Keep in mind this was written seven years ago, so the references to current events might not sound so current…

From Boxing Cats to Bumper Cars: A History of Steel Pier
David G. Schwartz
Originally published in Casino Connection, May 2004

Atlantic City’s Steel Pier, jutting into the waves at Pennsylvania Avenue, is currently a thriving amusement pier. Most local residents know that the pier has a long history, but few know exactly how long and storied that history is. Encompassing everything from world-class entertainment to boxing cats and the famous diving horse, Steel Pier merits more than a chapter of Atlantic City’s history—it deserves a book of its own.

Designed by Philadelphia architect John Windram and built by Atlantic City contractor Frank Souder, Steel Pier opened on June 18, 1898. On its first day, the pier opened for “free public inspection” at 9 AM, after which the public was treated to alternating concerts by the First Regiment Band and the Hungarian Orchestra. An address by “prominent men” and another performance by the First Regiment Band closed the day’s festivities.

For its first several years, military bands were a popular part of the piers entertainment. The nation’s top bandleaders, including John Phillip Sousa, made Steel Pier a regular stop on their tours. In addition to martial and orchestral music, the pier also featured dance bands and a seal tank with twice-daily feedings. In time, animal acts would become a major attraction at the pier.

In 1924, a fire damaged the pier’s entrance, and as part of the renovation its open arcade was converted into exhibition space. Atlantic City’s piers would gain reputations as not only entertainment centers, but as exhibition halls where companies from around the world demonstrated their latest products to a national audience. As Atlantic City truly was America’s playground in this time before national television, this was one of the best forums for companies to show their wares to a mass public.

In 1926, when local real estate man Frank Gravatt acquired the pier, he brought many innovations, including the opening of the Marine Studio for then-municipal radio station WPG, and the expansion of exhibit space to 20,000 feet. General Motors moved into this new space, and maintained a presence on the pier until 1968. Gravatt, in a move that casinos would later copy, gave his visitors a little of everything, from opera to big bands, as well as celebrities of the moment like Gertrude Erdele, who in 1926 was famous for having swum the English Channel.

Under Gravatt’s leadership, the pier became famous for its entertainment. Superstars like Bob Hope, Al Jolson, Benny Goodman, and the Dorsey Brothers appeared during that decade. Although Frank Sinatra was not impressive in his 1939 Steel Pier debut with the Harry James Orchestra, he would eventually become an Atlantic City favorite, performing for years at Skinny D’Amato’s 500 Club.

But Steel Pier also garnered a reputation for its animal acts. The most famous, of course, was the Diving Horse. Wild West showman Dr. W. F. Carver originated the stunt, in which he and a horse jumped from a forty-foot tower, and his daughter Lorena inaugurated a tradition of young women riding the plunging equine into the ocean. The Diving Horse became an indelible icon of Atlantic City, and remains to this day a symbol of the city’s past glory. Circus acts, including high-rise acrobats and daredevil motorcyclists, delighted crowds for decades.
Other animal acts are less well known today but no less popular in their day. During the 1930s, Steel Pier hosted a variety of spectacles, including a dancing tiger, who tangoed with Captain Roman Proske to the accompaniment of a dance band; a dog riding a surfboard; Professor Nelson’s Boxing Cats (a pair of unfortunate felines outfitted with harnesses and boxing gloves); performing chimpanzees; a boxing kangaroo; Rex, the water-skiing Wonder Dog; and, perhaps a foreshadowing of Atlantic City’s later emergence as the casino capital of the East, a group of card-playing cats.

The fascination with animals passed (leaving behind only the Diving Horse), but Steel Pier solidified its reputation as an entertainment mecca under the ownership of George Hamid, who bought the pier in 1945. Hamid brought the stars of the Fifties and Sixties to the pier, and he continued to promote the property as the Showplace of the Nation. Locals may remember Tony Grant’s children’s revue, which continued into the 1970s.

But by the 1960s, the pier, along with the rest of Atlantic City, was in the midst of a decline. A 1969 fire destroyed about a third of the pier’s structure, and it limped along for the next decade. A 1982 fire seemed to spell the end for the pier. Steel Pier was a part of the Taj Mahal’s design early on, but when the casino finally opened in 1990, the bridge connecting the pier to the casino was (and remains) vacant.

Still, in 1993, the pier resumed operation as an amusement park, and it is going strong today, proof that casino gaming and Atlantic City’s entertainment heritage are quite compatible.

Jen A. Miller. The Jersey Shore: Atlantic City to Cape May. Second Edition. Woodstock, Vermont: The Countryman Press, 2011. 207 pages.

The phrase “Jersey Shore” is heard a lot these days, but mostly for the wrong reasons–shorthand for the kind of low-class self-indulgent behavior that will land you a gig on an MTV reality show or hosting a Vegas nightclub. With this book, Jen A. Miller reminds us that the real Jersey Shore is actually a pretty fun section of the Atlantic shoreline for vacations for people of all ages.

The book’s amply illustrated in color, with both historical and present-day photographs. The frontispiece is a great shot of the Trump Taj Mahal and Steel Pier just after dawn. There are also plenty of maps, something that’s helpful even in the age of GPS–it’s nice to be able to get your bearings while reading about the sights.

THE JERSEY SHORE is organized into six chapters, covering Atlantic City and Brigantine/Downbeach; Ocean City, also including Somers Point; Sea Isle City, with Strathmere; Avalon and Stone Harbor; The Wildwoods; and Cape May. Each has plenty of information about the highlights in lodging, dining, shopping, nightlife, and beach-going.

It’s obvious that Miller has a deep love for the area she’s guiding the reader through: at several points in the book, she shares her own Jersey shore stories, going back to her childhood, which helps the reader understand Miller’s depth of knowledge and appreciate where she’s coming from. This isn’t someone who got handed an assignment, did some Google Fu, and tuned in a manuscript; the Jersey Shore has been a big part of Miller’s life for years. That makes for a friendly, conversational guidebook that will point readers to many of the area’s gems.

The best part about this guide is that it makes the South Jersey Shore, which is a bit un-user-friendly, accessible to anyone. Because it doesn’t have the same level of visitation as Vegas, there are far fewer places to get good information about the area’s amenities for tourists. THE JERSEY SHORE provides plenty of advice on where to stay–even how to best contact realtors for towns where house rentals make more sense than motels or hotels–and every other aspect of a vacation down the shore. There are even very helpful itineraries for each city, and plenty of options for people in every age range.

If you want to spend some time down the shore this summer and don’t have decades of family tradition and insider knowledge to draw on, THE JERSEY SHORE will make you feel like an old-timer.

The AP’s Wayne Parry wrote an excellent article about Atlantic City’s rise and fall. He reached out to me for my thoughts, and I answered several of his questions. Obviously, with space constraints being what they are I figured most of what I said wouldn’t make it into the story, so I planned to post it here so I could share my thoughts with a broader audience. You can see many of the numbers I reference in my Atlantic City Gaming Revenue (pdf) report.

Here are his questions and my responses:

via Some thoughts on Atlantic City | Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog | from ratevegas.com.

Last week, I decided to gloat a little and revisit a past prediction I made about mini-casinos and Trump Marina:

Landry’s Inc. a Houston-based company that owns a full spread of restaurant chains and Downtown Las Vegas and Laughlin’s Golden Nuggets, has officially taken ownership of the now-former Trump Marina and will be putting about $100 million into renovating it. Meanwhile, a vaunted plan to allow “mini-casinos” has resulted in exactly zero construction to date. That’s exactly what anyone would have predicted when the mini-casino concept was first mooted, and it’s a good sign that some operators, at least, see some upside in the market.

Landry’s takeover just as predicted | Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog | from ratevegas.com

I mixed together some history and numbers stuff, which seems to be the way most of my work is going these days. Fun stuff. I still don’t see how the mini-casinos make sense if they cost more than full-sized casinos and have less revenue potential.

Finally, I had some fun this weekend and tried to answer the question Where should the Vegas Internet Mafia have its picnic?

I know I’m no Misnomer when it comes to the comedic stuff, but I figured it was worth a shot.

I promise that, later this week, I’ll be delivering something that is a) mostly serious (and harmless) and Vegas-related. It’s already in the works, but I want to take some time with it.

Landry’s Inc. a Houston-based company that owns a full spread of restaurant chains and Downtown Las Vegas and Laughlin’s Golden Nuggets, has officially taken ownership of the now-former Trump Marina and will be putting about $100 million into renovating it. Meanwhile, a vaunted plan to allow "mini-casinos" has resulted in exactly zero construction to date. That’s exactly what anyone would have predicted when the mini-casino concept was first mooted, and it’s a good sign that some operators, at least, see some upside in the market.

via Landry’s Marina takeover just as predicted | Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog | from ratevegas.com.

Since I wrote it, I’ve seen two stories, one of which confirms something I said. Trump Plaza is potentially on the market, which I alluded to in the TWHT piece. Second, Hard Rock is apparently about to pull permits to build a $300 million mini-casino at Albany Avenue and the Boardwalk–right across from the site of the old Atlantic City High School.

I spent a lot of time in my TWHT piece talking about what a lousy idea that was, and I haven’t seen anything to convince me otherwise. When you can get 1,000 rooms and 2,000 slots in a totally renovated building for $138 million, why would you pay $300 million for one-quarter or less of a facility–200-500 rooms with about 510 slots? I ran the numbers and I just don’t see how it could possibly be profitable.

If anyone has an explanation, I’m willing to listen. It’s totally possible that I’m missing something here, but it’s also possible that I’m not. Back in 2007 there were a lot of smart people who thought Strip condos were a can’t-lose proposition, so I’m not so sure that, just because someone can borrow hundreds of millions of dollars they’re smart enough to spend it.

I think there’s a lot that Landry’s can do with the Trump Marina. For one, they’ve got the marina right there, which is really a unique asset. I could see them doing something like The Tank at the property, and their seafood-based brands, like Chart House at the high end and plenty more at the lower end, are a natural fit.

The other big news is that the Atlantic City Hilton is officially for sale (again, courtesy of the Press). Anyone want to scrape together $30 million or so and put in a bid?

Looking at the chronology, I realized something. The property was known as the Golden Nugget for about 7 years (late 1980-1987), Bally’s Grand/The Grand (A Bally’s Casino Resort) for about 9 years, and the Atlantic City Hilton from 1996 to today, about 15 years. But it’s still “the Nugget” to me.

It seems like the market has really corrected in Atlantic City, and with bottom-of-the-market casinos now going in the $30-$40 million range and regulatory reform becoming a reality, we might see regional operators kicking the tires.

Anyone remember back in 2007, when the Casino Control Commission thought someone would pay $1 billion for the Tropicana? How times have changed.

After suffering its fourth consecutive year of declining casino revenues, Atlantic City might finally be feeling the winds of reform. But will a planned regulatory overhaul be too little, too late to save the city’s slumping gaming industry?

First, a look at where Atlantic City is today. After about 20 years (1986-2006) of steady growth at an annual rate of more than 4 percent, the city’s casino revenues began to nosedive in 2007 — a year before Nevada’s revenues started to slip. Although Nevada is on pace for a slight gain in revenues for 2010, Atlantic City suffered another nearly double-digit decline.

via Las Vegas Business Press :: David G. Schwartz : Casino-rule reforms may offer Atlantic City hope.

The interesting thing is to look at Atlantic City’s historical growth. From 1978 to 1985, when the industry was adding casinos, there was incredible growth. After that, it was decent, just about outpacing inflation for the next twenty years. Table play, however, stagnated. Since 2007, both table and slot play have plunged.

So it’s a problem that goes beyond the recession and beyond the internal working of the state’s regulatory structure. By itself the reforms won’t save the city’s gaming industry, but they might be the first step in the right direction.

Big Six is a minor casino game, but one that has high visibility on most casinos floors. Positioned where it is easily accessible by casual and novice gamblers, the game offers payouts as high as 45 to 1. But all of the bets, particularly, the longshots, have relatively large advantages for the house, ranging from about 11% to over 24%. The game is one of the worst bets on the casino floor for gamblers.

Looking at field results from a single table in an Atlantic City casino over four years, it is clear that this is a wheel that spins predominantly to the house’s, rather than player’s, advantage. The average win percentage of 42.25% for the period examined explains why seasoned gamblers avoid this game.

BIG SIX: A LONGITUDINAL MICRO-STUDY

I’m glad I took a look at the game–it didn’t take long, and it’s nice practice for testing assumptions a little more controversial than “Big Six isn’t such a great game.”

I fully expect to get several emails from outraged Big Six players, telling me how they’ve won hundreds of dollars on the game over the years.

If you’re in this boat, and are getting ready to email me to tell me I “got it wrong” about this game, here is the offer I’ll make: if you can replicate your winning formula for Big Six in a casino with me or another representative watching and recording all of the details for your bets over several hours, I’m willing to test your theory. If you’re right, we will have found something new.

First of all, the bill codifies into law the current existential angst the industry is facing:

(18) As recognized in the July 2010 Report of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on New Jersey Gaming, Sports, and Entertainment, and as confirmed in subsequent legislative hearings held throughout the State, legalized casino gaming in New Jersey presently stands at a crossroads, facing critical challenges that jeopardize its important role in the State economy, and it is in the public interest to modernize and streamline the current outdated casino regulatory structure in order to achieve efficiencies and cost savings that are more appropriately directed to marketing and infrastructure improvement efforts while, at the same time, maintaining strict integrity in the regulation of casino operations.

(19) The ability of the legalized casino gaming industry in New Jersey to compete in an ever-expanding national gaming market requires a regulatory system that is sufficiently flexible to encourage persons and entities holding casino gaming licenses outside of New Jersey to participate in casino gaming in Atlantic City, to allow licensees to take full and timely advantage of advancements in technology, particularly in information technology, and business management, and to encourage the efficient utilization of resources between and among affiliated New Jersey licensees operating casinos located in Atlantic City and between and among a New Jersey affiliate and its licensed affiliates in other jurisdictions.

There are some small but interesting changes throughout the bill.

It broadens the definition of “family” to include domestic partners and partners in a civil union in addition to the traditional array of blood and marriage relations.

Non-cashable credits are explicitly defined as “not gross gaming revenue,” and therefore not taxable/

Adds a definition:

Multi-casino employee” – Any registered casino employee or licensed casino key employee who, upon the petition of two or more affiliated casino licensees, is endorsed by the commission or division, as applicable, to perform any compatible functions for any of the petitioning casino licensees.

Which suggests we’ll be seeing more cross-staffing in multiple-owner casino groups.

The bill changes virtually every mention of “commission” in the existing Casino Control Act to “division,” reflecting the big shift in regulation.

The bill gives the following responsibilities to the Division of Gaming Enforcement:

conducting investigative hearings on the conduct of gaming and
gaming operations and the enforcement of the casino control act;
issuing reports and recommendations to the commission on entities or persons required to qualify for a casino license, on applications for interim casino authorization, or on petitions for a statement of compliance;
examining records and procedures, and conducting periodic
reviews of operations and facilities, to evaluate provisions of law;
collecting certain fees and assessments;
issuing operation certificates to casino licensees;
accepting impact statements submitted by casino license applicants;
issuing emergency orders;
taking action against licensees or registrants for violations of the act;
imposing sanctions and collecting penalties;
accepting and maintaining registrations for casino employees and certain vendors;
receiving complaints from the public;
certifying the revenue of a casino or simulcasting facility;
creating and maintaining the list of excluded patrons;
and
using private contractors to process criminal history record background checks.

The Commission still actually issues licenses and hears appeals on Division decisions. One notable change: neither DGE agents nor Commission inspectors will have to be present in casinos anymore. I wonder what they’ll do with the CCC podiums in the casinos. Taking a cue from Vegas casino party pits, I suggest “cage dancers.” Bonus points if they dress in Commission garb before stripping it off. Extra bonus points if a patron interrupts their dance to file a dispute.

The Commission also loses the right to have an in-house legal counsel, and instead has to contract that work out.

The Division’s office must be in Atlantic City, although it’s allowed to have a secondary office in Trenton, too.

The amount of fines are doubled.

From its signing, the CCC has 90 days to make an “orderly” transfer of its powers to the DGE.

The moves will have a definite fiscal impact, but according to the fiscal estimate, the exact impact can’t be determined yet. The Office of Legislative Services offers some good reasons why:

It should be noted that estimating the cost or possible savings to the Casino Control Fund resulting from the transfer of various regulatory functions from the CCC to the DGE would require the Executive Branch to provide a strategic reorganization plan that details the functions and regulations being transferred and any changes in scope and importance of those functions and regulations. In addition, an estimate of the costs or savings would require the Executive Branch to provide a workload analysis describing how the functions that are transferred will be handled by the DGE in terms of staffing and position restructuring. For example, will the DGE hire new employees to perform the transferred functions, will the existing DGE staff absorb the new job duties by having their job duties expanded to include the new functions, or will some functions be eliminated entirely? Furthermore, because the bill changes the language in current law requiring the DGE to be principally located in Atlantic City, will the State incur new building or facility costs?

In other words, it’s anyone guess how all this will play out. It could save money, but it might cost money in the short term.

The new law changes the Casino Control Act to permit Atlantic City casinos to offer gambling over the Internet to residents of New Jersey and those who live outside the United States.

To play, gamblers must first establish an account with the casino.

The computers, servers, monitoring rooms, and hubs must be housed in a “restricted area” in a casino or in an off-site location that is still in Atlantic City.

Things get tricky with taxation. There’s a gross tax on wagers of 8% (same as for regular gambling), with a 30% investment alternative tax and a 15% investment alternative–a 52% effective tax rate. According to the bill, CRDA can use that money to support racetracks in other parts of the state.

Within a fiscal year of sports betting being implemented in New Jersey, the investment alternative tax falls to 10%, and the investment alternative to 5%, leaving a much more manageable 23% effective tax rate. Subsidies to the tracks also stop then. Seems like the horsemen have a real incentive to block any sports-betting law, and the casinos have a big incentive to push it.

Applicants have to verify their name and residency before opening an account and gambling.

None of the following people can bet online:
(1) the Governor 1or Lieutenant Governor1;
(2) any State officer or employee or special State officer or employee;
(3) any member of the Judiciary;
(4) any member of the Legislature;
(5) any officer of Atlantic City; or
(6) any casino employee, casino key employee or principal employee of a casino licensee.

Bad news for casino employees who were hoping to unwind by playing legal online poker in their off-hours. This seems a bit onerous.

If money in an account sits dormant for too long (a period that’s not specified in this law), the casino must contact the holder (“by mail, phone, and computer”) and, if it doesn’t get a reply, must close the account, with 50% of the account’s value going to the state, 50% to the casino. Didn’t Christie suggest stores do this with gift cards, too?

There are some problem gambling controls:

The words “If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800 GAMBLER,” or “some comparable language approved by the commission, which language shall include the words “gambling problem” and “call 1-800 GAMBLER,”" must be “prominently and continuously displayed to any person visiting or logged onto Internet wagering.” It’s like a surgeon general’s warning on cigarettes; hopefully it has more impact.

An account holder can establish a loss limit, beyond which he can’t gamble anymore, or cap his max bet, or suspend his account temporarily or permanently. While in suspension, casinos can’t market to him.

There’s a lot of material in the bill that hasn’t been widely reported on–I suggest you read it for yourself.

For the market at large, it was close to an unmitigated disaster, with a 9.0% decline in slot revenue and 10.9% slowdown in table revenue combined to drop total casino revenues by 9.6%, to less than $3.6 billion.

To put it in perspective, that’s about halfway between the 1994 and 1995 total, not adjusted for inflation. And given that, with inflation, $3.6 billion in 1994 is worth $5.3 billion today, it’s clear that the industry’s fallen even farther behind than that.

Table play is about where it was in 1986, which shows just how anemic the table market is in Atlantic City. In a quarter-century, there’s been nearly no overall growth, not even accounting for inflation.

December had a few bright spots–the Tropicana and Trump Marina managed to win more money than they did in December 2009, chiefly at the tables. We’ll have to wait until the more detailed numbers come out to determine if this is because of a hold variance or increased handle.

But overall, it was an awful year for the casinos. Six out of AC’s eleven casinos posted double-digit declines–hardly a sign of a strong industry. The semi-Colony Capital casinos (Resorts & AC Hilton) led the pack (Resorts has just been sold) led the downward spiral with year-to-year decreases of 19.0% and 14.9%, respectively. Three Caesars Entertainment properties out-lost the market (Bally’s -10.2%, Caesars -11.2%, Showboat -10% vs. the 9.6% average decline), while Trump’s properties, with the exception of the Plaza (-13.5%) hovered right about the average loss.

The least-bad performers were Harrah’s (-7.2%), Borgata (-6.9%), and, surprisingly enough, the Tropicana (-4.2%). Who would have predicted that, in relative, terms, the Tropicana would have the best year in Atlantic City this year? Not me.

Outside of saying that three operators didn’t decline as much as anyone else, there isn’t a positive spin for 2010 for Atlantic City. This contrasts to Las Vegas, where 2010 will at worst be stagnant and will probably see a small increase in revenues.

I’ve got the semi-updated figures on the Atlantic City jurisdiction page; I’ll get the details as they are released.

Gov. Chris Christie signed a law Wednesday evening allowing two smaller-size casino hotels to be licensed in Atlantic City. The pilot program, under a bill championed by Sen. Jim Whelan, D-Atlantic, means applications can be submitted immediately for the two casino licenses.

Interested developers include Hard Rock Cafe International, which has discussed building a $450 million casino in line with its themed restaurants.

via New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie enacts Atlantic City ’boutique casinos’ bill – pressofAtlanticCity.com: Breaking News.

I’ve been talking about what a lousy idea mini-casinos are for about a year now.

Here are two blog posts I did last year that explain exactly why mini-casinos are a bad idea: right here and right here.

I haven’t seen any numbers that would make an investment of $450 million work out. Anyone CEO who attempts to spend $450 million to build a casino with 200 rooms and 500 (or so) slots when Resorts Atlantic City, with 950 rooms and 2,200 slots, just sold for $31.5 million should be fired immediately. Paying fourteen times the price for less than one-quarter of the footprint is beyond delusional.

Is there anyone who really thinks someone’s going to invest $450 million in a property that can’t possibly give them any return on investment? There’s got to be something else going on here.

Like I said before, Nevada’s got its problems, but no one is getting up in the legislature and saying that the solution is to build two more Casino Royales.

Today, most of the entertainment in Atlantic City comes courtesy of seasoned veterans and nationally known recording artists. Once, however, the city was a mecca for amateur performers seeking applause—all courtesy of one man, whose name became synonymous with young talent. A staple on Steel Pier for 32 years, Tony Grant’s Stars of Tomorrow show gave thousands of children their first taste of the performing arts.

via Star Maker | Star Maker | Casino Connection Atlantic City.

Grant’s Stars of Tomorrow was one of the real institutions of post-war Atlantic City. Generations of children performed in his shows. This was a fun column to research; I found the Stars of Tomorrow Facebook page, which is a real treasure trove, and got to interview Tony’s grand-daughter Roxann.

It’s a milestone column because this is the last print edition of Casino Connection, so this is the final Atlantic City history column I’ll be writing for them. It’s been a great run–more than seven years of monthly columns–that gave me a chance to explore the history of my hometown and share some neat things with readers. I’d like to thank Roger Gros for giving me a great opportunity to write about a topic I’m passionate about for so long, Rob Rossiello for pairing my words with some fine images, Boo Pergament for sharing his photos with us, and the entire staff of the Atlantic City Free Public Library–particularly Pat Rothenberg (reference) and Heather Halpin Perez (Heston Collection). And of course everyone who read the column–thanks.

Mention the White House to longtime Atlantic City residents, and their first thought isn’t the building with the Oval Office, but the local landmark at Arctic and Mississippi avenues.

Now part of the city’s gastronomical DNA, The White House Sub Shop dates back to October 1946, when Anthony Basile, a 20-year old Atlantic City native, home from serving his country in the Philippines, decided to open his own eatery.

via In the Neighborhood: The History of White House Subs | In the Neighborhood: The History of White House Subs | Casino Connection Atlantic City.

I really enjoyed writing this one. Now I’ve got a hankering for a White House cheese steak that just won’t go away.

So who’s the mystery bidder?

- Someone we’ve never heard of, who has never been in the casino business, and we won’t know much about. By their very nature, it’d be impossible to speculate about who that would be.

- Penn National: On something of a buying spree, but with Peter Carlino’s talk of a “death spiral” a while back, doesn’t seem likely. Although it’s just occurred to me the “Death Spiral” would be a good name for a metal cover band.

- Carl Icahn: Why not? He tried to pry Trump Entertainment Resorts away from Trump, and this investment probably has more upside. It’ll definitely continue throwing off cash for the foreseeable future, and if the market miraculously turns around could be sold at a premium.

- Genting: They’d get a player database for Aqueduct, and maybe a place to ship any premium players they find. Not likely, but it could work

- Harrah’s Entertainment: Because owning 4.5 casinos in a declining market makes more sense than owning 4. Hey, they’ve been increasing their Strip footprint under the same logic.

- Barr/Bashaw/Gateway Group: It’d be a nice way to get into the gaming market, assuming they have the money for it. It would also eliminate their need for the development of the esrtwhile ACHS-area land.

- Isle of Capri: I don’t expect this, but it’s a possibility.

- Wynn or LVS: I can’t see this, in any way, shape, or form.

- In the worst resolution to a cliffhanger since Vince McMahon was revealed as the “Higher Power,” Donald Trump will announce that he is, in fact, the mystery man. “It was me all along, Murren,” he will taunt, also taking credit for the 3Q slowdown in Strip casino revenues for MGM Resorts.

In other words, I have no idea who this mystery bidder is. Any thoughts?

Atlantic City has seen generations of public officials and interested citizens, but few residents have left a legacy as monumental as Alfred Miller Heston, a newspaper publisher, historian and city official.

via Making History: Atlantic City’s Alfred Heston | Casino Connection Atlantic City.

This was a fun one to write. Heston was a truly unique Atlantic City character, and his name lives on in the Heston Collection at the Atlantic City Free Public Library.