Roll the Dice
When people think of Cape May County, New Jersey they focus on the fabulous beaches, fishing and boating opportunities, world class boardwalks, great restaurants, the laid back atmosphere and low crime rate. Let’s face it, these are the attractions that swell the yearround population of 100,000 up to 750,000 in the summertime.
But Cape May County offers the accessibility to much more. Millville, just 20 minutes up country roads, unveils its new 700-acre Thunderbolt Raceway this August. A 2.3 mile road course, plus a 1.7 mile road course, will assure that sports car and grand prix car racing will be a regular weekend venue.
Just 30 miles to the north of Cape May County is Atlantic City, which as their slogan says, is “Always Turned On”. As you may know, gambling came to Atlantic City in 1978. There are now 11 casinos, with many touting expansions and new ones are on the drawing board.
How big is the casino business? There are a total of 35,603 slot machines, and they paid out 3.46 billion dollars last year. Note, that’s billion, not million. There are 1,612 table games, which forked out $1.45 billion in 2007. The casinos currently employ 40,788 folks. That’s a lot of impact.
The 11 casinos, with the year they were opened are: Resorts (1978), Caesars (’79), Bally’s (’79), Harrah’s (’80), Hilton (’80), Tropicana (’81), Trump Plaza (’84), Trump Marina (’85), Showboat (’87), Trump Taj Mahal (’90), and the Borgata (2003). A new downtown oceanfront casino, plus a 140-acre mega-casino at the edge of town, appear to be the next to add to the city’s appeal.
The future of AC looks bright, so expansions are in the works. The Borgata, which is AC’s first Las Vegas style mega-resort, completed an expansion in 2006, and a new hotel tower nears completion. Harrah’s new digs open next month. Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal will be opening its new addition this fall. Resorts pushed skyward in 2004, the Tropicana expanded in 2004, Showboat added in 2005, and Trump Plaza remodeled in 2004.
The casinos have realized that to expand their patron base, non-gaming activities had to be implemented. Restaurants, spas, and retail stores were the answer. The Borgata has many restaurants, with three featuring celebrity chefs Bobby Flay, Wolfgang Puck, and Michael Mina. Harrah’s has 172,000 square feet added for restaurants, retail, and entertainment. The Showboat added the 2,380-seat House of Blues music club. The Tropicana opened The Quarter, a sprawling ground floor retail, restaurant, and entertainment mall. Several upscale non-casino shopping malls, catering to Boardwalk and casino foot traffic, have brought hundreds more name outlets into the fold.
Nightlife is what Atlantic City is all about. All the casinos have showrooms, bringing the biggest names in comedy and music to the public every night of the year. There are also Broadway musicals, holiday spectaculars, and specialty events, like the popular Mummer’s bands. Bally’s, Borgata, Tropicana, and now the Showboat regularly host boxing cards, highlighting some of the biggest names in the sport. Caesars hosts boxing at the AC Boardwalk Hall, also a venue for everything from Andre Rieu to college basketball to midget car racing and monster trucks. AC has minor league baseball with its Atlantic City Surf.
As you can see, Cape May County life offers a lot more than the county itself. If you can’t find something to do here within a half hour’s drive, you’re not trying.
- Mountain Man
To learn more about Cape May County, visit our website at http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com