The city may have changed but its soul hasn’t. Gambling and a good time are still the buzz words in Atlantic City.
One casino that was there from the beginning will, next month, celebrate 40 years of bearing witness to all the stories that have made Atlantic City the East Coast gambling mecca that it is.
Resorts Casino in AC will hold its official anniversary from May 25 to May 28, according to a press release that owners Mohegan Sun sent out this past week.
Resorts AC president and CEO, Mark Giannantonio, said the Memorial Day weekend celebration is about giving back to a community that has embraced the casino for so long.
“We are thrilled to kick off our anniversary celebration with an outstanding performance and summer event lineup; however, more importantly, honor our guests and employees who supported Resorts and the evolution of Atlantic City over the past 40 years.”
A snapshot of weekend festivities at Resorts AC
Resorts AC has all sorts of events planned for the celebratory weekend, including an 8 p.m. Saturday night performance by The Village People. The band is a fitting choice for the weekend because they formed their group in 1978, the same year Resorts opened.
The casino will also host events that highlight the casino’s standing as one of the original properties in Atlantic City.
From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 26, visitors can “test their luck and take a pull” on what the casino claims to be the first slot machine in Atlantic City. Players can earn up to $2,500, the press release said.
At 2 p.m. on Friday, May 25, visitors can watch a re-enactment of the first official roll of the dice Atlantic City ever witnessed.
The casino will also host its annual Beach Ball Drop at 5 p.m. Friday night.
Throwback Thursdays will last all summer long
As a nod to the casino’s 1970s beginning, Resorts will run promotions every Thursday in which cocktail menus will feature $4 beverages that hearken back to the decade of disco. Naturally, the Tom Collins will be one of them.
According to the press release, these Thursday promotions run from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 31 to Aug. 30.
“Our 40th anniversary is a celebration of Resorts’ success, and we look forward to commemorating this exciting time in our history by hosting three months of can’t-miss entertainment and promotions,” Giannantonio noted.
Resorts Atlantic City outlasting everyone
The 2017 revenue numbers the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement reported earlier this year showed that Resorts Atlantic City was on the bottom rung in overall non-online revenue. It pulled in $190.5 million, placing it about $21 million behind the next casino, Bally’s, and about $565 million behind front-runner Borgata.
But what the casino lacks in revenue power, it gains in posterity. Resorts AC has stood the test of time and outlasted several economic downturns. When five casinos closed in NJ in 2014, Resorts was not one of them. Even when its newest casino brethren open later this summer — Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Resort Casino — Resorts hopes to hold its own.
As of March, the casino showed somewhat of a surge, posting a total non-online revenue of $38.4 million, which was about $4 million behind Bally’s. Over the course of four quarters, Resorts will, in theory, be about $16 million behind Bally’s, or $5 million better than 2017.
Perhaps its fitting that the 40th-anniversary celebration will last all summer long. Resorts AC keeps rolling the dice.