High On Poker

First off, I am glad that people appreciated the last post about the spread of legalized poker in the North East and its likely effect on AC. Riggstad wrote up his own opinion, as did HeffMike. All of us seem to agree that at the very least, AC will have to become a destination town, rather than a gambling town. In other words, the city needs to find ways to attract travelers beyond the mere fact that there is legalized gambling.

With that in mind, I argued for lower hotel room rates. Oddly, Heff and Rigg did not seem to think that was the right move. I simply wish to reiterate the point that the low prices are necessary to entice travelers to come to AC. Why fly to AC for a $450/night weekend room when you can fly to Vegas for a $99/night room? Lower room rates will attract travelers to AC as a destination.

Well, I guess AC has been reading my blog, because I recently received a free room in the mail from Tropicana AC.

In the annals of AC casinos, Tropicana is actually one of my favorites. Showboat was (and I guess still is) the unofficial official AC Casino/Hotel of HighOnPoker, but Tropicana was my first true AC love.

As a kid, my family went to AC at least once a year. We usually stayed at the Tropicana. I knew the hotel like the back of my hand. Me and my brothers would spend hours playing elevator tag or running to the arcades (which have since been replaced by more slots) where we would play Street Fighter until we ran out of change. They even had a basement amusement park for kids called Tivoli Piers. To this day, I can vividly remember the layout, including the bumper cars and a cool shooting game. Hell, my brothers and I could sing the the songs that played in the background of some of the rides.

Of course, all that family friendly bullshit is gone. The Trop eventually went wall-to-wall slots wherever they could. They still have a lot of table games, including a huge table-game-only area. The Asian pit is decent. The rooms are average to above-average. The food options are probably tops for any Boardwalk property. Hell, they even have an IMAX movie theater in the hotel.

They were also under some financial strains recently.  Less than 2 yrs ago, they filed for bankruptcy, only to emerge in December free of debt. The Tropicana in AC was bought out of bankruptcy by Carl Icahn. So perhaps I have Mr. Icahn to thank for the casino’s newfound generosity.

Last week, I received a mailing from Tropicana. It mentioned Two Free Nights, EVERY WEEK, through April 8. The mailing also included $25 free slot play and other offers, including free comp dollars to the Trop’s various restaurants, free tickets to a new (lame-looking) show, and other giveaways. What it did not say was what the limitations would be.

I looked at the mailing and had to consider that it was possibly a scam. At the very least, it would actually be limited in certain ways, like weekdays only. At the worst, it was a complete fake or was a timeshare scam. There was a dedicated phone number for the mailing, so I called it first.

No answer. Hmm. I tried again the next day. No answer.

I had my suspicions now, but it was the weekend, and perhaps this special offer was not staffed during irregular business hours. I tried again on Monday. This is what I was told.

The Tropicana has, in fact, offered me the following:

2 free night…

every week…

until April 8…

ANY DAY OF THE WEEK!

I have never received such a generous offer from AC. Naturally, I immediately booked the first weekend in March for wifey Kim and I. The plan is to visit AC for the day on Saturday and see Alice in Wonderland in 3D IMAX at the Trop. I am also eying weekends late in March to go with friends for a proper poker trip.

I’m guessing the next management and shitty economy are to blame for this fine offer. All I know is that it has already induced me to book a room and make purchases at Tropicana. I can only hope that the Trop benefits from this great offer and begins an AC trend.

Until next time, make mine poker!