Atlantic City Atlantic City

I saw this on another site this morning and wanted to share it here.

My blackjack career started in Atlantic City in 2004 and for 6 years, I spent more time in Atlantic city than in my nearby home of Philadelphia, before I moved on to Las Vegas, wondering that boardwalk area day and night.

Atlantic City will always have a soft spot in my heart because I started my career there and built the bankroll from almost nothing that allowed me to move on to greater success. This video is just hard for me to watch.

 

Damn KewlJ, that was brutal. 1950's, my dad a cab driver rent a room 2 blocks off the beach for our vacation. in 1969 Josie and I honeymooned there, saw the Diving horse on the steel pier. 10 years later we would ride a bus to Resorts, Bus would be half full of housewifes from Hollandtown or Dundalk, Could not get a drink for playing slots so I would give Blackjack lesson to the ladies on the bus ( Married or maiden name usually ended in -ski ) Josie not diagnosed bipolar yet, so I did not recognize manic states. In early 80's jail house key rings were popular, hers had a metal whistle on it. Back then a bus pulled up at Resorts every 5 minutes, this time we were across the street from casino. Next thing I knew Josie was blowing that whistle and directing traffic at the intersection. Shoulda seen the look on that cop's face Haha.
Seems there was a plaque on Resorts, because that site was A hospital that treated 3500 casualties during ww2. Camp boardwalk was also where military trained for the beaches of France and Japan. Plus I did not know you were from Phili. No accent on the internet. I am a Baltimoron, moved to Denver, people always asking if I was from Phili HaHa. Not so funny stuff, Had a job $15.22 an hour, top pay around here, Forest Ranger, uniform and all up on National Monument, April-September. Cleaning visitor's center, walking trails to pick up litter, 7am-3pm Mon-Friday. Piece of cake paid exercise. Sunday Josie and I went exercising at Gold's Gym, LIFE IS GOOD Monday was to go online and order uniform, hat and boots. I would be a dashing handsome devil once again. Except Josie had severe headache Monday. Hospitalized 5 days, BP 250/150, Friday came home with a walker and confusion. Early Alzheimers. Stand up, close your eyes Josie. 1-3 second delay before she falls backwards. Tried for 5 minutes last week to put her diabetes test strip into the cell phone. Hospital was 3 weeks ago. So 2 weeks ago instead of ordering uniform , I done up Monument and told Trooper Dan I had to pass on job. FUCK, he offered job to an old man ( 77 in May ) Josie says this is so unfair TO ME. Damn I love her. Need to make a trip to Vegas somehow this year , hopefully G2E. Josie is bringing her own chips , because she know Mr. Casino games cheated doing tricks for her 2 years ago.
Please forget you read this. No idea what I am doing sometimes, And I do mean PLEASE FORGET. But will be asking memebers here to give me an honest opinion on a table game I am working on. HONEST PLEASE. Right now to pat $85 for digital did it myself PPA would require bouncing a check.
Game is aimed at 6/5 market, hey, it's the big market now. Seemed the boycott has not worked HaHa
HONEST OPINION AS SOON AS I GET MATH FIGURED OUT.... THANKS ALL MEMBERS HERE Even Axle the notorious no-show at the CUE CLUB.
Maybe he realized it was negative EV, he did not look that drunk when he agreed to play HAHAHAHA

 

Absurd - it's not some "dead" ghost town like the video portrays at all.
But whatever. The "city" itself is worthless, as it's always been (as far back as I can remember) but that
is because the city was run into the ground by Democrat leadership. At least that's finally changing, there's still hope for the crime-ridden city section - but the casinos are no barren wasteland like this video wants the viewers to believe. I can only assume it's a pro-Vegas production.

 

I don't know why you would think it a "pro-Vegas production"? There may have been a time, back when AC ad Vegas were the only gambling cities that Vegas considered AC 'competion', but I don't think they do or have for a while.

I'll take you at your word that the video is not 100 accurate and purposely highlights the negative side of things. And really I hope that is the case. I have a soft spot for AC. Below are some of my thoughts that I posted on another site after I saw the video a few days ago.


When I saw this clip on Norm's voodoo site the other day, it literally brought a tear to my eye.

I began my blackjack career playing Atlantic City. I was living in Philadelphia, but I visited and played Atlantic City 5 days a week for 5 and half years from March 2004 until Dec 2009 when I moved to Vegas. In my early days, I took those daily bus trips for free transportation...the one's where you get back in casino bonus the cost of a round trip ticket...sometimes even a little more (slightly +EV). The greyhound tickets had a 72 hour open ended return. Towards the end of my AC days, I splurged and took the train. It was $6 at the time, with no casino bonus reimbursement, but was a nicer trip, nicer people...many of them casino workers...some of the same faces I was playing against almost daily.

As those that know me and/or my story know, I began my career with a $4300 bankroll. As a 21 year old, that was every dollar I had to my name at the time. So needless to say, I started out playing the $5 tables. That really limited my table/playing time. Weekday mornings was my best opportunities as there was $5 tables at 5 or 6 different casinos until about noon when the daily buses travelers were arriving in force and table limits increased. There also was a couple hours early evening (weekdays only) that a few casinos opened a couple extra tables and they were $5 for the first hour or so. Other than weekday mornings and early evenings, there was one option....fighting for a seat at the one always $5 table at Borgata and often those seats were hard to come by.

With such limited playing opportunities, my actual table time was limited and this is precisely why my BJ career was such a low limit grind those first few years. In my first 3 years, I made a profit of $31,000......That's not per year....that was total for the 3 years. I lived off of that income which is why it took so long for my BR to begin to grow.

But eventually it did grow. In early 2007 (my 4th year), I hit some strong positive variance and this was really my beginning. This allowed my bankroll to grow just enough that I could play with a small spread at the $10 tables.....and then the $15 tables. This opened up more tables and opportunities. In 2007 I made more than my first 3 years combined. 2008 was my first year with earnings of more than 50k. And by early 2009, I was thinking about relocating to Atlantic City to avoid those 90 minute train rides.

There is (or was) a two building high rise on the southern end of the boardwalk called Ocean Club Condominiums, between Tropicana and what was then Bally's Grand and later Hilton. In the reality office windows on the first floor as you walked past you would see pictures of the condos that were for sale. Studio's were going for 85-90k, a few under 80k with motivated sellers. I figured by the end of 2009, I would have down-payment necessary to buy without tying up all my bankroll.

But a funny thing happened in 2009. I had a great year...my best up until that time, that wasn't the problem. The problem was as the year progressed, I had begun to wear out my welcome. Mostly at the Borgata...but that was my big store....best rules and conditions and about 50% of my play. I guess the guys at the big B had watched me go from playing that lone $5 table to spreading green to mid black and while that was still fairly low limit for the B, they weren't going to let me sit there and do so, 5-6 hours a day during the weekdays when that level was more noticed.

As most know, NJ can't bar players for counting. For a while NJ could preferential shuffle although that never happened to me. What Borgata did was pull out a special minimum bet/max bet plaque that applied only to me (or whoever they were counter-measuring). The card read $5 minimum and $50 maximum, despite that it was a $25 table with normal maximum of $5000. I later learned this 1-10 spread ($5-$50) was the law at the time. As summer turned to fall, it became very apparent, even to someone as dense as me that my days of Atlantic City as my home base were coming to an end. I sure am glad I didn't buy a condo there. By the end of the year I had bought a condo In Vegas and was heading west, where I have lived happily ever after.

I only returned to AC one time after 2009, simply because I wanted to check out the Revel after it had opened. During my time in AC, the Revel stood half built, and it looked like it would never be completed, so I wanted to check it out. I wasn't impressed.

So my time in AC was very special to me. I will always have a soft spot for AC. I launched my career there, built my bankroll and really learned what I needed to do to win. So watching that video with many casinos that I played regularly closed was really hard. It felt like a funeral to me.

 

KJ, there is a thread in the News,Views, and Gossip section of 2 + 2 Poker Forums about "Professional Blackjack Player" Michael Morgenstern. It looks like the dude was sent back to prison for domestic abuse. Someone in the thread mentioned Morgenstern's run-in with QFIT, and that QFIT also has problems with bullying people. It looks like QFIT also monitors that site because he jumped right in the thread just a few hours later explaining that he doesn't bully people.

 

I am not familiar with the "news, Views and gossip" section of 2 + 2. All I have ever read and posted on 2 + 2 is the "other gambling games" section (blackjack). I will take a look, Mickey.

I have read about Michael Morgenstern's return to "the big house", or maybe the little house compared to his previous "residence".

 

I actually don't have a problem with Michael Morgenstern. He is a scam artist, selling snake oil. The world is full of such people. It took about 30 seconds of watching one of his youtube video's (I jumped in the middle) to determine that he is not a professional blackjack player, as he claims. Whenever someone brags that they have been kicked out of numerous casinos, because they have won too much, they are not a professional blackjack player. That is a scam line. Professional or even just serious BJ players do not view backoffs and barings as a badge of honor. It happens. It is part of playing professional blackjack, but it is nothing to brag about. The real trick is to figure out how to play your game and not get barred and backed off. That is something to be proud of.

So, I don't have a problem wit Morgenstern. He is just doing what he does. Trying to market and make money. I figure anyone serious about the game should be able to determine pretty quickly what he is and it isn't a professional BJ player.

I also don't have a problem with Qfit in this particular case of his fighting or name calling with Morgenstern. I mentioned it here early on because I found it amusing that Qfit was feuding with him. Qfit has feuded with dozes of people in the BJ community, including some pretty respected BJ players. Qfit is like a professional "feuder". But in this case I will cut him some slack, because Morgenstern isn't really a member of the BJ community. He was only on Qfit's site to try to peddle his nonsense (and in that regard he fits right in on that now voodoo site).

It is interesting that Qfit's reputation of being a bully has reached all the way to 2 + 2. Interesting but not surprising. I have heard from so many members of the community that have shared stories with me of his feuds and similar bullying tactics dating back long before I was ever even involved in the BJ/AP community. It isn't anything new. I am just one of his latest victims. That's just who he is.

Nor is it surprising that as soon as someone mentioned Qfit on 2 + 2, there he was to respond. He is obsessed with what people say about him. He is a real sick dude like that. He seems to know anytime someone types "Qfit" on any message board. He probably has built some program that alerts him.

 

. I've always said that single-deck is a fundamentally different game.

But QFIT did share this info on WOV What a magnanimous gesture on his part.

 

The trouble with AC is that they don't understand customer service over there. There's basically none. They just have attitude. People from other parts of the country experience a culture shock when they go there. AC needs to fire everyone involved in the hotel/casino customer service and fly in people from the Midwest and west coast to replace them.

 

eARLY 1980'S Complained about something in Ac and remember casino manager reply " Why charge $5 for a burger if you can get $15 ? " used to ride bus to AC to Playboy Club. 4 of us, would play out of loyalty, until insulted, then catch cab to Marina. usually didn't take long. Ask for bus return schedule, answer is " there's a payphone " Or have a dealer wave hand to push smoke back at you. Classic was we eaten free prime rob, had $45 in voucher each, Josie first in line. Now cages rotated for busy bus times,but all had same setup. Went to kiosk on floor than had big sign, CASH BUS VOUCHERS HERE. Josie asked for $1 tokens please as she wanted to bet $1's with free money. Was told " You bus people get quarters, MAYBE you can cash them in at another change station " Well, $180 walked out the door, took a cab to the Marina and traded quarters in at a casino there. Gee, wonder why nobody goes there now that they have a choice !

 

It's shame to read AC is struggling with customer service. That's a real pet hate of mine and I know the same for many others. I'll stick to online play for now!!

 

+With the opening of the Hard Rock Casino and resort ( formerly Trump Taj Mahal ) and Ocean 1 resort ( formerly The Revel ) with that number of 9 casinos AC has made a great come back .

My best wishes to A C.

 

wait until winter. don't expect good news

 

Atlantic City casinos have survive many winters. This cluster of 9 casinos has an edge over one casino l locations .

 

Atlantic City casinos have survived many winters .This cluster of 9 casinos has an edge over one casino locations .

 

Atlantic City casino WIN up 8% IN October. But that includes Ocean Resort & Hard Rock. Remove them and WIN is down 12% from October 2018.
Seems like people are walking past the other 7 casinos in that cluster.

 

+Buzzard ,

Thanks for the update. Interesting to read who the 2 top money makes are . That leaves out the Borgata the " Dahling" ( sic ) of the NY City
Cosmopolitan wannabes play ground .

ND

 

I agree with BUZZARD, In October, the casino revenue in Atlantic City showed an increase of 8%. However, it's essential to note that this figure includes the contributions of Ocean Resort and Hard Rock. If we exclude these two establishments, the casino revenue has actually decreased by 12% compared to October 2018. This suggests that visitors may be favoring Ocean Resort and Hard Rock over the other seven casinos in the vicinity, indicating a potential shift in patronage patterns.