Columnist Joe Delaney: Atlantic City nowhere near Las Vegas

Joe Delaney

Thursday, May 28, 1998 | 9:36 a.m.

ATLANTIC CITY celebrated 20 years of legalized casino gaming this past Tuesday. ... Resorts International, formerly the Chalfonte-Haddon Hall, was the first A.C. hotel with casino gaming, opening May 26, 1978 with LV's Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme as headliners, and the Treniers starring in the lounge. ... We were there on that fateful day and again when Resorts celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1988.

Steve & Eydie were headlining in Resorts' showroom this past weekend and the Treniers were starring in the lounge. ... My East Coast family, daughter Megan and husband Dennis, and my son Shay, caught Saturday's 10:30 p.m. performance, along with 1,496 others in the 1,500-seat showroom.

The real reason this was time to meet new granddaughter Caitlin Mae Aldridge, my first grandchild, born Nov. 9. ... She's healthy, happy and seemed pleased to meet us.

Coming events

Atlantic City has an impressive new convention center, a new Sheraton Hotel, a new Grand Central Parkway entrance and is in the process of changing the old convention hall into a new 8,000-seat events center. ... The city anxiously awaits the arrival of the MGM Grand and the return of Steve Wynn and his El Jardin plus associates in 2002.

In 1988, we wrote that Atlantic City was eight or nine hotel palaces surrounded by wastelands. ... There have been some cosmetic changes city-wide, but not nearly enough to revive Atlantic and Pacific Avenues. ... Atlantic City is still not safe in center city after dark, nor on the Boardwalk for walking after 11 p.m. or before 8 a.m.

Unemployment in the area, which was at 14.7 percent in 1978, is still 12.7 percent, more than double the national average and nearly triple the rate in Las Vegas. ... This after 20 years and 12 casinos.

Why so high

Hotel, casino, labor and local officials claim that a large segment of the residents are "unemployable," that those who do get jobs, in some cases, don't show up for work, lack even basic skills and haven't yet grasped the importance of personal hygiene. ... It is reported that the turnover rate for some positions at hotels is as high as 40 percent.

It would seem that some of the fault must lie with hotels and casinos as well. ... Those responsible for training unskilled labor must have the know-how and patience to deal with this. ... Unfortunately, the usual result is a hostile environment.

The Club Harlem and Kentucky Avenue were once a center for top black entertainment. ... There was to be a revival in this area which has yet to materialize and is still being talked about.

Slots no fun

Slots are even more important in Atlantic City than they are becoming in Las Vegas high-end resorts. ... Slots are no bargain, comparatively, in Atlantic City. ... There are Megabucks and Quartermania slots in New Jersey but the total payoffs are lower and the per-play payoffs are much lower than in those games in Nevada.

With Quartermania, one must play three quarters per slot pull rather than two, as in Las Vegas. ... Thus, one gets 13 plays for $10.50 as opposed to 20 for $10 in Nevada, a big negative factor.

Another figure, taken from the January 1998 issue of Casino Journal, is the slot machine win for both states in Sept. 1997. ... Nevada hotels showed an average win of just over 5 percent as compared to an almost 9 percent win in New Jersey, a big difference. ... We'll discuss entertainment, then and now, in A.C. and LV in Friday's column.

Thursday addenda

It's Penn & Teller (Bally's); Caesars is dark this weekend as are the Mirage and Monte Carlo; it's Mickey Finn (Gold Coast); Wayne Newton (MGM Grand); Neville Brothers (Orleans) and Danny Gans (Rio). ... Saturday Jazz: It's the Marv Koral All-Stars at 7-11 p.m. at the Park Avenue Steak House; food is good, too. ... Wherever I roam, it's always good to get back home. ... See you Friday.