We are now in April and the boardwalk will start getting busier, especially during the week when the senior citizens start to shed their warm clothes and head for the shore. It seems the marketing departments of many of the boardwalk casinos have rediscovered the weekday slot crowd thanks to the new slot parlors in Pennsylvania taking a lot of slot play away from AC.

Strange, isn’t it? AC is starting to build new towers for thousands of more rooms and their economy is way off. Will AC overbuild itself? Our opinion is that the crowds will return if the casinos start offering more table games and looser slots.

Don’ hold your breath.

Now Showboat has their $100,000 guaranteed event on April 25^th and 26^th. The entry fee is $520. For every person over 200 people in this event, the prize pool rises by $500. Harrah’s had 280 people in a similar event in January. So this prize pool could really rise.

There are $1000 weekly BJ Tournaments at Trump Plaza on Wednesdays and $5000 weekly BJ Tournaments at Tropicana on Thursdays are still being run as well. There is no entry fee for these two, but you must play for one half hour at a $25 table before entering.
 
Standard AC Blackjack Rules: In order to shorten my comments and to make casino variations more apparent I will assume the following as standard AC BJ rules. I will only comment where casinos deviate from these rules and penetration.

• Main Floor: 8 decks, 75% penetration, stand on soft 17, may split 3 times for up to 4 hands, double down on any two cards after split except aces, aces may only be split once and receive only one card, no surrender. Mid shoe entry allowed on $5 - $25 tables but not allowed on $50 and up tables.
• Single deck BJ pays 6 to 5 and hits soft 17.
• High Limit Room: Same thing except 6 decks.

 
Revel Entertainment Group Casino: Still working on the foundation. Scheduled opening moved up to September 2010.

 
The Borgata: 6 decks. All dealers were still cutting off between 1 1/2 and 2 decks. I didn’t see anything really above or below this. So penetration ranges between 67% to 75%. Still not great. Crowded as always. It was hard to find a table with two seats for me and a friend. No single deck 6/5 games.
 
Trump Taj: Pretty standard penetration and playing conditions. No mid-shoe entry on $25 eight deckers.
 
Resorts: Pretty standard playing conditions, with the exception of the two $25 6 decks games still offered on the main floor.
 
Claridge: Only a few blackjack tables left. I had never looked in the high limit room before, so I took a peek. They don’t use it AT ALL. The tables were covered with dust. Hadn’t been used or vacuumed in months. The few open tables were 8 decks with 75% penetration and hit soft 17. No single deck 6/5 games. Ha, Ha, almost no games at all.
 
Ballys: Half the tables on the main floor hit soft 17 and half stand on soft 17. Players seem clueless to the differing rules. They were all pretty busy. I noticed a few dealers cutting off a little less then 2 decks. So I’ll call it 75% to 80% penetration, but only a couple dealers were at 80%. All else standard.
 
Wild Wild West: Standard AC BJ except hitting soft 17. No single deck 6/5 games.
 
Caesars: Penetration was a little better than average on a few tables. I’ll call it 75% to 80% but once again it’s tough to find the 80 percents. The high limit room’s tables have signs showing the min bet is $100 and the max back is a whopping $25,000. That’s a spread of 1 to 250. Like to see anyone try that and not draw a ton of heat!!
 
Trump Plaza: Several $25 six-deck games outside the high roller room still with no mid-shoe entry. The $10 and $15 tables were eight decks. Penetration was all over the place. Especially on the six-deck games. Some dealers cut off 1 ½ decks while others cut off over 2 decks. The eight-deck shoes varied a lot too. I wonder if dealers changing from dealing 6 to 8 decks causes this large variation. I’ll call the penetration 65% to 80%.
 
Tropicana: Penetration seems to have settled back down to normal. It really stank a few months ago. I’ll call it standard AC conditions here now. No mid-shoe entry on most $25 eight-deckers. No single deck 6/5 games.
 
Hilton: Still the best game in town. Dealers cutting off 1 ¼ to 2 decks. Most are cutting off less than 2 decks though. Penetration 75% to 85%. Best place in town to sit and play. No mid-shoe entry on most $25 eight-deckers. No single deck 6/5 games.
 
Hope this helps,
Jon

You can’t win from losing. Blackjack in Atlantic City has been reduced in terms of the number of tables. I think there are more carnival games now than real blackjack games. Some casinos have the hitting of soft 17 rule on their awful eight-deck games too. And how about all the ploppies playing those 6 to 5 single deck blackjack games?

Most AC blackjack players are idiots to put it mildly.

There are some very good casinos in AC despite the fact that the town is going downhill economically. I liked Hilton, Borgata, Trump Plaza, and Showboat but didn’t particularly like Taj or Harrah’s. But beware of Trump Plaza because a lot of the riff-raff hang out there. Claridge really sucks now. I am beginning to believe the rumors that this place is closing as a casino and just staying open as a hotel or maybe all slot casino.

From AC,

Big Ben

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Here are our ratings for April 2008. We thank many of our readers for helping us to stay as updated as possible. There may be some disagreements in ratings among our correspondents but all these reports are based on individuals’ experience. A word to the wide: it’s always best to check out the casinos for yourselves.

Rating system:

***** = Excellent

**** = Very Good

*** = Good

** = Fair

* = Poor.

BALLY’S PARK PLACE: More hitting on soft 17. This used to be a premium property but it now seems to be a Harrah’s after thought. No mid-shoe entry in high roller room and on a few of the main $50 tables in casino. Mixed reviews about how deep the penetration is but we found it in the 75 percent area. All 8-deck games except for the high roller room action. For craps players, this is a good casino for the game. All tables are now 5X odds, with a range of minimums. Crews are friendly. Tables are somewhat high so short shooters get your platform shoes. Some correspondents disagree with this statement but we are guessing they are all over 6-feet tall! There are many more carnival games than ever before. Looks like Three-Card Poker rivals blackjack! Hotel has declined a lot. One star: *

BORGATA: No change from last issue. Has fallen to second place behind Hilton. There is always a $5 table available. Penetration is now somewhat spotty too. Casino is all six-deck games, which is great – for AC, that is. Penetration varies between 70 and 75 percent which is worse than ever before. Craps has long tables, 14-footers, and very bouncy, and not worth playing unless you like to see dice flying off the tables or gaze upon beautiful cocktail servers. Go elsewhere for craps, except for Taj which has mimicked Borgata’s craps tables. This is a happening place and caters to a swinging young crowd. Good casino for Golden Touch Blackjack. Three and one-half stars: * * * ½ *

CAESARS: No change from last issue. Directly across from Caesars is The Pier, which is a pleasure to walk through – a must see attraction in AC with some of the finest restaurants and views. Caesars itself also has excellent restaurants but you have long walks to find them. Cheerful place and worthy of the name it bears. Hotel/casino rating is A. They are going deeper at blackjack too. You can expect about 80 percent penetration with most of the dealers. The main floor of eight-deckers has some of the upper-limit tables ($25 and $50) with no mid-shoe entry. All the games in the high roller pit are also no mid-shoe entry with $100 and higher minimums. Table game action has improved and that is very noticeable in the blackjack pits – which are all 8-deck games. Six-deck games in high roller room have 80 percent penetration, as do the eight-deckers on the main casino floor. Good casino for Golden Touch Blackjack. The craps games here are good with 12-foot tables and friendly crews. The tables are a little high so smaller controlled shooters should wear their "special shoes." Three stars: * * *

CLARIDGE: The place still stinks although there is some chatter that the craps games have gotten better but we have been reluctant to play here in the past year – sour taste in our mouths from a foaming maniacal pit boss. This is now a "new dealer" break-in casino so games tend to be slow. Almost now blackjack games and the high roller room has become an antique store. Hitting on soft 17 is standard. One star: *

HARRAH’S: No change from last issue. One of my correspondents, Scan, thinks this is the most underrated casino in AC. In the casino you will find very friendly dealers and pit personnel. Penetration now ranges somewhat below the 75 percent area. Resplitting allowed except aces. No midshoe entry in the high roller room of 6-deck action, with the rest of the casino being 8-decks. Play here and at Showboat and your play counts all across the nation. For those of you who like to go to Vegas you can get some good Vegas comps from your AC action! A room that would be discounted for $80 in AC would be free in Vegas based on the same play – this is not official but based on our calculations of the offers we’ve received. But we must warn you; this is a big slot place. Sadly, Harrah’s properties in Las Vegas and in Tunica are getting awfully bad reports about how some of the boxmen treat customers who practice a careful shot at craps and there is overwhelming paranoia at the blackjack games as well. So beware when outside AC. Harrah’s prefers their slot customers and all their casinos tend month after month to be adding more machines. Two and one-half stars: * * ½*

HILTON: No change from last issue. Is the Hilton going out of business? That’s a new rumor. Who knows? Many good reports on the games here. This is still number one in all of AC. Resplitting allowed except aces. High roller room is 6-decks; rest of the casino is 8-decks with a few $25/$50 6-deckers on occasion. No mid-shoe entry on the six-deckers. High table minimums, especially on weekends, a lot of $25 tables, rare $10 tables. Penetration about 70 to 75 percent. Good casino for Golden Touch Blackjack. For craps, we are dealing with 14-foot tables and a couple of 12 footers. Three stars and one-half stars: * * * ½*

RESORTS: No change from last issue. Up and down. This casino went up in our estimation when the new company took over and now it is heading downhill. If Resorts wants to start to compete with the big boys of AC, it has to loosen up its pockets to draw good numbers of them in. Resplitting is allowed at all tables but penetration barely makes it to 75 percent now. Casino also offers multiple-action blackjack and Spanish 21 at $10 minimums. Avoid the single-deckers that pay 6 to 5 for blackjacks. Excellent place for craps; mostly small tables, with some games 5X odds. The new hotel addition is clean and serviceable, but not luxurious. Two and one-half stars: * * ½*

SHOWBOAT: I used to like this casino but Harrah’s has changed it into a slot joint. Where are the table games? Had been one of the best and now is the worst blackjack casino in AC. Great rooms; good restaurants. That about sums it all up. One-half star: ½*

TROPICANA: This is the Titanic that almost sank. Two and one-half stars: * * ½ *

TRUMP MARINA: No change from last issue. Another casino that is economically bleeding to death, yet we like this property a lot. This place is giving good comps from some reports and the game is okay. Six-deck games in high roller room and 8-deck games on the main floor have penetration of 75 to 80 percent mark, but you won’t find any dealers going much deeper. Games are mostly $15/$25 and up, especially on weekends. No mid-shoe entry on the 6-deckers but you can jump in and out on the eight-deckers. Craps tables are 12-footers with 2X odds. Two and one-half stars: * * ½ *

TRUMP PLAZA: Craps first – talk about paranoid! I don’t think the management really understands the game of craps based on our experience in the past two months. Next: why doesn’t Donald Trump put some money into this place? It seems every lowlife street creep now parades with his baggy under-the-ass pants through this place acting tough. Who needs that when you have a lot of cash on you? Just about all 6-deck games with somewhat low penetration of penetration of 70-75 percent, depending on the dealer. No midshoe entry on games outside high-roller pit but you can find $25 (a few) to $50 minimums on these. Allows resplits, except aces. All tables are $10 and higher. Craps tables are 12-footers. Very friendly crews but a dark casino with a real smattering of low-lifes. Good casino for Golden Touch Blackjack. Three stars: * * *

TRUMP TAJ MAHAL: No change from last issue. Say it ain’t so, Donald! The best national casino-hotel at one time is no longer even in the top 10. Ouch! We were there recently and the 6-deck games outside the high roller room are gone. Lucky Ladies bet now available, no thanks. Good game with 75-80 percent penetration, dealer dependent, throughout the casino. In the high roller room all the 6-deck games have $100 minimums. Now the worst casino to play craps in all of Atlantic City with incredibly bouncy and very high tables – anyone under six feet strengthen your toes because tippy-toe is the only way to play these tables. The crews spend half their time scooting around looking for the dice that have jettisoned off the tables. Good casino for Golden Touch Blackjack. Three stars: * * *

WILD, WILD WEST: No change from last issue. Smoke gets in your eyes. Lacking the spark it used to have. All 8-deck games with most offering H17 games – insane. This is a part of Bally’s Park Place and Harrah’s is looking to sell this complex like a pan of gold. Penetration is about 75 percent on all games. For craps this is a fun place to play with one 5X odds table and one 2X odds table. I remember when this place had many more tables. Crews are very friendly. One star: *