before playing to make sure you’re eligible. Then play your favorite games to earn up to $2,000 in Slot Dollars.

Go Green – Get The Green
Give us your email address and we’ll give you your choice of $10 in Bonus Slot Dollars or a $20 match play coupon. But that’s just the beginning, you’ll continue to receive exclusive email-only offers from us. Just visit any Trump One Services or Rewards Center Kiosk to participate and for details. You will then be taking part in “Going Green” by receiving offers by e-mail, which conserves paper – just one of our many eco-friendly initiatives.

Poker Anyone?
The legendary Poker Room at Trump Taj Mahal continues to be one of Atlantic City’s hottest spots for Texas Hold ‘em, 7 Card Stud and Omaha. Players can enjoy table-side food service, free poker instructions for beginners and an exclusive high-limit section. The Taj Poker Room has been the Home of the United States Poker Championships for eleven years!

Food, Glorious Food!
For all you food lovers, Atlantic City Restaurant Week will be held March 1 – 7 and Trump Taj Mahal is a big part in this premier week to showcase the incredible choices to partake in. Enjoy Italian gourmet dining in the #1 Zagat-rated Il Mulino New York and Trattoria Il Mulino, or an eclectic mix of home-made American Classics and creative desserts by the award-winning chefs in Plate American Café, dine among Rock icons at Hard Rock Café, indulge in savory Indian Fare at Royal Albert’s Palace or enjoy a hearty steak at Safari Steakhouse.

These value-priced menus will be offered at $15.09 for lunch and $33.09 for dinners, plus beverages, tax and gratuity, throughout the week. Reservations are recommended for some restaurants, so book your dates today. Certain availability or restrictions may apply.

Play All Year. For Free!
Our Year of Free Gaming Giveaway is going strong, but this unprecedented
promotion ends soon! Don’t worry, there’s still time to earn entries. Just visit
Trump Plaza or Trump Taj Mahal now through March 7 and play your favorite slots.
You’ll get one entry for every 10 Tier Points you earn. Then find out if you’ll
be playing for free – all year long! The big drawing is on March 7 at both Trump
Plaza and Taj Mahal. Each casino will select a winner every hour from 10 a.m. –
10 p.m. If you’re one of the lucky winners, you’ll receive $1,000 Bonus Slot
Dollars every month for the entire year. Free gaming…why play anywhere else?

Three Days to Really Rake It In
Whether you’re a slot lover or table player, Trump Plaza is the place to be on
March 5, 23 and 29. We’re giving you three days to earn 2X Super Cash for table
players and 2X Super Bonus Slot Dollars for slot players. Simply play your
favorite slots and tables starting at 6 a.m. on each date to 5:59 a.m. the next
day. The more you play, the more you earn – so play your heart out and rack up
these Super Bonuses. Visit any Rewards Center Kiosk or Trump One Services any
time to find out how much you’ve earned. Just remember to play your Super Cash
and Super Bonus Dollars before April 30, 2009!

Double Comps and Plenty of Chances to Win a Cool Grand
Two Days, 2X Comp Dollars, plus a Chance to Win $1,000 Every 15 Minutes? Now
that’s some action-packed fun. Play at Trump Plaza on March 9 and 25 to rack up
double your Comp Dollars. Plus, you’ll have a chance to win $1,000 every 15
minutes, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. To be eligible to win, simply be playing any slot
or table game using your Trump One Card during the giveaway times on each date.
Want to see how many Double Comp Dollars you’ve earned? You can always check
your balance at any Rewards Center Kiosk.

$15,000 Pot O’ Gold Sweepstakes
Tuesday, March 17: It’s the luckiest day of the year! Spend St. Patrick’s Day at
Trump Plaza for your chance to win a share of $15,000. Rack up entries by
playing your favorite slots and tables, then listen for your name! We’re
selecting one person every 15 minutes, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. If you’re one of
the lucky ones, you’ll get to pick a Chocolate Gold Coin from our Pot O’ Gold.
You’re guaranteed to win at least $500 – and you could win as much as $5,000!
Follow the rainbow to the 5th Avenue Slot Area for the drawings.

Your E-mail Address Could Make You $5,000 Richer
Stop by Trump One Services at any of our three Trump Atlantic City resorts to
give us your email address – and you just might win a share of $10,000. Enter
now through February 28, then check your email on March 1 to find out if you’ve
won. We’ll choose 40 cash winners on March 1, including a Grand Prize winner of
$5,000! Plus, we can start emailing you exclusive web-only offers, which
conserves paper – it’s just another one of our many eco-friendly initiatives.

Every Day is Play Day
If you’re near a computer with an Internet connection, then you’re just a click
away from winning thousands in cash and comp dollars. Play free games online
with BonusPlay. Every day, you’ll have the chance to win fun prizes, additional
sweepstakes entries and Comp Dollars. Simply visit trumpcasinos.com and click on
free online games. Then login with your Trump One Card and email address to
start playing. Sweepstakes awards are announced online daily, so be sure to
check in every day.

Gourmet Dining Experience at a Great Value
Here’s your chance to experience award-winning gourmet dining at Trump Plaza.
Whether it’s flavorful steaks and chops at Max’s Steakhouse or the finest
cuisine from Northern Italy in Roberto’s Ristorante, dine on three decadent
courses for one fabulous price. Select an appetizer, soup or salad and entrée
prepared by our Executive Chef, for the unbelievable price of $35 per person.
Available in Max’s Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and in Roberto’s on Wednesday and
Thursday. Call 609-441-6777 to make your reservations today.

Food, Glorious Food!
For all you food lovers, Atlantic City Restaurant Week will be held March 1 – 7,
and Trump Plaza has great reasons for you to rejoice! Diners can choose from
specially-created menus at the casual 24 Central Cafe, Italian specialties at
Roberto’s Ristorante, or hearty dishes of Max’s Steakhouse in Trump Plaza. These
value-priced menus will be offered at $15.09 for lunch and $33.09 for dinners,
plus beverages, tax and gratuity, throughout the week.

Reservations are recommended for some restaurants, so book your dates today.

Certain availability or restrictions may apply.
Anyone can enter, and anyone can win in any of the promotional events (as long
as they’re over 21). All that’s needed is a Trump One Card, which is available
for free at Trump One Services. For more information, visit www.trumpplaza.com.

If you know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em, and the right moment to call a bluff, you won’t want to miss two tournament opportunities coming to Atlantic City in March.

Ever dream of sitting at the final table in the World Series of Poker? Well, Caesars is having a set of WSOP satellite tournaments March 4-14. Enter the smaller tournaments to win entry fees into the bigger ones. The winner of the main event gets a seat at the Big One in Vegas over the summer. Logon to www.caesarsac.com for details.

The Borgata, while not part of the WSOP is hosting its “deep stack” tournament March 21- 24, with a half-million dollar guaranteed prize pool. If you can’t afford several thousand for the entry fee, you can win a spot by playing in the events leading up to it starting on March 6. Buy-ins are $200 and $380 for those contests. One in 10 entrants in the $200 tournaments will win a spot in the main event, and one in 5 in the $380 tournament will get a seat. Logon to www.theborgata.com for info.

Don’t look for me at any of these events. While I love video poker, I just don’t have the people skills to play on the felt tables.

Good luck to all.

A lot of Atlantic City casinos are in deep financial doo-doo. Some will probably not survive this recession.

Yesterday, the Casino Control Commission gave Resorts a two-week reprieve on foreclosure. The casino hasn’t made a mortgage payment since October, and the lender wants to take over. Casino management is arguing that the lender doesn’t have a license to run a gaming hall. Meanwhile, despite the run-down appearance of the 31-year-old casino and Civil War era hotel, Resorts remains one of the best bargains in town. Their comps and cashback are good for video-poker players, while other properties are reducing theirs to almost nothing. Room rates are cheap, and the new Rendezvous Tower is nice. Even the old Ocean Tower rooms have a retro charm.

The three Trump properties declared bankruptcy this week - for the third time. Of course the dealmeister Donald managed to keep his personal wealth out of the proceedings. It’s his creditors who will suffer. All three properties are like ghost towns, and they’ve cut back on promotions to keep the players away.

Vegas casino magnate Carl Icahn has emerged as the prime bidder for the Tropicana, that has been in receivership since the Casino Control Commission yanked its license more than a year ago. If he wins, that doesn’t bode well for remaining casino employees at the Trop. Icahn took over the Sands, ran it for a while, and then flipped it to Pinnacle Entertainment, which promptly shut it down and imploded it.

We’ll wait for the numbers to come in, but the Presidents Day weekend looked like a disappointment to me. Saturday was pretty crowded, but not the major traffic jams you usually see on a holiday weekend. All casino hotel rooms were sold out for Saturday night, which was also Valentine’s Day. But I went to Resorts and the Hilton on Sunday, and both were more like a normal weekday in good times. Monday afternoon, I saw no traffic tie-ups on the outbound Atlantic City Expressway. I remember when it was tough to find a parking space in Atlantic City on Presidents Day itself, so this is not a good sign.

But spring is coming, and hopefully the crowds will come back with the warm weather.

First the bad news. Atlantic City casino revenue slipped by 9.6% in January, compared to January 2008. The Hilton and Resorts saw the biggest losses, while Harrah’s and the Borgata almost held their own.

Now the good news. President’s Day weekend and Valentine’s Day come together this year, and if the weather holds out, it traditionally means big crowds on the boardwalk. If you have extra money in your bank account in these tough times, many casinos will help you part with it as you treat your significant other to a romance-filled weekend.

The Pier at Caesars mall is having a special event Friday and Saturday. They’re advertising champagne bars, chocolate tastings and specials in the store to lure in the romantically inclined - and those who just like champagne and chocolate. Many casinos have Valentine’s specials that include a room, use of the pool or spa and breakfast in bed. Check your favorite property’s Web page for details. These packages are usually pricey and booked way in advance, but today’s At The Shore free weekly listed several specials still open. So if you have the spare cash, you might get a bargain on a package deal.

If crowds aren’t your thing, you might want to come next weekend, when the Atlantic City Home Show comes to the Convention Center. A weekend admission ticket costs $7.50, with discounts available, and they’re promising some good deals on home improvements if that’s what you’re in the market for. There’s also a food and wine tasting row, which almost anyone will love. I know I will. Pick up a copy of At The Shore when you’re in town for a $1 off coupon.

Another casino fell victim to hard times last week. Harrah’s Entertainment closed the mezzanine section of the Claridge, which was known as Pennyville in recent years. The first level was cleared out last year, so that leaves only the second floor, leading in from the parking garage, that is open for gaming. And even some sections of that are walled off.

This is a personal sadness for me, as the Claridge was my favorite place to play before Bally’s took it over. I had many sessions of blackjack in their lower-level “den” off the first floor, and some of them were quite profitable. I made friends with a lot of the dealers and other players, and we had a great time. When I switched to playing video poker, the Claridge had plenty of 9/6 Jacks or better for me to hone my skills, and some Ace$ Bonus that gave me more than a couple of royal flushes. To say nothing of some wonderful dinners with friends in Luna’s (modern Italian) and The Roaring Twenties steakhouse, with the house picking up the tab.

The hotel tower is still in use.

There is no word as to if, or when, Pennyville will reopen. Some people say the slots will be humming again come summer, when the tourists come back. But Harrah’s is keeping mum.

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to visit Atlantic City, the Trump properties and the Tropicana just gave you two. The only catch is, you have to be a new player.

Sign up for a Trump One card, and you’ll get $100 in free slot play. The offer is good at Trump Plaza, Trump Marina or the Taj Mahal. Tropicana is offering $50 in free slot play for new players who show a premium card from another casino. These are among the better sign-up offers we’ve seen in recent months.

And now the warning. Buried in the middle of a front-page story in today’s issue of The Press of Atlantic City, was a comment from a police officer about out-of-state visitors who get arrested for bringing guns with them. New Jersey has just about the strictest gun-control laws in the country. Just because you’re licensed to carry the gun at home, doesn’t mean you can take it here.

If you pull into the valet area and a pistol slips out from under the passenger seat or the bellhop sees a rifle in the trunk as they open it to get your bags, the law says they have to call the cops. If you have a legitimate reason to bring a gun to Atlantic City, like a hunting trip on the side, check with the local authorities before you come. Otherwise, it’s best to leave your weapons at home. Trust me, I’ve been inside the Atlantic County Jail, and the food and accomodations are not nearly as nice as those in a casino hotel.