In episode 89 of the podcast we definitively declared the best things in Atlantic City in 2018 across 20 categories. Except when we disagreed and picked different places, so maybe it’s not that definitive at all.
Here’s the list of categories, what we picked, and why:
Casinos
BEST TABLE GAMES — Borgata
“The huge differentiator for me for Borgata over the other properties is how good the crews are. … That is just head and shoulders better than any of the other casinos, in my experience.” –Kyle
BEST SLOTS — Borgata
“In terms of just the turnover and always having new, fun machines … Borgata still has the best slots.” –Craig
BEST VIDEO POKER — Borgata
“They have the most 9/6 quarter video poker. … The B Bar is by far the best place to go and play video poker if you want to do so at a video poker bar.” –Kyle
BEST ASIAN GAMING ROOM — Hard Rock
“Hard Rock’s Asian room is absurdly gorgeous. … What a great room. It’s honestly where I think about when I think ‘I want to be playing table games.'” –Craig
BEST PLAYER’S CLUB
• Caesars/Bally’s/Harrah’s Total Rewards (Kyle’s Pick)
“If you’re … a newer player and you want to occasionally go to Vegas, which many people would, [Total Rewards] is probably the player’s club to join.”
• Hard Rock Wild Card Rewards (Craig’s Pick)
“That status match was in 2018, it was huge. … The comp dollars that you rack up there — for me at least, and for what I play — seems to be significantly faster than Total Rewards, M life, or any of the other properties.”
BEST CASINO SERVICE
• Borgata (Craig’s Pick)
“It’s never bad.”
• Caesars (Kyle’s Pick)
“The drink service is consistently outstanding there no matter where you are, and I think the ability to order those drinks at slot machines really gives them a leg up.”
BEST HOTEL ROOMS — Ocean
“‘Spectacular’ is really the only word. The floor-to-ceiling windows, the views, just how nice and new and modern they are … for me it’s just incredibly clear it has to be Ocean.” –Kyle
BEST ON-SITE DINING
• Borgata (Craig’s Pick)
“The one thing that Borgata really brings is a bunch of different celebrity chefs … Michael Symon, Wolfgang Puck, Bobby Flay … well-known, very good chefs.”
• Tropicana (Kyle’s Pick)
“The number of restaurants they have is insane, and they’re all right in that price point that I really appreciate, and they’re all in the style that I really appreciate.”
BEST ON-SITE BARS
• Borgata (Kyle’s Pick)
“Long Bar … it was good. They have the Beer Garden outside. But, to me, the thing that just pushes them over the top is B Bar.”
• Tropicana (Craig’s Pick)
“Tropicana is very very good, just in terms of the number of bar spaces they have. … There’s so much drinking space there.”
BEST VALUE FOR LOW ROLLERS
• Bally’s (Craig’s Pick)
“$5 tables all the time. That’s nuts. There’s nowhere else in Atlantic City doing that.”
• Resorts (Kyle’s Pick)
“Value for low rollers is more than just a strict value equation … it also has to be enjoyability of the property, and, for me, Resorts is so much higher than Bally’s. The limits are similar … the rules are a bit better … they give out a sufficient amount of free rooms … there’s a lot of decent cheap food there.”
MOST IMPROVED CASINO PROPERTY
• None (Kyle’s Pick)
“I don’t think any casino has gone above and beyond to the level that makes me feel like this is something that any casino should get.”
• Tropicana (Craig’s Pick)
“Tropicana’s just constantly tweaking stuff and fixing it and making the rooms better. … Maybe it’s a lifetime achievement award for them, but it’s really reflected in the revenue.”
BEST CASINO PROPERTY (OVERALL)
• Hard Rock (Craig’s Pick)
“As a whole package, it’s an excellent package. … I love the vibe of everything in the casino: The Asian room is so good, the Center Bar I love so much … all the upstairs stuff that they added … Hard Rock did a lot to make that space worth wandering around.”
• Borgata (Kyle’s Pick)
“If I’m anywhere on the floor, just anywhere at all — playing a random slot machine, playing a random table game — and I’m at Borgata, I know I’m having a good time.”
• • • • •
Food & Drink
BEST RESTAURANT (THAT WE’VE BEEN TO)
• Dock’s Oyster House (Kyle’s Pick)
“The food was great, the service was impeccable — just from the valet, to getting in the door, to the waiter, and everything that goes along with it. … That was the best restaurant experience I’ve had in Atlantic City, and honestly one of the best I’ve had anywhere.”
• Izakaya (Craig’s Pick)
“The three AC meals I think about the most often are probably the dinner at Nero’s … Izakaya at Borgata, and … that lunch that we had at KWI [Noodle House]. … So I’m going to stick with Izakaya just because I think it is so so good and I really want to go back.”
BEST RESTAURANT FOR CHEAP EATS
• Tony’s Baltimore Grill (Craig’s Pick)
“It’s really good and it’s really classic, just the neon pink inside.”
• Happy Hour at Bar Olón (Kyle’s Pick)
“It’s not cheap style food, but the prices at happy hour are incredibly low and I think the food is just incredibly delicious, and I just really have loved it every single time I’ve gone.”
BEST BAR
• Pic-a-Lilli Pub (Kyle’s Pick)
“When I think of a bar, what I want is really cheap and cold Miller Lite, and I want to get some wings, and for me no one does those two things better than Pic-a-Lilli. … It’s just everything I’m looking for when I’m in Atlantic City.”
• The Irish Pub (Craig’s Pick)
“I’ve loved every minute I’ve been at The Irish Pub. … I just love everything about all the kitsch and ridiculousness.”
BEST BREAKFAST — Gilchrist
“Such good pancakes.” –Craig
“Mmm, the pancakes.” –Kyle
• • • • •
Miscellaneous
BEST NON-GAMING ATTRACTION — The Boardwalk
“Going up and down the Boardwalk on a nice cool summer night, just being out there — that’s just what Atlantic City is.” –Kyle
BEST NEW THING IN 2018 — Hard Rock and Ocean dual openings
“It really breathes life into — for me personally — my excitement about Atlantic City and going and being excited to try a bunch of new stuff. … Those [casino openings] are inseparable. … They opened on the same freaking day!” –Craig
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF 2018
• Lower-than-expected gambling revenue at Hard Rock and Ocean (Kyle’s Pick)
“We came in with high expectations for both of them and they’ve both far far far from met those expectations, and it just looks like Atlantic City cannot support the number of casinos it has now.”
• Lack of investment in updating Caesars and Bally’s (Craig’s Pick)
“What I was most disappointed about in Atlantic City was just this fatigue that I felt toward Bally’s and Caesars. … Caesars [Entertainment] puts money into Harrah’s, and they’ve clearly just let those two properties [fall] by the wayside.”
MOST EXCITING THING FOR 2019 — Development of Tennessee Avenue/”The Orange Loop”
“They’ve got the Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall now, Hayday Coffee is already open, [MADE Chocolate Bar], there’s the Bourré bar/restaurant. … It’s starting to happen. … The location is great, especially now that Hard Rock and Ocean are open, and it’s right by Resorts, and it would be great to have another block of the Boardwalk where there’s a bunch of attractions there.” –Craig
So that’s our Best Of 2018! Let us know yours (or what you think might win in 2019) by commenting below, reaching out to us on Twitter, or posting in the Facebook group.