Free dinner - plan my AC trip

[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!

[TomTom]

1) Any casino will be fine. ANY. AC sports frequent mini busses (Jitneys) that cost a buck fifty or two. They are used to dumb tourist questions and will zip you all over cheap. Taxies are also available, but the Jitney is the way to go when possible.

2) Considering I’ve been punched out by a woman there (not as interesting a story as it appears), the people there know to avoid the tourists, it’s the cities life blood. Just stay out of their areas chucko. The boardwalk at 3AM is safe.

3) Poker room rates are special rates for special rooms they give to previous players. Same deal goes for any gambler in any casino, once you visit them and pay full freight for a room the rate gets cut way down for non-premium days (most weekdays). If they don’t have a special rate room available you don’t get the rate.

Get lots of player cards when there. Whoever pays for the room will get the special rate NEXT TIME they go.

[pokerrookie]

[ QUOTE ]
1) Any casino will be fine. ANY. AC sports frequent mini busses (Jitneys) that cost a buck fifty or two. They are used to dumb tourist questions and will zip you all over cheap. Taxies are also available, but the Jitney is the way to go when possible.

2) Considering I’ve been punched out by a woman there (not as interesting a story as it appears), the people there know to avoid the tourists, it’s the cities life blood. Just stay out of their areas chucko. The boardwalk at 3AM is safe.

3) Poker room rates are special rates for special rooms they give to previous players. Same deal goes for any gambler in any casino, once you visit them and pay full freight for a room the rate gets cut way down for non-premium days (most weekdays). If they don’t have a special rate room available you don’t get the rate.

Get lots of player cards when there. Whoever pays for the room will get the special rate NEXT TIME they go.

[/ QUOTE ]

Since it is safe, do you think there is any reason to spend the extra money to stay in a casino hotel, or should we just look for some cheaper alternative?

[poker327]

1. If you want walking distance access to Boardwalk Hall, you need to be in a hotel close to the boardwalk, not a hotel in the Marina District (Borgata, Harrah's Trump Marina). I don't have any specific recommendations for hotels. Trump Plaza is the closest hotel to Boardwalk Hall. Claridge, Caesar's, Bally's, and Tropicana are close.

3. The only good transportation options are jitneys and cabs. Harrah's now offers a free shuttle between their AC casinos (Showboat, Harrah's, Bally's, Clardige, Caesar's) if you have a player's card. The jitney is $2 and a taxi ride is $11 max anywhere in Atlantic City.

4. You need prior play usually to get a poker rate.

[punkass]

Since you're going to AC during the week, the rack rates at the casino hotels shouldn't be too bad.

You shouldn't really have to worry about cabs and jitneys, unless you want to go really far. Walking the boardwalk is fine, even at night. It is quite a walk from Taj to Trop, so maybe you want to hop in a cab for that, but you want to stay near the middle of the boardwalk. Definitely need a cab/jitney if you want to hit up the Borg.

78suited.com is a good website to look at for hotels, restaurants, travel, etc.

[thepokeratlas]

Hey Rook,

If you want to get a good idea of where all of the poker rooms are located in AC take a look at this map on The Poker Atlas. It may help you decide where you want to stay.

http://www.thepokeratlas.com/state/new-jersey/

[Eponymous]

IMO, the Trop poker rate is the best combination of room value, attainability, and quality of poker in AC. (The Borg is my favorite casino/poker room, but there's no chance of getting the poker rate if you're not a balla.) If there are rooms available at the Trop at the poker rate, you can get them during weekdays without prior experience. You need prior playing experience to qualify for the poker rate for the weekends. You'll need to play 4 hours a day while you are there to earn/maintain the poker rate. Even if you qualify, there are only a certain number of rooms available at the poker rate, so if you don't reserve it early enough, they might be booked. Shouldn't be a problem if you book now.

If possible, go to AC for a weekend in advance of your trip, play at least 4 hours each day at the Trop (make sure to get a poker card). It doesn't matter where you stay that weekend. That will establish your prior play and should qualify you for the whole week of your trip. The rates will probably be in the $59 to $69 range for the weekdays and $89 to $129 range for the weekends.

[boscoboy]

stay in a casino hotel - check here for locations

ac map

the cheaper hotels outside AC are dumps and not worth the hassle - you didnt say how many were in your group but if you split up then walking distance is a must. caesars and ballys should be less than $100 a night. play where you stay to start - you may be able to get the poker rate adjusted at check out, you have to ask

[TomTom]

[ QUOTE ]
Since it is safe, do you think there is any reason to spend the extra money to stay in a casino hotel, or should we just look for some cheaper alternative?

[/ QUOTE ]

Cheaper means travel, the cheaper (and yes dumpier) places are just out of town. Probably safe (in spite of the dead hookers stacked out back) but I didn't mention them as I got the feeling you wouldn't have a car.

I've never stayed there, but a bed while I'm sleeping is a bed. I'd have no trouble making the 10 min commute everyday.

[pokerrookie]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Since it is safe, do you think there is any reason to spend the extra money to stay in a casino hotel, or should we just look for some cheaper alternative?

[/ QUOTE ]

Cheaper means travel, the cheaper (and yes dumpier) places are just out of town. Probably safe (in spite of the dead hookers stacked out back) but I didn't mention them as I got the feeling you wouldn't have a car.

I've never stayed there, but a bed while I'm sleeping is a bed. I'd have no trouble making the 10 min commute everyday.

[/ QUOTE ]

We will in fact have a car there. I was looking at a map, is one off-boardwalk area nicer than any other? It looks like the area around the Borgata may not be so populated. How long is the drive from Borgata to the boardwalk, and is there parking readily available?