I had a chance to see Kalin & Jinger’s Real Magic at the Trump Marina Shell Showroom on Friday night (June 27) and it is a real treat. The husband and wife team of Mark Kalin and Jinger Leigh are absolutely fabulous entertainers. They are so personable, and that likability certainly translates into their show.
In a chat before the show, both performers said that they love the innovative aspect of their magic but their hearts belong to the classic tricks they do. Jinger Leigh added that what she really loves is that, “Our show is very interactive. The audience is a big part of the show and you never know what’s going to happen.”
That “never knowing” aspect, a.k.a. the “audience wildcard” turned out to be so true. When two members of the audience were brought on stage to help saw Jinger in half, one of the gentlemen reached into the box and felt Jinger’s abdomen, to make sure she wasn’t injured. This led to several big laughs. Mark said, “That was unexpected,” and Jinger replied, “You have no idea!”
Kalin and Ginger did a lot of classic magic, some of the tricks hundreds of years old. Their levitation bit was spectacular. At one point they told us they were going to show us how a trick was done by turning their backs to the audience. Of course, while we saw one aspect of how magic tricks are accomplished, they also delighted the crowd by tricking us once again when we thought we would have the inside track on how they did what they did.
No fair guys, but we loved it anyway!
The show is presented now through Aug. 17, Wed.–Sat. 8pm, and Sun., 4pm. Tickets are $25, $19 for children. To order tickets, go here.

The Borgata is on the cutting edge once again. The casino that set the standard for our region when it opened July 3, 2003, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with the opening of its new signature hotel, The Water Club.
The 800-room, non-gaming hotel includes five pools, a two-story spa, six designer retail shops and food and beverage designed by Chef Geoffrey Zakarian (chef/owner of the Town and Country restaurants in New York).
The $400 million Water Club is the city’s first boutique-lifestyle hotel. A joint venture between Boyd Gaming and MGM Mirage, The Water Club completes Borgata’s $600 million master plan development, with a total investment in Atlantic City of $1.7 billion. Go here for more info on The Water Club.
Pictured at the ribbon cutting today (Fri., June 27) are (l to r) Bill Boyd, executive chairman of Boyd Gaming; Keith Smith, president/CEO of Boyd Gaming; Larry Mullin, president/CEO of Borgata; Jim Murren, president/CEO of MGM Mirage; Governor Jon Corzine and NJ Assembly speaker Joe Roberts.
(Photo by Lew Steiner)

Come out to the Somers Point free beach concert tonight to hear some tearin’-it-up blues guitar playing courtesy of Scott Holt.
Holt, whose birthday was this past Thursday incidentally, was in Buddy Guy’s band for a decade as a young man and has said that those years were like “10-year course in Bluesman 101.”
Now Holt has several solo albums under his belt, is considered to be a guitar virtuoso and has dates booked across the country through the end of the year.
His latest CD, last summer’s From Lettsworth to Legend: A Tribute to Buddy Guy was recorded in honor of Holt’s mentor. The album includes songs that Holt played with Buddy including “First Time I Met the Blues.”
According to Holt’s Web site, the singer and guitarist has an eclectic taste in music. Some of the albums he’s currently listening to include: The Time’s Pandemonium , Robin Trower’s Take What You Need, Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew and the new Roots album Rising Down.
Should be a great show tonight on Bay Avenue at the William Morrow Beach. Starts at 7pm.

Based out of Ventura, California, Army of Freshmen is fronted by Cape May native, Chris Jay, who is a graduate of Lower Cape May Regional High School and whose parents are both teachers at the school’s music department. The six-piece group, known for their extremely energetic live performances, is one of the hardest working independent rock bands in the world. They’ve played over 1,000 shows in 10 countries and 42 states. They recently returned from a headlining tour of the U-K, which included an appearance at the world famous Download Festival alongside rock royalty like KISS. The band will be supporting their recently released 4th record, Above The Atmosphere, with a tour this fall in the United Kingdom, Europe and Japan.
“Every time Army of Freshmen is on tour in the East Coast area we always make it a point to stop in Cape May”, explains Jay. “The LCMR Music Department, besides the obvious impact on my life by employing my parents, played a very large role in my career. There’s no way I would have achieved success in the music business if the teachers and programs there didn’t exist. To come back and play a benefit concert is really an honor. Throw in the fact my dad’s band is opening and it should be very special night.”
Chris Jay’s father Ed, known by locals as “Mr. J”, is also the owner and operator of Mr. J’s Music Shop in north Cape May. “Mr. J” has played a pivotal role in the advancement of the music program at LCMR, which is known for having one of the premiere music departments in the state. Each year a concert is held to benefit the music department’s Scholarship Award. Past performers have included jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie, Woodstock folk veteran, Arlo Guthrie and comedic pop punkers, Bowling For Soup.
LCMR High School’s 2008 Music Department Scholarship Concert takes place on Saturday, July 5th in the Lower Cape May Regional High School’s auditorium (687 Rt. 9, Erma, NJ). The doors open at 7 pm. For more information, call Mr. J’s Music Shop, 609-886-4646.
The all ages concert is a totally free event open to the public and will include a special performance by the LCMR all teacher band, Old School.

Adam Santoro (left) and his brother Nicholas smile after their shopping spree at the Trump Taj Mahal Exchange. Adam will enjoy his new Sony Playstation and Nicholas is looking forward to with his new Sony TV. The youth were all appreciative of the generosity of Moses Tawil (right) and the Trump Taj Mahal who worked together to make this a great day for 15 local young patients of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Yesterday, Trump Taj Mahal was the site of a Shopping Spree for approximately fifteen Atlantic County teens, who are patients of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, ranging in ages from 12-18 yrs.
They had the opportunity to choose from Wii Game Systems, Play Stations, iPods, DVD Players, TV’s, digital cameras and more.
Trump customer, Moses Tawil, of Brooklyn, NY, generously donated a large amount of his comp dollars to the youth, which will be used to purchase popular electronics items that are for sale in the property’s Trump Exchange Store, located on the second level at Trump Taj Mahal.
After the shopping spree, the kids were treated to a lunch of burgers, fries, milkshakes and more in Burger.
Trump One Customers earn comp dollars by playing slots or table games, and can redeem their comp dollars in the Trump Exchange store, as well as for dining, entertainment and room accommodations at all three Trump properties.
(Photo by Lew Steiner)

Since Atlantic City Weekly’s office is at Bayport One on the Black Horse Pike, we’ve had the opportunity to watch the Bayport on Lake’s Bay townhomes being constructed, from the early days when they were trucking in special soil, to the hard hats putting up the buildings.
This weekend a fully furnished townhome model will be unveiled on June 28–29. Bayport on Lake’s Bay will eventually consist of 131 townhomes located along the shores of Lake’s Bay in West Atlantic City.
The model home features direct views of Lake’s Bay and the wetlands while offering a 2,157 square-foot layout with two bedrooms, three baths and a variety of upscale finishes and appointments, according to The Matzel & Mumford Organization, which is developing Bayport on Lake’s Bay.
“We have had a tremendous response among homebuyers that are familiar with this area and eager to enjoy an outstanding Jersey Shore retreat, but for many it has been difficult without the benefit of a model providing something tangible to see and touch,” says Glenn Ward, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Matzel & Mumford.
“With the introduction of the fully-furnished Heron model, homebuyers now have the opportunity to tour one of the community’s townhome residences experiencing first hand the impressive architecture and spacious layout.”

(more…)

It was great not only to talk to Carol Burnett on the phone, which I did for my interview in the June 19 issue of ACW, but I attended her “Laughter & Reflections with Carol Burnett” presentation at Caesars on June 21. I took my mom, and it was a great evening for the many fans who remember her terrific variety show on CBS, which went off the air in 1978. Like the Q&A that ended her variety show, the evening was a chance to fans to ask questions, with a few clips from the show shown in between questions. The evening began on a sad note, as Carol was clearly emotional the first time facing the public since Harvey Korman passed away. She showed a hilarious clip of Tim Conway and Harvey. The rest of the evening followed suit with questions answered gracefully and with humor. One woman claimed that a public service announcement Carol did about alcoholism gave her the courage to walk away from an abusive alcoholic. Carol herself had alcoholic parents and was raised by her grandmother.
Carol noted that you couldn’t do a variety show like hers today; it would cost too much. She doesn’t sound thrilled that the networks love reality TV shows: “They only cost $1.98 plus car fare.”
After this “time together” with Carol, I was lucky enough to be on the list to go backstage and meet this wonderful entertainer. It was only 30 seconds, and I was crammed in with the high rollers, but it was an honor and I will treasure this picture of Carol, mom and me.

With the price of gas rising to wallet-stretching limits, it’s no surprise that a restaurant would hope to pump up their business by offering free gas. The Trinity Irish Pub & Carvery is the clever company that came up with the headline you see above. And no, we are not talking about the gas that a nice bowl of bean soup would produce.
Every Fri. & Sun., 8-11pm, through Aug. 24, Trinity Irish Pub will be offering their cold 20oz. pints for the price of a gallon of regular unleaded fuel. This special will run through Sunday, Aug. 24. The promotion price will be based on the daily price at The Sunoco station, located at mile marker 3, on the A.C. Expressway. The pub will also be giving away a free tank of gasoline. Winners will be chosen Friday and Sunday nights at 10pm, and need not be present to win. The free tank of gasoline is based on a prepaid gas card valued at $50.
NJ still has the cheapest gas in the nation — and you don’t have to pump it yourself — so this is a steal of a deal.

Looks like Boy George’s planned gig at the House of Blues in Atlantic City in August — as well as the rest of his U.S. summer tour — is off. This after the 48 year old former Culture Club singer was denied a visa to enter the country, according to his Web site.

The man who turned the “Seven words you can’t say on television,” into a hilarious, controversial and exponentially expanding routine, is gone. George Carlin, a comic who bridged the gap between Lenny Bruce and the comedy club explosion that began in the ’70s, died in Los Angeles Sunday. He was 71.
George Carlin was a comedian who was sensitive to the societal changes around him and leaped forward as a guide into that new world. He started off as a straight arrow stand-up with short hair and a bow tie doing his “hippy dippy weather man” on The Ed Sullivan Show and other talk show and variety outlets. However when the era of war protests, Haight-Ashbury, Kent State and Black Power arrived, he shed the bow tie, grew his hair long, and became the voice of reason in an insane world. He was a regular headliner in Atlantic City from the early days of the casino era. (He was scheduled to make his next Atlantic City appearance July 26 at the Borgata.)
I had a change to interview him years ago. Like many comedians, he was ultra serious when talking about his craft. He balked when I suggested his comedy was political. To him, “political” meant it had a short shelf life. He felt his social commentary was timeless; it was designed that way.
He was right. His comedy is timeless. He remained a relevant social commentator for more than 40 years, right up until the moment when we learned of his death.
George Carlin is dead — now that’s obscene.
Go here for the NY Times obit.