My husband and I just returned from Atlantic City today. We went there 4 weeks ago and had a wonderful vacation. We went back last week to take my grandson to the ocean before school started and it was a horror. We were sitting on the beach watching the ocean and my husband put his hand in the sand and was pricked by a dirty Syringe that someone threw on the beach. This was a very populated area with children building sand castles a few feet away. He was taken to the emergency room and had several blood tests, he also had to receive two or three shots. One was for hepatitis. He has to follow up with 2 more booster shots and wait for the results to see if he is ok. He was also put on antibiodics. It will take up to 12 weeks to find out about the hepatitis. The hospital thinks the likelyhood of AIDS is slim because the needle had been in the sun and salt and the AIDS virus does not live that long in the air. This has been a horrible experience. It just happened two days ago. 8/24/07. I just wanted to warn people to be careful on the beach. There are so many vagrants and drug users at Atlantic City sleeping on the boardwalk, beach, etc. and apparently throwing their dirty needles wherever they feel like tossing them. I did an internet search and read that a volley ball player had also stepped on a dirty syringe a couple weeks ago at a NJ beach. Also I read NJ beaches and NY beaches were closed a few years back because of this type of thing, but the mayor of NY said no need to close again last year when a child rolled on a needle in the sand. Just be careful and I would definately not let a child play on AC beach. or I suppose NY for that matter either. I couldn't find any other east coast beaches where people were stuck by needles. If anyone has any info on how common this is I would appreciate the comments. Thanks

My wife and I just got back from a weekend trip to A.C. for our 1 year anniversary. It was nice to get away together, but it wasn't the greatest trip. We stayed at The Holiday in Boardwalk. The hotel was pretty nice and just 2 blocks south of the Tropicana. WE reserved a king size bed, smoking, ocean view room. We got all of those except for the smoking part. Not horrible, but we were on the 14th floor so it was a trip to be able to go outside to have a smoke. We stayed from 4/20/07 to 4/22/07. We spent most of our gambling time at the Tropicana. We also tried out Bally's, Wild Wild West, and Ceasar's, but we liked the Tropicana the best, so we just kept going there. We had lunch on Friday at Hooter's. What can ya say, nothing fancy here. Friday night we ate at the A.C. Bar and Grill which is located near the Taj Mahal. It was a pretty good meal there, laid back atmosphere, and nice waitresses. Later after dinner we had some drinks back at our room, then we went to a club called Bare Assests. From there we took the Jitney(shuttle bus) to The Casbah night club at the Taj Mahal. $10 cover, ladies free, not bad. 1 beer and 1 mixed drink, $15. Not cool at all! The club was pretty decent, the house dancers weren't all that great, and the music was pretty good. But luckily we had taken our own drinks with us and had both had a 6 pack before we went to the Casbah. Saturday we had brunk at the buffet in the Tropicana. It was ok, but for $18 a person, it was way overpriced. We spent more of Saturday gambling and relaxing. We also went to the "outlets" I put it in quotes simply because there is nothing outlet like about these stores. They are the same stores we have at the malls where we live, and they have all the same prices for everything. The best part of our trip was dinner on Saturday night. By our terms, it was expensive. But the food and drinks were great. We ate a Cuba Libre inside the Tropicana, and the food was awesome, and the mojito's were tasty. Don't be surprised to spend over $100 for a couple on dinner. I could never imagine taking my kids here, they would be bored. Walking around town doesn't seem to safe as alot of the places look rundown and unsafe. We were easily approached by 12 or 15 street people/beggars asking for money, food, a cigarette. Don't leave the boardwalk, Pacific Avenue, or Michigan St where the outlets are Sunday we had breakfast at the Country Kitchen. Ate just as much there as I did at the buffet at the Tropicana, and paid half the price. It's located on the boardwalk. While we enjoyed getting away, this certainly isnt' a place we will be planning any more weekend getaways too. All the money these casino's make every year, and prices for food and drink are still way too high. Plus, why don't they reinvest some money into the whole city and make it not so dumpy? We think A.C. is one of those places better saved for a day trip

My partner and I have traveled to Atlantic City and after each visit, we arrive home more disenchanted with the place, particularly the casinos. Here are the problems:

1. The hotel employees cease to go an extra mile to provide prompt, friendly service. Mostly, they are indifferent, and in some cases, downright nasty and neglectful.
2. The food is overpriced and average. There are long lines to obtain a meal.
3. It is very difficult to obtain a free beverage in the casino. Either the wait staff is non-existant or after you place an order, they neglect to come back with the beverage.
4. The slot machines get tighter with each trip. The payouts are lousy. In many cases, there are large areas where slot machines are out of order.
5. Security has become lax in the casinos. As for the Boardwalk, there is hardly any security. There needs to be more police presence at night. There should be a continual shuttle service at all hours, between all of the casinos. If the casinos did this, they would increase their revenues. Many people do not like to walk late at night.
6. The player card caste system. While we both agree that those who play more deserve the extra perks, it does not justify relegating the lower playing gamblers to second class status. All too often, we've encoutered huge lines, long waits and minimal service staff. Since there are more lower playing gamblers, as a whole, these lines need more staffing.
7. Tolls and parking. Tolls? Need I say more? There are other casinos in the Northeast that have free parking and no tolls. As for parking, again there is a caste system, depending on which card you hold. As of late, the casinos are now charging more for parking. This is absurd. People are less likely to go to a casino, spend their money and be charged for parking. Furthermore, everytime we went into a parking garage, we have never, ever seen any security.
8. While the Harrah's company takes over most of the casinos, the overall quality, service and slot machine payouts have declined. There is less competition to improve.
9. With all of the problems in Altantic City, I seriously question why the city government is considering a ban on smoking in the casinos. The city goverment focusses on this one issue inside private property, while neglecting the other issues on the streets.
Why? Because it's something they can control and it's politically popular. Apparently, they have little success controlling the larger issues such as poverty, crime and the countless blighted neighborhoods. The casinos should provide large non-smoking areas and good ventilation systems. OR have entire buildings totally non-smoking and others smoking. The employees who are bothered by smoke can work in the non-smoking areas.

Atlantic City better beware and wake up. Pennsylvania will attract gamblers, like ourselves, who are woefully tired of Atlantic City and their unwillingness to improve itself.

With the nice new additions to AC, Gambling is not necessary, unless you just feel lucky!

My family and I which consisted of 3 couples, one child, and two seniors. The last time I was in AC was about 3 months ago, when the weather was cooler and not much was open on the boardwalk. I am not a serious gambler (I consider serious gambling, spending more than $50 in one sitting :) However, summertime opens new doors for AC. I was looking forward to a much needed sleep over at the beach. After checking into our hotel, we all had a nice buffet lunch at Sands Boardwalk Buffet restaurant. The food was great and plentiful, and afterwards we all headed to the boardwalk. My group decided to separate based on what each wanted to do, so the ladies in the bunch went shopping at the new AC Outlets, called the "The Walk". This area of AC is fantastic. A job well done and certainly the stores are needed. Especially for the more serious shopper like myself, who craves more than just a T-shirt. Shopping is plentiful here and there is more to come. We were there on a Sunday so may be why the crowds were thin, but it made for better exploring of the the many stores. After shopping, we went back to our rooms to freshen up, and then made our way to one of the many new beach bars the boardwalk has to offer, which is a big plus. We met up with the guys and stumbled on Ballys Bikini Beach Bar. We must have been here for at least hours or more. The drinks were very good, especially their Pina Colodas, and the music playing from the speaker was set the tone nicely. You actually felt like you were on an island with the reggae music playing in the background. After hanging out at the beach bar, we strolled the boardwalks, talking and laughing, and enjoying the cool night air. We did go back to the casinos for about an hour, since my mother inlaw wanted to play, then we all ended up playing the slots on the same row. It was a lot of fun, and although we did not win anything, we had a good time. People probably thought we had all one the jackpot, we were making so much noise, but all in good fun! The next morning after breakfast, we went for another lesiurely stroll on the boards, stopped in a few stores, and went back to our hotel for departure. It was a great weekend! We did gamble a little, but spent more time together as a family/couple, shopping, dining and enjoying the atmosphere. What more can you ask for!