[pokerrookie]

A group of us are driving to Atlantic City for the A10 championship at Boardwalk Hall from Mar. 7 - Mar 10. We will be there mainly for the basketball games and poker, so shopping, restaurants, other table games are a non-issue. I want the trip to be planned from the viewpoint of the poker/sports fan. And I want it to be as cheap as possible so we can lose more money playing poker. We will probably need room for Wed through Friday. I have a couple of questions.

1. Which casino hotel is closest to Boardwalk Hall, and does it matter? Are there several within the same distance? Which are they?

2. Should we stay in a casino hotel, or some other? I have heard AC is not so safe, and thought we should probably stay in a casino hotel for this reason. am I being paranoid? Can anyone recomend safe cheaper accomodations?

3. Is it easy to get around in AC? As easy as Vegas?

4. Poker rates: I called the Trop today, and they really confused me about poker rates. The lady in the pokerroom basically told me we had to play a certain amount in advance of the trip and even then there would be no guarantee that a rate would be available. It didnt make sense to me, but then again, I am a rookie at this. Who should I contact for a poker rate at which casino, and what should I epxect it to require? BTW, most of the group will be playing low-limt (3/6 to 5/10) in case it matter for where we want to get our poker rate. And we do plan on playing at several different casinos once the required hours are taken care of.

Whoever helps the most can expect a free dinner that week. Thanks!