Casino In Atlantic City And Las Vegas
Sands Atlantic City was a casino and hotel that operated from August 13, 1980 until November 11, 2006 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was formerly known as the Brighton Hotel & Casino. It consisted of a 21. Find 332 listings related to Revel Casino Atlantic City in Las Vegas on YP.com. See reviews, photos, directions, phone numbers and more for Revel Casino Atlantic City locations in Las Vegas, NV. Las Vegas is by far the best-known casino destination in the United States, with Americans and people from elsewhere in the world all associating the two together. However, there is another city that few foreigners have the same associations with, but most Americans have also heard of, Atlantic City. The most popular casinos in Atlantic City are Ocean Resort, Borgata Casino, Hard Rock Casino, Harrah’s Casino, and more. On the other hand, Las Vegas offers a much bigger choice, and some of the most popular resorts are Bellagio, Golden Nugget, Excalibur, Aria, Downtown.
Las Vegas and Atlantic City are unarguably the two gambling meccas of the United States of America.
Both the cities offer visitors a wide variety of casinos, bars, fine dining options (and wedding chapels!) to choose from.
They are super accessible, have plenty of hacks around to get a good deal, and have a notorious reputation of making people forget their worries, drink with abandon, and take decisions they’ll regret the next morning. Regardless, gamblers can be seen flocking the two places all round the year.
Even though the two gambling towns are pretty crazy with a colorful nightlife in general, they are often pitted against each other in some key differences that set them apart.
Las Vegas
It is general knowledge that Las Vegas is more thriving in terms of people and revenue.
The Sin City has higher chances of accommodating people within budget since it houses more hotels, resorts, and lodges than Atlantic City. Vegas is bigger and has more choices in everything, including casinos like the well-known New York, New York.
However, this also means that Vegas keeps more crowded at any given time. The place features a famous stretch of road called ‘The Strip ‘ located in the South Las Vegas Boulevard which is home to about 40 casinos.
Another key element of Las Vegas is that it is bearable in winter. This also hugely contributes to keeping its business running round the year. On the other hand in Atlantic City, it starts lightly snowing in winter which leads to the place becoming a predominantly gambling town during the indoor season. This serves as a technical advantage for Vegas, and for the people choosing between the two cities in this season, it become a default choice with its glorious sunshine and warm dry heat.
What takes Vegas a notch higher is the fact that it is always brimming with energetic lights. The charm of its bright neon streets surpasses that of Times Square in New York. This gives Vegas the big city feel that is always busy and abuzz in action.
High octane entertainment
To top it all, the vibrant and innovative level of entertainment in Vegas is unmatched across the US. Guests from all over the world throng the place especially to catch a production of Cirque du Soleil or visit Planet Hollywood with its resident singers.
Cirque du Soleil
Visitors can also walk down to the Bellagio to watch the musical fountains. In downtown Vegas, one can also experience the epic Fremont Street and the LED canopy, among other casinos and restaurants.
Home of the MGM Grand
The biggest hotel-casino giant in Vegas is called the MGM Grand. This top-ranked establishment is also the second-largest hotel in the world. It features high-end cuisines from the finest chefs in the world, five swimming pools, over 6,000 luxurious guest rooms, eight Vegas nightlife hot spots, top-tier shows, and the famous MGM lions at the Lion Habitat. Then again, there’s the Bellagio, Planet Hollywood, and many more.
Great gambling action
The spectacular casino at the MGM Grand offers some high intensity gaming action. It has plenty of tables for gamblers to play Blackjack, Pai Gow, and Craps, and over a 1,000 slot machines from denominations ranging from $0.01 to $1000. Some of the world’s most talented poker players are present in this casino.
Entertainment unlimited
People can also enjoy some pretty amazing entertainment in the hotel. This can include the Billboard Music Awards, a pop festival with Bruno Mars and Taylor Swift, and parties where super diva Madonna is present along with regulars like David Copperfield. And this will only be getting you started.
Casino Name In Las Vegas And Atlantic City
Maybe due to popular culture that never misses the chance of projecting Vegas as this place with over-the-top entertainment, there is this inexplicable high energy in the city that just demands attention. The lights, the casinos, and the hotel suites, all of it contribute to Las Vegas remaining a hot favorite for avid gamblers. Due to such diversified elements, Vegas has also been steadily growing in terms of number of visitors.
Atlantic City
The most important factor that sets Atlantic City apart from Las Vegas is that it has beaches. This tiny little aspect is the prime reason for competition between Las Vegas and Atlantic City, because not only does the city have beaches, it has free beaches.
This single-handedly sets Las Vegas far back in choice since beaches are preferable to deserts and can be used as really cool rejuvenation sites between all the gambling and getting drunk.
It is an addition to the getaway experience and a welcome respite after all the money spent in gambling. It is interesting to see that even though beaches have nothing to do with gambling, they are heavy influencers in attracting gamblers. In this regard, the most famous spot in the city is the Jersey Shore that comprises a beautiful view of the ocean.
Casinos on the Boardwalk
The popular Atlantic City Boardwalk along the ocean gives the city a peculiar vibe which is much sought after. It provides a holiday festival feel to the people. There are seven major casinos in Atlantic City like Bally’s Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City. They are mostly located on the iconic Boardwalk and are within walking distance of each other. During the summer, the city has an overall nice resort feel with the Boardwalk and great beaches.
Another thing that sets Atlantic City apart from Las Vegas is its Pedicabs. These are small vehicles like rickshaws that are manually wheeled on and can help people reach nearby destinations on the Boardwalk. Pedicabs enable tourists to reach their fancy casinos without having to tiring themselves out in heels even before the night starts.
The city is also big on its musical scene and offers outstanding recreational enjoyment. Places like the Golden Nugget and Harrah’s Resort host singers and headlining comedians regularly. This is accentuated by the touring musicals and shows like Thunder Down Under.
Thunder From Down Under
The top-rated and the largest hotel-casino in Atlantic City is the Borgata. This premier accommodation is a joint venture between MGM and Boyd Gaming and offers over 2,000 luxury rooms, world-class restaurants with fine wine, and several thrilling shows.
The Borgata houses a marvelous casino that is 161,000 square feet in area. Visitors can get some major gambling action with over 4,000 slot machines and hundreds of table games. The casino is also known for its world-class poker program and is big on daily high-stake tournaments. It is the prime venue for the World Poker Tour.
At the Borgata, visitors can also catch entertainment shows by stalwarts like the Rolling Stones, Mariah Carey, Sting, and Eric Clapton. Other entertainment options include burlesque, comedy, and rock genres in venues with up to a seating capacity of 2,400 people. The place offers the best entertainment in Atlantic City.
In contrast to the free beaches, tourists can also indulge in fine dining and high-end shopping options. This comes in handy when people want to take a break from an extensive day of poker. Known for its local delicacies like Salt Water Taffy, Atlantic City gives a unique spin to tourist experience. These traditional treats act as a perfect add-on to a fun evening. During the peak season, the place is filled with people trying their luck at minting some gambling money.
Staycation vs. day trip
There are several other factors that come into play while both avid gamblers and rookies choose between the East Coast and the West Coast. Some believe that while Atlantic City tends more towards being a day trip with beach action, Vegas is more of a staycation. Some take into consideration the welcoming environment, the glorious thrill attached to the surroundings (casinos aim at visually softening the blow of a lost hand), or simply the respective proximities of the cities from their hometowns.
Some professional gamblers also base their decision on which city has so far brought them the most amount of luck. This is often related to their stand at the online gambling scenario. For example, if a gambler has been highly invested in CaesarsCasino.com and the virtual boardwalk, he is most likely to visit Atlantic City.
Whether they test out their odds at Spin the Wheel, bank upon lucky slot machines to hit the jackpot, or a trust a hot pair of dice rolls, one thing is for sure, all gamblers, even the casual ones, experience both the cities at least once in their lifetimes.
Situated in New Jersey, Atlantic City is part of one of the original 13 states in the Union. That’s only the beginning of the two cities’ many distinctions.
It’s unfair to compare two cities and say one is better than the other. Residents of the supposed better city may not appreciate unrealistic expectations and residents of the supposed worse city may feel slighted.
It’s also about perspective. All the shark tanks in Nevada won’t give you an oceanside resort experience the way Atlantic City can.
I’ll look at some of the negative experiences for both cities below but both cities have their strengths. And both cities have interesting unique histories.
1 – New Jersey Is Nothing Like Nevada
The most obvious difference everyone mentions when comparing these two cities is the environment. Nevada is mostly desert and New Jersey sits on the north Atlantic coast. One environment is wet and the other is dry.
But there are other differences.
New Jersey is not surrounded by other states the way Nevada is. In fact, New Jersey sits off a major route (Interstate 95) whereas Nevada is the nexus of major routes. In the east most travelers bypass New Jersey but in the west a lot of people must pass through Nevada.
Although tourism is important to Atlantic City it’s not the state’s main industry. Nevada, on the other hand, thrives on tourism and more specifically, the casinos in Las Vegas are widely recognized by many. Ironically Atlantic City was established for tourism but Las Vegas was established for other reasons.
Two states could not be more dissimilar than New Jersey and Nevada. And yet both states are famous for being gambling or tourist destinations.
2 – Atlantic City Has Only 9 Casinos
Gamblers can easily find dozens of casinos in the northeastern United States but there are only 10 casinos left in Atlantic City. There were never very many to begin with but some spectacular failures have left Atlantic City’s gambling and tourism industries in decline.
Las Vegas has nearly 30 casinos within its city limits and there are dozens more in nearby cities.
3 – Most “Las Vegas Casinos” are in Paradise
Travelers don’t care but most of them don’t realize that Paradise is a separate city from Las Vegas. The two cities abut each other.
Paradise is the smaller city by population but it’s still several times larger than Atlantic City. And unlike Las Vegas Atlantic City doesn’t have a close gambling neighbor city.
If there is a gambler’s paradise it is almost certainly Paradise, NV.
4 – Atlantic City Has Reinvented Itself Several Times
Las Vegas’ history is full of changes but the city has thrived because it was built in an important location. The name is Spanish for “the meadows” and several attempts were made to establish a community in the area during the 1800s.
Once Las Vegas was fully established the city grew steadily over time. It helped a great deal when the government built Hoover Dam and created Lake Mead.
By contrast Atlantic City was built on old farmland and originally envisioned as a health resort. But the town languished for many years. A rail line running east from Philadelphia helped Atlantic City establish itself as a tourist destination but the great storms of the Atlantic Ocean wreaked havoc with the Boardwalk.
And unfortunately for Atlantic City the entertainment industry never recovered after the First World War.
Casino In Atlantic City And Las Vegas Hotels
Las Vegas was luckier. When the U.S. government chose southeast Nevada to build Hoover dam thousands of workers descended upon Las Vegas. Although the government decided to construct a small city closer to the dam site it would be several years before Boulder City was in full operation. Las Vegas benefited from the influx.
Atlantic City struggled economically for several decades until the 1970s. When it became apparent that real money gambling would spread across the nation via Native American reservations Atlantic City residents lobbied for their own gambling industry.
The casinos helped the center enter a new era of development but they were unable to create a Mecca-like reputation for New Jersey the way casinos had for Nevada. When the Great Recession hit the gambling industry was hit hard across the country and Atlantic City went into decline again.
In recent years Atlantic City has sought to attract new industries, investing in a massive healthcare complex. If people won’t flock to the city for fun maybe they will come for their health.
5 – Both Cities Provide Access to Other Entertainment
Las Vegas is located close to the Grand Canyon. Tourists enjoy many different types of daytrips outside the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area. The desert itself attracts many visitors.
Because Atlantic City sits on an island off the Jersey coast it has easy access to the sea. Visitors can rent charter boats and board cruise ships. Dolphin watching is popular among visitors to Atlantic.
Las Vegas may have one advantage over Atlantic City and that is the weather. Atlantic City tourism is a summer industry because the oceanfront is very cold during the winter. Las Vegas also experiences a peak season in the summer but people visit there all year round.
6 – Atlantic City Struggles with a Negative Visitor Perception
It may not be an entirely unearned negative reputation. Any city that loses a significant portion of its economy loses tax revenue. That means maintenance and urban improvement suffer. Atlantic City has worked hard to overcome these setbacks.
Even so some tourists complain that Atlantic City looks dirtier and more rundown than Las Vegas. Eastern cities in general have struggled with a stereotype that paints them as slum-laden, crime-infested reputation. The movies play up to that stereotype.
Maybe the reason why Atlantic City is viewed more negatively is that you’re most likely to hear complaints about Las Vegas from its residents, whereas Atlantic City is usually rated poorly by visitors. Two different perspectives are responsible for the reputations of these cities.
But Las Vegas residents often talk about alternatives to spending time on the Strip.
They’re just two very different cities. Some tourists compare Atlantic City to Vegas without looking at the other things people can do in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Vegas residents take the gambling for granted and Atlantic City visitors don’t look beyond the city limits for what else is nearby.
There is clearly more money available to the Las Vegas economy and that inflow of capital gives the community and advantage in development and services.
7 – Both Cities Have Histories of Mob Activity
Las Vegas celebrates its history with organized crime. Atlantic City is not quite so proud of what went down before.
You may not realize this, but Atlantic City is where America’s first national crime syndicate was formed. Gang leaders from across the country convened for four days in May 1929 to settle their differences and work out the rules for how they would run the country’s illegal businesses.
Prohibition was coming to an end and the gangs would soon be put out of the beer business by licensed breweries. They realized they needed to change their business models, and they were tired of fighting with each other.
Of course anyone who has studied crime history knows that some of the mob began investing in gambling operations and eventually a lot of that money poured into Las Vegas.
What may be of greater interest to crime historians is that Atlantic City’s casinos were never owned by the mob. Las Vegas was infamous for its mob-casino connections until Howard Hughes arrived in the 1960s and began buying up real estate.
Gambling is now big business in both cities and it’s held accountable by publicly traded corporations operating within the law.
Conclusion
Atlantic City and Las Vegas may not be official sister cities but they could be. They share similar economic and historical patterns. And like it or not they are connected through their historical connections with organized crime.
Las Vegas may have won the casino wars but Atlantic City will always have a place in the annals of gambling history. And hopefully it will have a bright, interesting future in whatever industries it attracts.