The Showboat/Stockton Debacle

Come on, Atlantic City. How much worse can things keep getting?

The Showboat opened in 1987 as part of a wave of new development in the uptown boardwalk area. Previously, uptown AC was dominated by Resorts International, the first casino to open back in 1978. Showboat joined it about a decade later and the Trump Taj Mahal soon followed in 1990. These three casinos, all in a row, partnered with the existing boardwalk shops and piers to continue tourist interest in this region of the city. (Uptown would also welcome Revel in 2012 as its fourth casino, but that’s a bit of a different story…)

Various plots of Atlantic City, mostly on the boardwalk and marina, have been zoned exclusively for hotel/casino use, some reservations in place date back to the 70s when gambling was in the process of being legalized. This helped ensure that the city would have no problem finding premium oceanfront property to build its Las Vegas East. This explains why currently there are many plots that are going unused along the boardwalk, land that was once occupied by casinos like Atlantis and Sands. This land by law cannot be used for anything else but a hotel/casino. Since no one is coming forward to build new casinos (and really, who can blame them?) the land remains vacant and frustrated.

These deed restrictions started off effective, creating the Great Wall of Casinos we now have, but nowadays the market and demand has shrunken considerably. As many as 12 casinos have operated concurrently in AC, as recently as January 2014. Today the city can barely sustain eight, and the Showboat is not one of them. It's been made clear that we’ll never need (or be able to support) more than that any longer, which is sad. But it also means that deed-restricted land will continue to go unused. We need to find and allow other uses for these closed casinos and vacant lots.

Enter Stockton University, and their plan to transform the closed Showboat into the satellite Stockton-Island campus. Lately it has come under the moniker of 'Stoboat.' Cute, right?

Stockton + Showboat = Stoboat.

At first, all seemed to go well. Stockton successfully purchased the Showboat complex from its parent company Caesars last year, for the bargain-basement price of only $18 million. Immediately Stockton announced its plans to rename the building, convert the casino into offices and classrooms, use the entertainment venues for theatre students, and continue to operate the hotel towers for public use as well as dormitories. With this influx of young intellectuals, it would help recuperate the ailing uptown district and inject AC with  fresh air and innovation. As part of the deal, Stockton claimed that Caesars would work on changing the deed restriction to allow the Showboat site to become something other than a casino.

Turns out Caesars never did. And who told on them? None other than AC's dead casino 

walking, the Taj Mahal.

The Taj has been in the news (and in my blog) very frequently these past few months. Once the largest casino in the world, and top-grossing casino in NJ, the past few years have seen the Taj experience a spectacular fall from grace. Scheduled to close several times, saved by a regretful billionaire, and mired in very public fights with the unions, the fact the Taj still has its doors open is a blessing it does not deserve. With all the problems it continues to have, the Taj Mahal literally cannot afford any more non-positive publicity. Now they are whistleblowing against Stockton, quoting the obsolete charters that the Showboat site must only be used for a casino. Operating the Stockton-Island campus would, according to Taj, weaken the bond it has with Resorts as a cohesive unit of uptown casinos, not to mention introduce hundreds of people under 21 tantalizingly close to bars and slot machines that are restricted against them.

Now that last bit I can almost agree with. Of a college’s student body, a good half of them are aged 18-20. Housing so many young adults in a former casino, with actual casinos literally steps away… it’s odd. Although it would no doubt bring in more foot traffic for the Mahal, it would be made of patrons they can’t (and won’t) accommodate. But their other reasons are simply foolish. Taj would prefer another casino adjacent to it, eating away at its customer base? Hate to break it to you Taj, but Showboat and Revel closed for a reason, and you haven't turned a profit in years. Why would you want to block a non-competing organization from moving in, hoping to turn the city around, at the excuse of wanting more competition? Or the preference of having an eyesore of a vacant neighbor eventually decaying beyond repair?

I will admit, the Taj Mahal (left and center) and Showboat (right) are literally on top of each other.

The Taj needs to keep its mouth shut. They are the big losers of the boardwalk right now, financially and critically. If any casino needs to count its blessings right now, it’s them. You worried about 19-year-olds playing video poker? Really? Hire more security. Create more jobs. Do some good. Instead you should explore how to get their visiting parents in to drop a couple dollars and stay the night there. And once these kids do turn 21, you’ve got em by the throat! Interest in gaming fades with each passing generation, cater to these brand new customers! Give these kids every reason and then some to make AC and the Taj Mahal the place to commemorate one of life’s most important birthdays. Maybe even bring the Casbah back from the grave, and if that means doing it Deko-style (18 to party, 21 to drink) then just go for it!! This is a wonderful opportunity for a hotel and casino that is in desperate need of a shot in the arm. God forbid they have to think out of the box.

Open Stockton-Island. Usher in the new generation of Atlantic City. And Taj… be quiet.

Revel's Tortured Ghost

It was New Jersey’s Eighth Wonder of the World, and one of the most striking and postmodern buildings this side of the new World Trade Center. It heralded a new era for a city stuck in a rut, and signaled a change in the gaming and entertainment industries. It was known by a single, 5-letter word, a synonym for the celebration in which it stood for:

Like any good bet, the stakes for winning were very high and the toll for losing was even greater. Unfortunately, due to a combination of bad economy and poor decisions, Revel shuttered not even 2.5 years after opening, only existing from April 2012 to September 2014. Some may say this is where the journey ended, but a property so dominant and beautiful deserves a second chance. This is where things get interesting.

The former Revel still towers over Atlantic City, but instead of being a shining beacon for the beleaguered town, it casts a depressing shadow. Revel stands empty, its entrails unknown. If one were to break into the building now it’s unsure what you would find. Are the slot machines and tables still in place, without a chip to be seen? Have the check-in terminals and room-specific tablets been pawned? Are the facades and signage still lit on a timer? Do the elevators work? Has neglect taken its toll yet, with props covered in dust and things hanging now collapsed? It’s a depressing thought, especially given that nothing pre-dates the year 2012. Nothing had the chance to really be ‘used’ yet.

One thing is certain though, the building still has power. Revel was so big and so new that it required its own power plant: ACR Energy Partners. (Take a guess what the acronym stands for.) Curiously, it is considered its own company and not a subsidiary, despite being created for and having Revel as its one and only customer. Even though the resort ceases to exist, the power plant still does and it operates normally, albeit supplying much less power than usual. Given that Revel never once turned a profit (nor had the time to), its checks to ACR were nothing more than IOUs. Since the closing, ACR warned of cutting off Revel, but has since bided its time and supplied power to the dead building. One would ask what exactly they need to power: the answer is the air circulation systems, heat and AC. If ACR follows through with its word and stops supplying power, the air inside Revel, the salty, humid, oceanfront air, would stagnate. With moist, stagnant air comes mold, and the empty resort would quickly become a biohazard.

It makes me want to cry.

Even when Revel was still open, it actively looked for buyers. They knew they couldn’t keep the place from washing into the ocean themselves, and tried to find someone that could. But nobody wanted the place, even when it still had customers going in and out. Sure, some investors or real estate magnates would take a look, but nobody committed. Nobody committed to the beautiful, sprawling, essentially new property, even after fire-sale discounts.

Revel cost over $2 billion to build. Today they can barely sell it for $100 million.

They are practically giving the place away, and it hasn’t even become a mold biohazard yet. There’s not one super-rich person on Earth who wants the hottest piece of property in a city that is dying for reinvention. Oh, Glenn Straub? The guy who seems the most promising to buy Revel? He wants a discount. Are you kidding me. Anyone that steps forward to buy Revel always seems to back out for the dumbest of reasons. Reasons they couldn’t just wave their money wand at and fix, a wand which they would have to use to renovate anyway, mind you.

Then of course there’s the little issue of the inside tenants. Although Revel itself was a money pit, some of the restaurants and clubs inside the place did flourish. No matter how well these individual venues were doing, they were all forced to close with Revel on Labor Day weekend 2014. Even venues with separate entrances, like the nightclub HQ, were not allowed to operate. (Even with ACR still supplying the juice regardless!) It’s like if a shopping mall is closing and the Macy’s anchor is forced to close too. Not only does it add to the increasing dead-ness of Atlantic City, but the owners of these establishments took a major hit. I’m sure Revel helped them out a bit in the beginning but like any tenant, these places were on their own to maintain and invest, and they did! All for nothing now. Yet another court case with Revel now includes retribution for these third parties, adding to the court case with ACR, and with the taxes Revel still owes, and with trying to sell the property, and with corporate bankruptcy in general…

What a mess.

Can't say he didn't try.

I guess now it makes sense why nobody wants Revel as it currently is, but the problem is that the former resort is a ticking timebomb. It won’t stay pretty or even salvageable for much longer, and the longer we wait for someone to reopen or repurpose it, the renovation and gutting costs could exceed its asking price. Heck it would probably cost more to even demolish it. Someone just needs to do something with it. Enough haggling with price, it’s not going to get any cheaper. Pay off ACR and the ailing third parties, or better still allow them to reopen along with Revel 2.0. I know we’re talking about millions of dollars here, but the interested buyers are billionaires, so they can kind of afford this. Pay them off and clean the slate, consider it the reason why the building itself is so cheap and allow its discount to subsidize the additional payments. And do it now. Atlantic City literally can’t afford any more downtime, and by the time Revel 2.0 (or whatever it’s called) is ready to open it may be too late. Perhaps I’ll do another article about all the realistic things Revel can become, but right now it’s just imperative that something is done with it. 

It was such a wonderful place in 2012, full of innovation and delight, with an albatross of debt hanging from its neck from day one. A debt that everyone knew would never be repaid. And yet they tried their hardest, stumbling along the way, but with a good heart and good intentions. It was like that ex that promised they’d make it work, even though they never could.

Such a wonderful place, now writhing in Hell. =(

The Taj's Awkward Phase

I’ve made enough Taj Mahal/giant tomb jokes in previous posts, so I won’t make one here.

But it’s no surprise that after several premature closing dates and a very public feud with worker unions, the Trump Taj Mahal is not the grand casbah it once was. Even Trump himself has disowned the resort, requesting his name no longer be affiliated with the property (and even to remove the many TRUMP letters adorning the tower). By that respect I’ll no longer use his name either. Flanked by the Showboat-turned-Stockton college campus and the resurging resort known as Resorts, the Taj Mahal sits as literally the giant elephant on the Atlantic City boardwalk. It’s too big to ignore, and the ocean has taken its toll on the whitewashed Indian pastiche, its regal gold trim now a honey brown. And although it commands your attention, it does little with it. The smaller resorts like Caesars and Golden Nugget have more stage presence in AC than the Taj does, and it makes you wonder why.

There was a time when the name (Trump) Taj Mahal used to really mean something. It dominated Atlantic City in the 1990s as the newest, largest, and top-grossing casino on the boardwalk. On opening day it set the record as the largest casino in the world. The WORLD. Right there in plucky little Atlantic City! It was the new gold standard, and Donald Trump beamed with pride at every turn. The Taj Mahal was on top until 2003, when the Borgata opened and trumped the Taj (admit it, that was a good one). To this day the Borgata remains the biggest gravy train you can board in AC, and it shows no signs of stopping. Good for them, truly.

Empty chairs at empty tables...

So as Atlantic City’s casino revenue started declining 2007-onward, unless your name was Borgata you had some major ducks to get in a row. Tropicana expanded. Resorts rebranded. Bally’s overhanded. And Hilton basically gave up. Simply put, every casino did something, except for the Taj Mahal (and its cousin property the Plaza for that matter). The Taj stuck with its outdated casino and infamous massive chandeliers, burned out bulbs and all. Sure they opened a new hotel tower, and a lovely one at that, but unless you were a hotel guest it meant virtually nothing. It had no impact on the gaming business. AC patrons saw the 20/30-year-old casinos doing their best to keep up with Vegas (in vain but with an A for effort), but saw the Taj doing nothing. Something is always better than nothing. Oh wait that’s not true, the Taj did do something to keep up: they changed their logo.

They also opened a Scores. Remember Scores? That gentlemen’s club in NYC? That closed? Now there’s one in NJ, and because it’s in NJ, the laws prohibit nudity and alcohol in the same establishment. Bottom line: required pasties. Let’s just say the reception has been… soft. 

Check-in is at 4PM but you might want to come early, in case there's uh, a line.

So what is the Taj to do? It is coming on its silver anniversary this year, an anniversary that no one last year thought it would have. We all thought this place would be the fifth casino to close in 2014, but with a $20 million injection (purely out of Carl Icahn’s sympathy) it is still open. Hanging from the thinnest of threads. (There’s definitely a rug joke in there somewhere, let me know if you find it.) With barely an advertising budget, the Taj is scrambling to find a low-res way to get people’s attention and steer them away from the now-disproven rumors and headlines that the resort is closing. And absurdly enough, that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Lately it seems that the Taj Mahal’s ad campaigns are purely celebratory of its open doors. The Tropicana is advertising its headline performers, Borgata is advertising its poker tournaments, and Caesars is advertising its new restaurant. (There’s also a billboard still up advertising Revel’s final DJ appearances from last summer, I think that could be taken down now.) Then there’s the Taj, advertising the fact that it is open. Let that sink in for a bit.

You've got to be kidding me.

How could anyone see that as a positive message? Why would anyone want to go somewhere where an unlocked door is a selling point, especially with the competition eating at them from all sides? Even a dead casino is getting more ad space than them! The Taj Mahal needs a major player in their corner, and I’m talking big. Bigger than free slot play, bigger than a costly casino renovation, bigger than Scores. Remember that rumor where Mariah Carey was considering an Atlantic City residence? That’s what I’m talking about. Someone who can get people to drive/fly in from all over, have a steak dinner or equivalent, walk through the 90s-chic casino to get to the theater, play a few hands of blackjack after the show and then retreat to their room on the 24^th floor after a late-night snack at the Spice Road food court. At this point it’s beyond renovation, the Taj is a time warp and honestly should just stay like one. At least it can set itself apart from the other casinos that way. Not that the place can even afford a touch-up, heck I’m surprised they have enough money to award the jackpots.

Human traffic. That’s what the Taj needs. 

Saying ‘We’re Staying Open!’ as the billboards literally say, is not going to do that. But saying something like ‘Mariah’s at the Taj!’ would do a much better job. We need to see some spectacle here. Not new high-end boutiques that no one can afford, or lower-end ones no one cares about. Not new hotel rooms or towers because they can barely fill up what they have. Not even a new casino floor, because everyone else in AC is renovating theirs and they’re all starting to look the same. Plus, AC is aligning itself as a more-than-just-gaming town, so shift the focus. Bring in a household name that doesn’t zero-in on a niche demographic (looking at you, Scores) and have them hang around for a bit. Same as how many people go to Las Vegas purely to see Wayne Newton, Celine Dion or recently Britney Spears. They don’t go to gamble and yet they drop bank on show tickets, rooms, dining, tacky souvenirs and the rogue $20 in a slot machine. Laugh all you want, but it single-handedly turned Vegas around.

At this point it's almost a game to see how many letters burn out until they notice.

And while they’re at it removing the TRUMP letters from the building, why not remove the MAHAL as well? Everyone (including the corporate entity) affectionately refers to the property as ‘The Taj’ so let’s make it official! No better way to rebrand something than to call it what everyone calls it anyway. Look at what the YMCA did by rebranding themselves as ‘The Y’ and follow suit. Use the same masculine typeface as the existing logo (not that earlier, faux-Indian font) and let the three letters dominate the space: TAJ. It’s already an eye-catching and unorthodox word. Again, they have virtually no money to allocate to the R&D of decent rebranding, so use what you’ve got!

Once people start seeing that the Taj is back out to play again, people will take it more seriously. Until then it’s pretty much doomed. 25 years is a long time to exist no matter how you see it, and usually a 25^th year is a celebration of growth and maturity. (Coincidentally I turn 25 next week!) But for the Taj this 25^th year is an awkward one, a celebration of anyone who walks in the door. Calling it a ‘transitional phase’ would be too kind, as it’s unclear whether a next phase is even in the cards. This is no doubt the Taj’s darkest hour, and one that may lead to a major comeback only if the right stage is set. But if things remain as they currently do, it may as well have closed last year like it was supposed to. Three times over.

Happy Anniversary Taj, and good luck.

Atlantic City: The Overhaul

No kidding.

Atlantic City was born as a health resort, later prospered under mobsters, was saved by casinos, subsequently backstabbed by casinos, and now is so far up the creek it's unbelievable.

Quite a storied history for such a small city built on a barrier island.

Atlantic City has been many things to many people through the decades, and as the city continually reinvented itself, it failed to tie up the loose ends of the era prior. As a result, the city is a mess of varying architecture, infrastructure and ideas. There is no unified sense of direction: resorts straddle low-income housing, factory outlets join with bodegas, and steakhouses share roads with strip clubs. There is only one constant in Atlantic City, and that is the boardwalk/ocean combo. Beyond that it's anyone's guess how this city hasn’t killed itself yet.

For Atlantic City to become America's Playground once more, and be a shining beacon on the Jersey Shore that'll be worth the 2-3 hour drive, major restructuring needs to be done. Hardcore, painful, almost sadistic restructuring. Literally out with the ghetto and in with the veneer. Enough is freaking enough. I'm sick and tired of hearing sob stories from the different levels of government, and I'm getting more disheartened from the actual sob stories of the many now-unemployed. Here are the three main points that Atlantic City is failing hard at currently:

1. The city needs to be walkable.
2. The city needs to feel safe.
3. The city's various attractions need to work together.

Points 1 and 3 work together. There needs to be a cohesion between the eclectic entertainment Atlantic City offers. No longer can we have the Great Wall of Casinos separating the Boardwalk from the city proper. All the neighbors have to help each other out, that way if one venue does well, the success will spread. People also have to be able to go wherever they would like in the city, and feel like they can get there by walking the blocks. Ideally, customers will drive into the city, park in their garage of choice, and not have to drive anywhere until they drive home. And people won't walk in the city itself until Point 2 is addressed:

One doesn't have to look any further than Manhattan and the NYPD when it comes to keeping a big city feeling relatively secure. Atlantic City is a fraction of the size and population, so I don't want to hear a single excuse. Hire former chiefs from NY, take notes, do whatever... make Atlantic City feel safe. Keep the streetlights bright, sidewalks clear, and undesirables away. Arrest, evict, indict, deport, I do not care anymore. If you're not in the city to help it, you're out. Done. You've had your chance since the 60s. And in their place, put good people with good incomes who will work in the city also. One day I’d like to live here, but not as it is now.

If Atlantic City has to declare bankruptcy in order to pardon its tax burdens and try to reform its budget, at this point just do it. Property taxes need to drop in order to entice new residents and new business. Many of the things I'm going to propose will cost a lot of money. I know that. But I also know that this town is at the end of its rope, and extreme measures need to be taken. There's no more time to wait, or 'hope for the best.' That time is over. It's going to take a heartless tyrant to rebuild this empire at any expense, both financially and morally. Say what you will about rebellious figureheads, they get things done. (Look at our Founding Fathers!)

So… If I ruled the roost, (and I really hope current mayor Don Guardian is reading this), each district of Atlantic City would be given a purpose, with at least one showcase establishment. This will help zone the current attractions and give future endeavors a sense of belonging. If current zoning laws prohibit these new plans, then we’re breaking those laws. They aren’t working anymore. These districts are based off the 'classical' districts, but split even further where necessary. They are:

-Uptown

-Midtown

-Downbeach

-Marina

-Bader

-Inlet

-Gateways

Bringing the 1920s to the 2020s.

District: Uptown

Purpose: Commercial

Showpiece: Resorts

Uptown provides a stark contrast to Midtown, as immediately the roads and attractions get less inviting and more seedy. Resorts and the (soon to be former) Taj Mahal are almost isolated, as they lack the curbside appeal of the other casinos. To fix this is to essentially keep up the good job Midtown has been doing, clearing out the crappiness and ushering in fresh facades, with a twist:

Using the resurgence of Resorts and its embrace of Art Deco, Uptown can continue that Roaring Twenties vibe and callback the era that represented Atlantic City at its most popular. Speakeasy-style bars, tastefully discreet adult entertainment (hey, it has to go somewhere), faux-vintage billboards, even pipe in some jazz. Make it fun, make it appealing, but also safe and legal.

Even if the Taj finds some way to stay in business (purely on Carl Icahn’s good graces), those god-awful elephants and minarets have got to go. If the Taj becomes its namesake (a giant tomb), it will be imploded and the Boardwalk can connect to the city blocks, while continuing the Deco motif. I bet Donald Trump will volunteer to set off the dynamite.

Midtown's doing just fine, as the horses celebrate in agreement.

District: Midtown

Purpose: Casino, Commercial

Showpieces: Bally's, Caesars, The Walk

This is the most developed district of the city proper. As the official end of the AC Expressway, visitors are immediately attacked with bright lights, attractive shopping and accessible dining. This is a good thing! Midtown starts the whole Vegas/Times Square vibe, and unfortunately makes the rest of the city look that much worse.

There is little Midtown needs to do, except demolish the former Trump Plaza. Use the cavity to officially connect the Boardwalk to the city proper, a bright strip of excitement and futurism. Think of it like the Freemont Street Experience but on a much smaller scale. In fact, connect the Boardwalk to the city as much as possible, the more people-movers the better.

Tropicana's doing its part in reinventing, the rest of the city must follow suit.

District: Downbeach

Purpose: Venue, Residential

Showpieces: Tropicana, Boardwalk Hall

Though the Tropicana thrives in Downbeach and is entitled to continue, this district will be the main hub for multipurpose shows and venues. Major players such as Boardwalk Hall, the former Atlantic Club, and of course the Tropicana currently exist, so why not use what we’ve got. Not as many shops as Mid and Uptown, but just as many parking garages. Also, as it borders the tame city of Ventnor, interior Downbeach will also serve as a fine residential zone for 'traditional' developmental housing.

All hail the great Borgata. No reason for this kind of greatness to go away.

District: Marina

Purpose: Casino

Showpieces: Borgata, Harrah's, Golden Nugget

The acclaimed Marina district is the only part of Atlantic City that is doing fabulously and shows no sign of stopping. Considering it is only accessible by car and is barely within city limits, its location is the key to its success. (Unfortunately this needs to be taken as an insult to the city proper.) The Marina is and will remain a pure casino/resort experience. There is no reason to remove casinos entirely from the area; for once let’s take advantage of the current laws, allowing this one city in NJ to house casino resorts. Though the gaming industry has declined in recent years, with billions still being raked in revenue, it will always remain a friend and cash-grab for Atlantic City. Just not its bread and butter.

The Marina is the 'competition killer' and an excellent site for current and future extravagant casinos and hotels. PA, DE and NY can try as hard as they'd like to shoehorn casinos in their current city structures, but the Marina district's purity sets it up as the real contender for the title of Las Vegas East. Golden Nugget in particular has done a wonderful job with restoring the actual marina itself, perhaps more outreach with the yachting demographic could be in place, perhaps even 'express cruises' linking Atlantic City to Manhattan. Keep up the good work, marina casinos! =D

For god's sake, do something with this!!

District: Bader

Purpose: Sports

Showpiece: Stadium

A district I'm creating myself centered around Bader Field. Once a municipal airport in a remote corner of Atlantic City, Bader Field is currently a giant slab of nothing that desperately needs to be something. As everyone keeps calling for more family-friendly attractions, the idea of a sports stadium never seems to come up. What's more all-ages, lucrative and passionate than a sports stadium? Whether Atlantic City creates a team itself or invites an existing one, beyond high-school teams and the occasional boxing match, AC has no sports representation.

Sports really aren't my thing, but they are huge to a lot of people. So pick a sport, pick a team, and build a stadium at Bader Field! Bader's proximity to Downbeach can almost merge the districts, as they both do not rely on gambling. While Downbeach holds the concerts and grand spectacles, Bader hosts the big games and Antiques Roadshow.

Keep Revel. Destroy everything else.

District: Inlet

Purpose: Residential, Corporate

Showpiece: Revel

Oh, the Inlet. This place needs the most work. Right now it's a wasteland in the shadow of a hulking failure of a resort, but let's use that to our advantage. The Inlet will be the 'Tomorrowland' of Atlantic City, using Revel as a design example. Think Battery Park City: middle to upper-class high-rises, complementing Downbeach's more suburban housing. Mixed-use corporate office buildings, both for existing corporations and new enterprise. Revel itself should not go to waste, and the resort tower could easily become an office building with penthouses, with the vast public areas transformed into an indoor Central Park. Enough with the back-and-forth with investors and just do it. Give that ailing power plant some new customers!

If the former Showboat becomes the college campus it’s rumored to be, wonderful! Incoming young adults with drive, motivation, and a decent background will do wonders for the city's population, and proper essentials (supermarkets, interior decor) will sprout up to service them. The casinos would also be wise to create more incentives for the new, young locals…

Extend the Boardwalk up to the marina but keep it low-key, like a backyard for the new residents. Current historical and family attractions (such as the aquarium and lighthouse) must remain, but will have spurred interest due to all the redevelopment. But give everything else the wrecking ball, even re-align the streets if necessary. It worked for the World Trade Center, it will work here. Nobody remembers Radio Row anymore.

Local perks! Blackjack! Wow I'm excited! Look out don't crash!

District: Gateways

Purpose: Hype

Showpiece: N/A

Not technically a district, and not even part of the city at parts, but this should not be ignored. Atlantic City has two highway entrances: the Expressway and Route 30. The Expressway does a wonderful job of hyping AC as you approach it, with the many billboards and quotes until you finally get off in Midtown. (I especially get chills each time I pass under the 'In One Mile You'll Be A Million Miles Away.") No major reform needs to happen here, but...

Route 30 is a complete embarrassment. Divebomb roach motels and overall neglect permeate the approach, and of all places it drops you off in the Uptown/Inlet areas. No. As the city will require more in/out access, Route 30 needs to take on the role with pride. Take the cues from the Expressway and make it a city you want to drive into. Especially as it will terminate in the rejuvenated residential areas, for many people Route 30 will lead home. Make it a driveway that residents are pleased to use and visitors excited to see. City advertisements, neon, whatever. Make it nice.

--

So there you have it. Seven districts (a lucky number, no less) each designed with a purpose in mind. Similar to the United States, each one has its different feel and calling cards but they all tie back to a common alliance that makes them great. Connecting these areas will be an infrastructure that takes pride in itself, used and served by citizens and a fair police force that have a renewed interest in keeping their city attractive. If anyone takes it upon themselves to purely cause grief, it's out you go. Out. And take all your stuff with you, it'll be less for us to clean up.

With a balance of middle and upscale housing, sports/entertainment venues, corporate presence and of course the casinos, Atlantic City will be the city that truly has it all. A city to live, to visit, to flourish. Oh, and did we mention it's got a really nice beach?

Atlantic City has always had lightning in a bottle. It's time to unleash it again.

Now.

One day you will, AC. Be strong, and do what you have to do.