New Jersey Casinos and Gambling

Short Summary: This page looks at the different forms of gambling in the State of New Jersey, discusses the legality of online gambling and gives a detailed listing of all of the Commercial and Tribal casinos in the state.

New Jersey is the second most popular destination for gamblers in the United States, and it has a long tradition for offering games of chance and other betting options. The lottery was offered in the 17th century to help pay for military forces during the American Revolution, and the state also boasts the oldest raceway in America. The industry took another leap forward in 1976 when voters approved the construction of casinos within the boundaries of Atlantic City.

Much like Las Vegas was the pioneer of gambling in the Western United States, Atlantic City, New Jersey was the Eastern answer to the challenge. Where Las Vegas was surrounded by desert, Atlantic City sat along the ocean and already had a thriving tourism community due to its Boardwalk. The existence of commercial casinos would prove to be a critical piece to the puzzle and increased tourism and money coming into the state exponentially.

One key difference between the two states is that Nevada would permit commercial casinos to exist anywhere in the state, whereas New Jersey gaming does and has always consisted of Atlantic City. There have been recent attempts to expand commercial casinos elsewhere in the state, which would certainly prove detrimental to the city, but any such attempt has failed thus far.

New Jersey, it should come as no surprise, is one of the most liberal states with respect to its gambling offerings. They were quicker than most states to legalize and regulate online casinos, this despite the fact that it was unsure (at the time) whether or not they could even legally do that. Ultimately, it is perfectly legal provided the player is playing within the boundaries of New Jersey.

In addition to that, certain Atlantic City casinos would dapple in sports betting prior to the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which made it illegal for states aside from Nevada to conduct sports betting, being overturned as unconstitutional (Tenth Amendment) by the Supreme Court of the United States. It comes as no surprise that New Jersey was front and center of the states pushing for the outrageous law to be overturned.

Aside from poker, Nevada has no legalized and regulated online gambling, so that is one area in which New Jersey is technically less restrictive. In addition to that, New Jersey has a state lottery, whereas Nevada does not. Despite the other forms of gambling to be found throughout the state, the lottery does quite well, as we will detail shortly.

Charitable gaming, by way of bingo and raffles is permitted in the state, but the laws regarding such are a bit complex and not worth going into detail here. Either way, it’s allowed.

Top 4 New Jersey Online Casinos

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Online Gambling In New Jersey

New Jersey is one of the few (but rapidly growing) list of states with legalized and regulated online gambling. The rules to get a license are that your online casino must be tied to one of the physical casinos in the state, which can be on direct or by contract to provide the online casino services. It’s for that reason that casinos such as 888 Casino can operate in New Jersey, even though there is no physical casino called 888 Casino.

Many offshore online casinos still choose to operate in the State of New Jersey, though some have decided to pull out of the U.S. States that have legalized and regulated online gambling through the physical casinos. One such example is Bovada, who chooses not to operate in any U.S. States that have regulated online gaming. One imagines that this maybe with an eye towards operating in those states through a physical casino sometime down the line, but that’s just speculation.

As far as penalties for unlawful gambling are concerned, unlawful gambling consists of taking part in any gambling not specifically authorized by the state. The big caveat to that is that the laws are written in a way that only applies to the operators; the laws do not apply to the players in anyway whatsoever. The result is that a player can play at any online casino the player wishes, offshore or in-state.

The following Internet gaming sites are currently approved for around-the-clock operation within the state of New Jersey:

Borgata Casino
Party Casino
Pala Casino
Harrahs Online Casino
US 888 Casino
Caesars Casino
Golden Nugget
Betfair NJ
Resorts Online Casino
Tropicana Casino
Virgin Casino
SugarHouse Online Casino
PokerStars NJ
Mohegan Sun Online
PlayMGM
DraftKings Casino
Unibet NJ Casino
Ocean Resort Online
Hard Rock Online
BetAmerica
BetMGM

Land Casinos In New Jersey

Once again, Atlantic City is currently the only city in the State of New Jersey authorized to have land casinos, so we will not be listing the city under the individual casino listings as it would be redundant. If you say, “I swear I can remember being at xxx casino and it’s not on the list,” that’s probably true, several casinos in Atlantic City have either closed outright or have been bought out and changed names, such as the Trump Taj Mahal being bought out by Hard Rock International. Revel is also now Ocean Resort.

Casinos to have closed since the year 2000 are as follows: Atlantic Club, The Claridge Casino and Hotel (now just a hotel), Revel (now Ocean Resort), Sands, Showboat (now a hotel only), Trump Plaza, Trump Taj Mahal (now Hard Rock Atlantic City). With that, the following casinos are operating:

Bally’s

Ballys New Jersey As I have discussed in many articles on WizardofVegas.com, Bally’s is a casino that is largely redundant to Caesars Palace and was the only casino in Atlantic City to continue to experience declining revenues even after the closure of several casinos in 2010 and after, and even before the two new ones opened. If there is one casino with a very real chance of closing, or perhaps just becoming an overflow hotel, this is the one.

The casino floor comes in at a gargantuan 225,756 square feet of gaming space, which is approximately double what it actually needs. It clearly wasn’t built with the eventuality of competition from other states (or even elsewhere in Atlantic City) in mind. Reports differ on the number of guest rooms and suites on the property, but all reports state between 1150-1250.

Contrary to popular belief, Caesars Entertainment does not own this property, they have the lease for casino operations and the owner is Vici Properties. Vici owns several casino properties that it leases back to Caesars. If you see signs for Wild Wild West Casino, don’t be alarmed, you’re still in the right place; it’s a part of Bally’s.

Bally’s Spa, Pool and Fitness is part of the property, but don’t confuse it for an amenity. There are fees to use the facilities which are lesser if you are staying at Bally’s and are more if you are staying at Caesars.

If you think that the fee for the pool means that the property has no resort fee, unfortunately, you think wrong. Perhaps most amusing is that the booking site says, “Free wireless internet,” when it loads, but then it lists wireless internet as part of the resort fee, which is over $20/night.

The resort fee includes wireless internet access for two devices. TWO. You’re paying over $20 to have the number of devices that can use the internet restricted. Free local calls are included in the resort fee, which of course, cost Bally’s nothing in the first place. Finally, you get $5 off of parking by paying the resort fee. Yes, you still have to pay separately for both pool access AND self parking.

If you’re lucky, you’ll still have a little bit of money left by the time you get to the casino floor.

The property is home to any number of slots, video poker and video keno machines, but for whatever reason, they do not list a machine count on their site. Table games include Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Let It Ride, Three Card Poker, Four Card Poker, Mississippi Stud, Caribbean Stud Poker, Texas Hold Em and Ultimate Hold Em. That list might not be fully comprehensive, but that’s what their website gives us, so that’s what we’re giving you. One would do well to call ahead and get the general operating hours of specialty games as they might not operate around the clock.

The poker room is home to 42 poker games including Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha, “And more.” The website says, and more, so we recommend calling or checking the Bravo Poker Live app to figure out what that might mean. It couldn’t be more than a few games, so your guess is as good as ours why they wouldn’t just list them. The poker room apparently has free Wi-Fi, even though your room does not absent you paying the mandatory resort fee.

Guy Fieri’s Chophouse is the upscale restaurant at this casino, casual restaurants include Buca Di Peppo (Italian), Noodle Village, Harry’s Oyster Bar, Johnny Rocket’s (50’s themed diner); while quick bites include Guy’s Bar-B-Q Joint, AC Snack Shack, Dunkin’ Donuts, Boardwalk Cupcakes, Gold Tooth Gerties, Sack O Subs and Walt’s Primo Pizza.

The only show currently listed is a regular comedy show.

Libations include Bally’s Beach Bar, The Bar at Harry’s, Lobby Bar, Mountain Bar at the Wild Wild West, Boardwalk Saloon and Wild Wild West.

There is a regular gift shop, a boutique fashion store and a Spa Pro Shop that sells mostly swimwear and related articles.

Overall, this is like most other properties in Atlantic City that charge you going in and going out. As with most other casinos in the city, it is a bona fide destination property mostly on the strength of its size and dining choices. While we try to be unbiased, having to pay for pool use AND a resort fee is a complete and total rip off; it should be one or the other.

Borgata

Borgata Borgata is probably Atlantic City’s most upscale casino and is located in the Marina District. In 2003, the casino opened as a joint venture between Las Vegas’ based Boyd Gaming and MGM Resorts International. Boyd Gaming has since sold their interest in the property to MGM Resorts International, who now fully owns and operates the property. At that time, the players club converted from what was essentially an independent players club to MLIFE.

The Water Club is a hotel that is owned by the same entity and is located next to the casino, but is not technically a part of the casino. Borgata is Tuscan-themed and everything in the place oozes opulence. Of course, the prices also tend to reflect that. The hotel consists of 2,797 guest rooms and suites while the gaming floor consists of 161,000 square feet of gaming space. The hotel room count includes The Water Club.

There are a wide variety of entertainment venues in addition to the casino bars providing entertainment. One such venue is the Borgata Events Center, which can also be converted and rented out as a ballroom, and seats 2,400. The Borgata Festival Park is an outdoor events venue and can seat over 4,000. Borgata Music Box hosts comedy and music acts and seats 1,000.

Borgata is home to fitness centers as well as several pools including the Borgata Indoor Pool and Gardens, Borgata Lap Pool at Immersion Spa, Borgata Outdoor Pool, as well as indoor and outdoor pools at The Water Club. Spas include Immersion Spa, Spa Toccare, a salon and a barbershop.

On the one hand, there arguably shouldn’t be any resort fees at all, but on the other hand, the resort fee is only $15; less than Bally’s. If you’ve ever been to both of these properties, you should know that nothing at Bally’s should ever cost more than it does at Borgata.

Borgata features 3,000 combined slot machines, video poker games and video keno games. More than that, they claim to have several hundred unique titles.

If racing is more your thing, then you’re in luck, as Borgata is home to the only racebook in Atlantic City. They boast that they have high-definition monitors, so Borgata is your home for simulcast betting. Table Games include Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Baccarat, Three-Card Poker, Mini Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Pai Gow Tiles, Let it Ride, Four Card Poker, Flop Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold Em, Bonus Poker, Caribbean Stud Poker, Big Six Wheel and Spanish 21. While Borgata is the largest casino in the city, we do recommend calling ahead for general hours of operation if you’re looking for one of the specialty games, such as Pai-Gow Tiles or Bonus Poker. (Never heard of the latter)

In addition to the simulcast wagering, sports betting and a number of screens to watch the games are available in that area.

The poker room offers several different games and is the premier poker room in the state. If you are going to the Borgata specifically, you can even access what games are being played right on their site using this link.

The games listings appear to be updated at the top of every hour.

It should come as no surprise that Borgata has a cornucopia of dining options available. Fine Dining includes Angeline by Michael Simon (classic Italian), Bobby Flay Steak, Izakaya by Michael Shulson (Japanese), Old Homestead Steak House and Wolfgang Puck American Grille. Casual dining options include The Metropolitan (American food and oyster bar), Bread and Butter (American), Borgata Buffet, Marketplace Eatery (Food court with several options, including LaVazza Coffee Bar, The Grab and Go Market, The Wine Bar at Marketplace Eatery, Chop and Toss-salads-, Burgers and Fries, Casa Taco Express, Asian Fusion, Pizata Pizza and Pasta, Philly Steaks and Subs and Ben & Jerry’s), The Wine Bar, Borgata Baking Company, Starbucks, N.O.W. Noodles of the World, Borgata Beer Garden, Long Bar, Moneyline Bar and Book (pub) and The Sun Room.

In addition to the previously mentioned entertainment venues, live acts can also be found at The Borgata Beer Garden as well as Gypsy Bar. There are five other bars on the property, with the ones serving food already included above. The Borgata is also home to a gift shop and five boutiques, one of which is a wine boutique.

The bottom line is that the Borgata is no joke and has been Atlantic City’s casino gaming revenue leader since the day it opened for a reason; it has everything that you could ever want. This is one of those casinos you can truly build an entire vacation around and never have to leave. At the end of the week, you may have only tried half of the restaurants, not to mention the other amenities.

If The Borgata seems out of your price range, it’s still a gorgeous architectural and aesthetic marvel well-worth going in just to look around. This writer doesn’t care at all about that kind of stuff and still left the property thoroughly impressed. I intend to go back one day as I probably only saw 25% of the property, but I had a bunch of other stuff to do the times I visited AC.

Caesars

Caesars Caesars became a household name associated with gambling destinations primarily for two reasons: Caesars Atlantic City and Caesars Palace Las Vegas. It’s hard to imagine not seeing a Caesars logo in either of the two cities and anyone with a passing familiarity of gambling history in America is aware of the brand.

Caesars Entertainment (which is scheduled to be purchased by El Dorado Resorts in a deal to complete next year) does not actually own Caesars Atlantic City. Much like Bally’s, the property was transferred to Vici Properties and is leased back to Caesars Entertainment for operations.

The gaming floor consists of nearly 150,000 square feet of gaming space, over 3,000 combined slot machines, video keno and video poker games as well as some 120 table games. The property was once home to a poker room, but that is no longer the case, so the closest poker room is at Bally’s and the largest in the city is Borgata. The hotel is home to 1,140 guest rooms and suites.

With its Roman theme, there was a time that Caesars might have been considered the most impressive property in Atlantic City, and its certainly worth a look even if you’re not staying or gaming there, but the Borgata is much newer and nicer. Caesars remains an impressive property nonetheless.

The resort fee comes out to over $20/night, all told, and the website neglects to mention what the resort fee is for. If it did, it would probably just say wireless internet and local calls…why even bother to pretend you’re actually getting something for it? There is a fitness center on the property and a seasonal outdoor pool, though guests must pay extra to access the pool. Other than that, everything listed as an amenity is fairly standard anywhere.

The website proclaims that they have over 2,000 slot machines, but other sources put that number closer to 3,000; in any case, they have a bunch. Denominations range from pennies to a machine with a $1,000 denomination. If you’ve always wanted the chance to lose a thousand dollars in two seconds, then that might be the machine for you!

The vast assortment of table games includes Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Big Six, EZ Baccarat, Mini Baccarat, Midi Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, EZ Pai Gow, Spanish 21, Pai Gow Tiles, Three Card Poker, Sic Bo, Let it Ride, Mississippi Stud, Four Card Poker, Heads Up Hold ‘Em, Ultimate Texas Hold Em, High Card Flush and Asia Poker. Even with a casino this size, we recommend calling ahead and getting the general hours of operation for the specialty games, it’s unlikely that they all go around the clock.

Upscale restaurants include Nero’s Italian Steakhouse, Morton’s The Steakhouse and Buddakan at the Playground. Casual eateries include Gordon Ramsey’s Pub and Grill, Cafe Roma (casual), Kiwi Noodle House, Palace Court Buffet, Sunday Brunch Buffet at Nero’s, Continental at the Playground and Phillips Seafood Market. Tazza is a coffee and snacks shop for quick bites.

There are a number of shows throughout the year that can be found here.

The main bars are Toga Bar, The Beach Bar and 2100 Bar and Lounge.

Overall, Caesars has anything anyone could ever want for a vacation and is somewhat comparable to Borgata. Borgata is newer, nicer and bigger with a wider variety of options, but Caesars is no slouch in that regard and remains an incredibly impressive resort property.

Golden Nugget Atlantic City

The Golden Nugget Atlantic City was originally opened as Trump’s Castle, rebranded as Trump’s Marina and was purchased by Landry’s Inc. in 2011 at which point it became The Golden Nugget.

The Golden Nugget was one of the casinos in the city most successful at building itself up as other casinos in the area closed. They made a point of marketing to the players of the closed casinos as if they were their own. In order to get those players to the property, Golden Nugget would tier-match them immediately and include some free rooms, free play and other niceties. It worked amazingly as the Golden Nugget would be THE casino in revenue growth for nearly a decade.

Golden Nugget also capitalized on the legalized and regulated online gambling by offering great deals for new players in that regard, as well as aggressively marketed offers for returning players. They were also able to link up online and live casino play in a way that resulted in marketing to players for both the website and physical location. Further, Golden Nugget was the first of the Atlantic City casinos to offer live dealer games online. Visitors to the physical property who enter through the ground floor on the garage side can actually see these live dealers through a window.

The gaming floor consists of 74,252 square feet of gaming space and is accessible from pretty much anywhere on that floor of the property. In addition to the restaurant on the gaming floor, the other restaurants are built in such a way that the gaming floor can be seen from them, as well as from the hotel check-in area. Pretty smart.

The theater consists of 462 seats while the ballroom seats 2,000. The Golden Nugget is also home to a 24K lounge for preferred players. Guests can enjoy access to wireless internet as well as free access to the rooftop pool, which is also home to a hot tub and wading pool for kids. There is also a sitting pool up there as well as a number of different activities for kids. Additionally, the property is home to an arcade on that ground floor which gives the kids something else to do.

Unfortunately, Golden Nugget has also hopped on the resort fee train and charges a total of $20 per night for that.

The casino floor is home to nearly 1,500 combined slot, video poker and video keno machines. Denominations range from pennies to hundreds and there is also a high-limit room consisting of more than 100 machines. If you want to see some of the high-limit machines in action, just search Youtube for NJSlotsGuy as many of his videos are filmed in the Golden Nugget high-limit room. Golden Nugget also has a list of its machines on their site.

Though we don’t know how often it is updated.

Table games include Mini Baccarat, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Criss Cross Poker, Mississippi Stud, Let it Ride, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, Three-Card Poker and Pai Gow Poker. I know from experience that only a few of these games operate in the late night hours, so you may want to call in advance for the general operating hours of a novelty game you are looking for. The high-limit room is also home to a few of these games and has single-zero Roulette.

The Atlantic City Poker room is a modest poker room consisting of nine tables that deal No Limit Texas Hold Em and Pot Limit Omaha. The sportsbook is pretty impressive in size and is located in the atrium area, we say impressive because the property was not originally designed with a sportsbook in mind.

Restaurants include Vic and Anthony’s (steakhouse), Chart House (seafood), Grotto Italian Ristorante, Lillie’s Asian Cuisine, Bill’s Bar and Burger, The Buffet, Michael Patrick’s Brasserie, Bean and Bread (grab and go), The Deck Bayfront Bar and Restaurant and H2O Bar and Grille, which is located at the pool.

Of those, I ate at the buffet, which was probably an 8/10 in my book from casino buffet standards. The selection was a bit sparse compared to others I’ve been to, but the server was attentive and the food itself was pretty good. I actually preferred the buffet to Vic and Anthony’s, but the bigger part of that was I didn’t think the service at the latter was all that great and being charged for refills on soda pop is annoying. We got a pizza from Grotto Italian Ristorante and it was okay, but nothing special.

I’m sorry if that review of the eateries wasn’t particularly comprehensive, but this was years ago. If I was to pay to eat anywhere on the property (out of the ones I did) I would actually probably select the buffet.

We also had some grab and go food, I think a sandwich, from Bean and Bread. It was fine.

The entertainment and events schedule is available here.

Nightlife include Rush Lounge, located on the casino floor, The Deck Bayfront Bar and Restaurant and Bar 46, which has machines and is located near one of the entrances to the casino floor.

The Golden Nugget is meant to be a value destination for locals and travellers alike, so it actually pains me a little to see that they have hopped on the resort fee bandwagon. Even with that, I highly recommend it as a property for those travelling with kids as there is plenty of stuff there for the whole family to do. It’s obviously not the choice if being on The Boardwalk is a priority, but if you’ve got wheels, the Boardwalk is easy enough to get to.

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, owned and operated by Hard Rock International, is one of the two newest properties (along with Ocean Resort Casino) to open in Atlantic City. The property was originally home to the Trump Taj Mahal, then the biggest and most expensive casino ever built, but that property would fall on hard times and eventually close due to a labor strike. At least, the labor strike is what was blamed, the property was probably living on borrowed time anyway as I discussed in a few WizardofVegas.com articles.

The gaming floor consists of 167,000 square feet and there are a combined 1,971 guest rooms and suites. I stayed at a regular room as well as a suite, but that was back when it was The Trump Taj Mahal.

The Trump Taj Mahal was a shadow of its former self at the time it closed, but it was still clear what it had once been. Unfortunately, at the time of its closure, peeling paint could be found everywhere, the walls in the parking garage were crumbling, glass fixtures were cracked and taped over and the property was just in a general state of disrepair. New owner Carl Icahn continuously dangled a 100 million dollar carrot, but it would have required the casino union to back off of him and probably would not have been sufficient to save the property anyway.

Hard Rock would eventually purchase the property for 300 million and spend in excess of 300 million on renovations. The property would then open in June of 2018 one day ahead of schedule.

The property charges guests a resort fee of $17, which I guess is expected at this point. The indoor pool area, located on the fourth floor, is also home to a small arcade…so they’re taking a page out of the Golden Nugget playbook there! The fitness center is also complimentary for hotel guests, or is part of the resort fee, however you want to look at it.

The casino floor is home to 2,115 combined slot machines, video poker and video keno games. The floor is also home to 100 table games including Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Baccarat, Four Card Poker, Three Card Poker, Let it Ride, Pai Gow Poker, Asian Poker, Mini Baccarat, Midi Baccarat, Pai Gow Tiles, Heads up Hold Em, High Card Flush, Ultimate Texas Hold Em, Mississippi Stud, Big Six and Casino War. These games certainly do not all operate around the clock, so we very much recommend calling ahead for general operating times of novelty games.

The Trump Taj Mahal was once home to a sizable poker room that ultimately closed before the casino did and Hard Rock apparently decided there was not enough interest to open a poker room of their own. However, the property is home to a sportsbook.

Dining options include Council Oak Fish, Kuro (Japanese), Il Mulino (Italian and was also there when it was Taj Mahal), Hard Rock Cafe (also there when Taj Mahal), Fresh Harvest Buffet, YouYu Noodle Bar, Roberts Steakhouse and Sugar Factory. The Flavor Tour is the food court located on the second floor and is home to The Green Bar (healthy stuff), Burgers and Hops, Asian Fusion, Alexias Patiserie (desserts), Pizata, Chop and Toss and Hit The Road. As the Taj Mahal, the property was once home to a White House Cheesesteak location, but that does not seem to be the case anymore.

Hard Rock Live is an entertainment venue that features nationally known acts, for example, Nickleback and Brad Paisley are set to appear in 2019. Sound Waves is a venue featuring a number of different acts. Howie Mandel’s Comedy Club is located on the property and obviously features comedy acts. 365 Live features local and regional acts.

The property is home to four different bars as well as a nightclub called Daer. There are eight different shops, three of them hard rock branded and one is a jewelry store.

The Hard Rock seems to be a casino that was built to try to have a little something for everybody as is evidenced by the arcade for kids as well as Asian Table Games area. Since they are something of the new kid in town, this was definitely a wise choice as they have to be able to appeal to people who were already frequenting other Atlantic City casinos. If the revenue reports are any indication, Hard Rock has been successful in this regard.

Harrah’s

Harrah’s, along with the Borgata and Golden Nugget, is the third casino located in the Marina District. Harrah’s is kind of a pioneer in that regard as they were the first property to not be built near the Boardwalk. The hotel is home to 2,587 rooms and the gambling floor consists of 160,000 square feet of space. The property is home to the Broadway By The Bay theatre.

The resort fee of over $20 in total includes wireless internet access for two devices as well as free local calls. Of course, they’re not free, because you have to pay the resort fee, which is not optional. The resort fee also includes a $5 voucher towards self-parking, which you also have to pay for and would be free anyway if you even do a modicum of gambling on your card.

Fortunately, the room rate seems to include pool and fitness center access, but don’t be shocked if that eventually changes. Perhaps casinos will come up with a fee for breathing their oxygen-nitrogen compound next.

The property consists of either over 2,150 or over 2,300 combined slot, video poker and video keno machines depending on which paragraph of that webpage you are reading. Table games include “Blackjack, Spanish 21, Double Attack Blackjack, Texas Hold’em Bonus, Roulette, Mini-Baccarat, Three Card Poker, Four Card Poker, Let It Ride, Craps, Big Six, Pai Gow Poker, Caribbean Stud and much more!” We guess call and ask if you want to know what, “Much more,” means. We recommend calling anyway to get the usual operating hours if you’re looking for a game outside of the casino staples.

The property features a keno parlor for live Keno and is open from 10a-2a, which is something of a unique feature. In addition to a sportsbook, the property is home to a 40 table poker room that deals Limit Texas Hold ‘Em as well as No Limit.

Entertainment generally consists of a particular show that takes place several nights in a row, the show at the time of this writing is Legends in Concert.

Upscale restaurants include Martorano’s (Italian), Veracruz (Spanish), Gordon Ramsey Steak and Oshi Modern Asian Kitchen. Casual eateries include Coastal Craft Kitchen and Bar, Waterfront Buffet, A.C. Burger Co., Lunch at the Pool and McCormick and Schmidt’s Seafood Restaurant. Quick bites consist of Guy’s Sammich Joint, Pin-Up Pizza, Starbucks and Cafe Tazza.

The property is home to four bars and a handful of stores at The Waterfront Shops.

Harrah’s is basically a middle-of-the-road Atlantic City property in terms of its offerings. It’s not nearly as breathtaking as Borgata or Caesars and doesn’t seem to have quite as much to do as Hard Rock, but it’s still very much a bona fide resort and great place to spend your Atlantic City vacation.

Ocean Resort and Casino

The Ocean Resort and Casino was originally built as Revel Casino, but its lifespan as the Revel was not terribly long. A combination of questionable management decisions (no buffet, poor comps, completely non-smoking) as well as an insurmountable debt-load would cause the Revel to be sustainable. The property would eventually close and be sold to Florida developer Glenn Straub for pennies on the dollar. Straub would not succeed in ever opening a casino on this property with both him and the city going back and forth over a number of issues and blaming each other for the problems. The property would finally be sold to an entity calling itself AC Ocean Walk and would open as the Ocean Resort and Casino. Straub would sell the property for 200 million dollars, and to this day, is likely the only entity to ever make money on it.

The hotel consists of 1,399 guest rooms and suites while the gaming floor measures a sizable 130,000 square feet. The property now attempts to appeal to all sorts of gamblers whereas the Revel erroneously chose only to cater to high-rollers, a market largely cornered (as it continues to be) by Borgata.

The property is home to a Top Golf Swing Suite, a fitness center and five different pools, despite being right next to the ocean.

Ocean Resort Casino is one of the most egregious examples of the application of resort fees and is one of the properties people are most complaining about with fine print garbage like this:

Note that the room rate does not include the $23 resort fee and the applicable charges of $5 per night, plus taxes

The resort fee is applied at check-in, as well as whatever the hell the $5 per night is for and this is not reflected in the base rate of the room even after one has booked and paid. In our opinion, this is one of the worst things we have ever seen. The resort fee is so hidden, in fact, that this writer almost typed, “There doesn’t appear to be a resort fee, which is surprising…”

What a load of crap. We’re not going to list their other amenities until they change the way they display their resort fees because they don’t deserve it for that little stunt. Quite frankly, this writer is tempted to not even list them here for that. In any case, I’m going to do what little I can to combat this terrible practice and list the casino in as little detail as reasonable.

1,937 machines.
William Hill Sportsbook.
Wide variety of table games.
Poker room.
Four upscale dining options. Seven casual eateries. Seven grab and go type places.
Four bars.
Include the resort fee in the final price and itemize it accordingly. Nobody should stay at or visit this casino until this is changed.

Resorts

Resorts is a personal favorite of mine because it’s just so run-down, but it hums along and remains one of the preferred casinos of locals. Resorts is also notable for being the first legal casino in the country outside of Nevada. There are 100,000 square feet of gaming space and a hotel consisting of 942 guest rooms and suites. The place is supposed to have a Roaring Twenties theme, but that’s largely because the property looks like the Roaring Twenties was the last time it had a major renovation.

The property is owned by DGMB Casinos and is operated by the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which owns and operates Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods in Connecticut.

The hotel is home to a salon, business center and pool. The hotel also provides its guest with wireless internet. One part of the site says the internet is free, but it isn’t, it’s part of the resort fee that totals over $17 after taxes. Of course the most run down property in Atlantic City, now comparable to any number of locals casinos (or worse) elsewhere would have a resort fee. Because, why the hell not? It’s laughable.

The property is home to more than 1,500 combined slots, video keno and video poker machines. Table games include Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Let it Ride, Mini Baccarat, Three-Card Poker, Spanish 21, Texas Hold Em Bonus, Pai Gow Tiles, Pai Gow Poker and Four Card Poker. I know from experience that only craps and blackjack were going one late night, don’t remember the day, but we do recommend calling ahead for the usual operating hours of games other than those.

Draftkings Sportsbook at Resorts is open with 24/7 kiosk betting also available. The sportsbook is home to a bar and also serves up some casual bites.

Entertainment venues include Bar One, Superstar Theatre and Margaritaville, event dates and types of events vary.

Fine dining includes Capriccio Italian Restaurant, Eastwind (Asian), Mukashi Sushi Bar, Cielo Wine Bar and Gallagher’s Steakhouse. Casual dining includes Breadsticks (Italian), Landshark Bar and Grill, Margaritaville, Bubbakoo’s Burritos, Burger Bar and Margaritaville Coffee Shop. Quick Bites are available at the appropriately named Quick Bites Food Court, and include Dunkin’ Donuts, Famiglia Pizza, Haagen Daas, Ruby’s Dinette and Soup Man.

There are a total of seven bars on the property.

Resorts is a property that caters mostly to locals as well as low-rolling visitors. Fortunately for low-rollers, it is located just steps away from the ocean, as it was THE original Atlantic City casino, so the location is fantastic. This writer lost a part of his soul when reading that they charge a resort fee because, as soon as you step in and take one look at the casino floor, you’ll know that the resort fee is completely unjustified. It’s also disappointing because the casino has reinvented itself to cater to value customers, so you know, do that.

Tropicana Atlantic City

Tropicana Atlantic City was under the ownership of Icahn Enterprises until it was mercifully sold (first time you’ll ever read that) to Gaming and Leisure Properties who then leased the casino operations to El Dorado Resorts. That’s an interesting turn of events as Gaming and Leisure Properties leases out to Penn National Gaming in most cases.

Opened in 1981, this property consisting of 2,364 guest rooms and suites as well as a 125,935 square foot gaming floor is located on the far end of the Boardwalk with Ocean Resort and Casino completing the other end. If you’ve ever heard anyone say that casinos are designed to make it difficult to find your way in and out, the Tropicana is an excellent example. I like to think that I know my way around a casino by now, but even I get lost in there pretty easily.

The $17 dollar resort fee and $5 daily occupancy fee are more prominent on the website than with Ocean Resort, but are also not included in the price at the time of booking, so we are going to give them the Ocean treatment from here on out until this is changed.

They have 33 total eateries from quick bites, to casual to upscale.
Over 2,400 gaming machines.
Eleven different types of table games, including an Asian games room.
William Hill Sportsbook and poker room consisting of 18 tables.
Nearly ten bars.
Itemize your resort fees in the price shown at booking and we will happily go into more detail.
We recommend not staying at or visiting this property until any resort and occupancy fees are included in the price shown at booking.

New Jersey Sports Betting

In 2012, legislation was signed that allowed for legal sports betting in New Jersey. Soon afterward, a federal lawsuit was filed against the state by the NCAA, NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB is order to prevent the practice. A judge found in favor of the plaintiffs and barred New Jersey from offering sports gambling, although the case is still being appealed. As of this writing, however, you can’t legally wager on sports within the state.

Horse Racing

New Jersey authorizes horse tracks to conduct live racing as well as simulcast wagering. Fortunately, greyhound racing is illegal in the state. New Jersey is presently home to three horse racing tracks, which we will discuss in brief:

Freehold Raceway

Freehold Raceway is a half-mile racetrack located in a city of the same name. The track has actually been in operation since the early 1800’s, which is impressive by itself. Live racing is conducted on weekends around the calendar, except for in the dead of Summer. Simulcast wagering is available year-round.

Monmouth Park

Monmouth Park is a race track located in Oceanport, New Jersey. The facility conducts thoroughbred racing on its 1 and one-eighth mile race track and has been in operation since 1870. Live racing takes place from May through Labor Day weekend. Simulcast wagering is available year-round and the property is also home to a William Hill sportsbook. There are a number of dining options which can be found here.

Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment

Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment is a live horse racing complex located in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Having opened in 1976, the facility features both thoroughbred and harness racing. Live racing is conducted on weekends around the calendar with simulcast wagering available every day. For whatever reason, their dining link just redirects to the live racing calendar, so we’ll just say they have food and leave it at that.

State Lottery in New Jersey

State Lottery in New Jersey The New Jersey lottery was formed in 1969, and it’s still available to anyone within the state. Both lotto-style drawings and scratch-off tickets are sold, and players must be at least 18 years of age in order to make a purchase. In addition to local games, the state is also able to offer multi-jurisdictional games such as Mega Millions and Powerball.

The lottery business does very well in the state, despite the other forms of gambling available to residents. For the Fiscal Year 2018:

Lottery sales totaled roughly $3,300,000,000 of which $1,991,000,000 was paid out to winners. That represents an overall return to player of 60.33%. Based on a population of 8.909 million residents, the average resident spent $370.41 on lottery tickets and lost $223.48. Again, these numbers are not precise because the lottery report is rounded to the nearest million.

Despite the increased online gambling and sports betting, lottery sales actually increased year over year by over a hundred million dollars.

Conclusion And Prognosis

There is nothing more that anyone visiting or who lives in New Jersey could possibly want! The old adage goes, “What do you give to the man who already has everything?”

The only way New Jersey could be more gambling-friendly is to have casinos outside of Atlantic City. With exception to that, if it’s gambling, you’ve already got it. Maybe some limited video lottery machine parlors would be good, too.