Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

October 20, 2008

Atlantic City Update from Dave Schwartz

Posted by Hunter

Fellow Vegas Gang member Dave Schwartz has posted a photo essay bringing us up to date on what's going on in Atlantic City over on AtlanticCityTripping.com.

http://www.atlanticcitytripping.com/features/feature.php?feature_id=1&page=1



Comments

Read archived comments (4 so far)
October 20, 2008 3:31 PM Posted by mike_ch

That Taj bridge is hilarious. It just goes over to some carnival area and then stops. Can the general public even cross it from the inside?

Harrah's looks really nice, considering that I just browsed a ton of eye-gouging photos of Harrah's LV and their wacky statues last night. Those gestures are worse than Circus' clowns.

October 21, 2008 8:46 AM Posted by Phil

Since I live closer to AC than Vegas, I used to go there 3 or 4 times a year, but since the Mirage opened in 1989 and it sparked the activity in Vegas, I've only been back to AC once since 1989. I remember times where I stayed in AC for more than the typical day, at times 3 or 4 days which I assume is unheard of today with the bus trips. I used to stay at Harrahs quite a bit, it's so true about wasting that prime view by covering it up in concrete, they still haven't realized that in the nearly 30 years that place has been there. AC should be bending over for Wynn to get him back. I think it stinks that I think of AC more in the past than the future, like the old Mr. Peanut store that I have fond memories with my son. I know the casinos are trying in spite of the gov't there, but I think 99.9% of the blame falls on the politics there not the casinos.

October 21, 2008 10:37 AM Posted by David McKee

According to coverage at the time, Wynn was given the H-Tract outright. The economy being considerably more adverse now, he can't hope for such a sweet deal at Bader Field. The state will see to it. That Wynn apparently wants the entire 140 acres to himself could also be a sticking point. (Penn Nat'l thought the land could accommodate 4-5 casinos.) If you go to Vegas Tripping for Aug. 10, 2007, you should find Wynn saying some very feisty things re: his prospective competitors in A.C.

But, in light of redevelopment at Harrah's A.C. and the Taj, plus the opening of Water Club and the construction of Revel, I don't think the city fathers have quite reached the point where they need to beg Wynn to come back.

October 21, 2008 12:34 PM Posted by Dave

Mike,

The "bridge to nowhere" is a complete dead zone. Back when the Taj was being built, the plan was to make this into a nightclub and restaurant. But they ran out of money and didn't finish it. According to legend, they also skimped on the air conditioners in A and B zones (basically the casino from the bus entrance to the slot lounge), which explained why it was usually 5-10 degrees warmer there in the summer.

There is an escalator on the CF level that goes up the the Bridge Restaurant, but it's roped off and to my knowledge has never been used. The only way to get there is from the back of the house. In my capacity as a security officer it was, at times, part of my job to check it out and make sure that there weren't any homeless guys sleeping in there.

It cracks me up that with all of the money they've put into the place, they haven't built out the Bridge Restaurant or partnered with someone who could. If they gave it to someone rent free in exchange for them doing to work on it and a cut of the profits, it would be worth it to them. It's just another symptom of the underlying complex--lack of vision.