TABLE GAMES
Atlantic City makes a play for foodies as well as gamblers
Atlantic City is raising its stakes by, well — raising its steaks. New Jersey’s shorefront gambling capital hopes to lure i n tourists more interested in gourmet food than gaming amid stiff competition from newer casino destinations in Pennsylvania and Maryland. By next weekend alone, three new restaurants are set to open there.
“Atlantic City is getting ready for a new kind of renaissance,” says Jeff Guaracino, spokesman for the Atlantic City Alliance. “It needed to diversify, get younger visitors coming from nightclub and dayclub scenes, and to get foodies and gay and lesbian travelers to come to keep up with the competition.”
Food Network star Guy Fieri is opening a steakhouse called Chophouse at Bally’s in July, whipping up more upscale fare than what he eats on “Diners, Driveins and Dives.” The menu will include a Java Rubbed Ribeye Chop and Jersey Shore Clams Casino.
“It’s Guy’s opportunity to dress up,” says Joe Giunta, who oversees food, beverage and nongaming activities at hotel/casinos Caesars, Bally’s and Showboat.
Italian-American chain Buca di Beppo is heading to Bally’s as well.
And Harrah’s is also welcoming an Italian eatery, Steve Martorano’s Italian-American Kitchen. All three new spots are racing the clock to open their doors by the July 4 weekend, according to Giunta.
“Bringing in these top-rated chefs and these celebrities of caliber presents visitors with something they have not seen before,” Giunta says.
Martorano, a South Philly chef with five restaurants under his belt, has outfitted his new eatery with hand-laid black and white tile floors and leather booths as a nod to the Bronx restaurant in “The Godfather” where Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone whacks a rival mobster — albeit with a bonus DJ booth and mirror balls.
“I’m doing upscale ale comfort food with ha a nightclub fe el ,” says ays Martorano. “I want my customers to get up and nd dance. Atlantic City needs more moddern spots like this.”
Not to be outdone, the Borgata reecently hosted a sold-out lunch with th Wolfgang Puck at his American an Grille, where the famous chef preepared the meal, signed autographs hs and posed for photos with guests. s. Geoffrey Zakarian, winner of “The e Next Iron Chef” Season 4, is doing g a similar event on July 19, and all of f the Borgata’s top chefs, including Bobby Flay, are coming together for the Savor Borgata Culinary Series in November.
The hotel and casino also unveiled the Borgata Baking Company sweets shop in May. There, executive pastry chef Thaddeus DuBois — a former White House executive pastry chef under George W.
Bush — presents gourmet French macaroons, whoopie pies and cupcakes-in-a-jar.
Foodies aren’t the only ones being courted by Atlantic City. The destination is catering to the gay and lesbian community like never before. “The mayor recently rededicated the gay-friendly beach (at Park Place),” explains Guaracino, “and we have new gay and lesbian events coming here this year for the first time.”
They include the Sand Blast weekend July 18-20, which features dance parties, a “Lez Volley” beach volleyball tournament and a “Drag Race & Hand Bag Toss” on the Boardwalk. The Greater Atlantic City LGBT Alliance is also hosting the StandOUT Expo, its first business convention geared toward gay entrepreneurs and business owners, from Sept. 26-28. And the Miss’d America Pageant, a drag contest, will crown its next beauty queen at Harrah’s on Sept. 28.
Visitors can also crown themselves by standing under a tiara “held” by the new Miss America statue in front of Boardwalk Hall. The statue’s already seen a stream of beachgoers and bachelorettes posing under the figure’s outstretched crown.The iconic 4-mile Boardwalk has been experiencing a rebirth over the past two years, ever since Gov. Chris Christie revamped the area as a tourism district, earmarking almost $200 million to embrace the beachfront, invest in the casinos, and help new restaurants open.
The money has paid for 70 outdoor ambassadors onsite to answer guests’ questions, and covered the cost of tearing down derelict billboards and abandoned buildings.
“The Boardwalk looks cleaner, the Boardwalk has more lights, there’s all these alfresco dining options now and beach bars,” says Guaracino. “It is happening at lightning pace. Now it looks like a much better place than it has in a long time.”
These efforts are paying off. The Travel Channel christened it the 2014 Best Beach Boardwalk in the World. And the great wooden way is hosting more than 150 free concerts this summer, from headliners like Blake Shelton and Lady Antebellum to jazz singers and cover bands on the Main Stage at Kennedy Plaza.
Plus, public artworks are adding some culture to the kitschy Boardwalk empire, including the 30-foot Heartwalk sculpture crafted from former pieces of the Boardwalk, or the 27-foot sea-themed “Journey” mural on Boarwalk Hall’s west wall.
Sunbathers can also get buzzed at the bevy of beach bars. The new Bar Anticipation on the sand at Trump Plaza joins Bally’s Bikini Beach Bar, Margaritaville’s Landshark Bar & Grill at Resorts, HQ Beach Club and the Revel Beach and Cabanas in giving guests a cool place to sip by the surf while jamming to live bands and DJs.
It hasn’t all been sunshine and roses for the resort town. The 27-year-old Showboat Casino Hotel will close at the end of August, while the Revel Casino Hotel, which opened two years ago to great fanfare, recently filed for bankruptcy for the second time and is seeking a new owner to stay open. And Guaracino admits that the casinos are losing their repeat visitors. Although Atlantic City averages 27 million visitors a year, the gamblers who used to come 10 or 12 times a year to play the slots and table games are now only coming about six times.
“The work is far from done, and competition is really big,” says Guaracino, “but we will continue to transform and invest in the city in different ways.”