I spent the weekend trolling around Atlantic City, playing some casino promotions and checking out a couple of properties I hadn’t visited in a while.

   The good news is, the town was crowded. The boardwalk was jammed, the parking garages were full and there were plenty of people on the beach and in the water.

   The bad news, at least for the gaming halls, is that the casinos themselves weren’t that crowded. The Hilton was a ghost town, even on a Saturday afternoon. I got right on to my favorite penny slot machine, which is usually quite an accomplishment. The Tropicana, recently sold to Carl Icahn and company, was a little busier, but I saw no line at the buffet. (OK, that buffet leaves a bit to be desired, and word about that might be getting around.) The Showboat, Bally’s and the Borgata had more players, but it was still far from the mob scene you’d expect on a hot, sunny weekend in August.

   The premium player lounges were also far from busy. The Hilton’s was desolate. I walked right in and got a seat by a large picture window overlooking the beach. There was no line to get into the Diamond Club at the Showboat for Saturday dinner. On a typical Saturday night in good times, I’d have to wait at least 10 or 15 minutes. Bally’s Diamond Club on Sunday night was pretty slow, and I had no problem getting on my favorite progressive video poker machine, despite the fact that it was a point-multiplier day.

   So from my viewpoint, the economy isn’t as good as some of the pundits will have us believe. People are coming to Atlantic City, but it seems that they’re sticking to the beach and boardwalk because they don’t have discretionary cash to lose in the casinos. Or they’d rather sock it away in the bank because they’re afraid of losing their jobs. The slot parlors in Pennsylvania are eating into the business, and sports betting coming to Delaware next month won’t help either.

   We’ll see when the summer revenue figures come out.

Share