The ultimate car guy’s fantasy comes to life on the Atlantic City Boardwalk on May 15 and 16 as Harry’s Oyster Bar & Seafood Restaurant at Bally’s hosts the ‘Chance of a Lifetime Exotic Car Festival.’

The public is invited to check out a showcase of elite ‘exotic’ cars, and Premier Luxury Rentals  will be offering a once-in-a-lifetime deal to sit behind the wheel of some of the most expensive cars around.

For $500, you can forget about the cars’ large price tags and feed your thirst for speed by driving a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, Audi R8 Spider, Maserati GranTurismo, or a Ferrari California Convertible.

On Wednesday, May 15, the cars will cruise down the Atlantic City Boardwalk — from Showboat to Bally’s — starting at noon. The cars will then be parked on the boards for car lovers on a budget who would like to pose with and take pictures of the racing machines.

The festival will also feature live music and vendors. Harry’s will be featuring revved up specials as well.

Today on the Atlantic City Boardwalk bubbles were in the air courtesy of executives and employees from Caesars and Bally’s Atlantic City. Dozens came together to blow bubbles simultaneously as a symbolic gesture for Autism awareness.

Here are some pics:

(Photos by Craig Billow)

The wildly popular DO AC car magnets have received a holiday makeover. A series of holiday themed DO AC magnets went on sale on Thanksgiving and are currently being sold throughout Atlantic City.

All proceeds from the magnet sales ($2) are going to Hurricane Sandy relief.

“Each $2 donation will benefit a qualified Hurricane Sandy relief fund focused on Atlantic County,” according to a statement released by the Atlantic City Alliance.

The limited-edition magnets are being sold at:

Tanger Outlets Guest Services on the weekends (noon-3pm, Saturdays and Sundays)
Absecon Lighthouse
Atlantic Club
Tropicana (Signatures inside The Quarter)
A.C. Visitor Centers (A.C. Expressway and at Boardwalk Hall)

The new versions, pictured above, come in sparkly metallic red, green, gold and silver.

As reported here yesterday, the Atlantic City Alliance has taken out a full-page ad in today’s New York Times to let the world know that the Atlantic City Boardwalk and Atlantic City in general is open — and has been for weeks — for business, following false news reports about the destruction of the oceanfront Boardwalk.

VIDEO: Atlantic City Board-Walk Nov. 11 -- hundreds gather for parade on Atlantic City Boardwalk post Sandy.

The Times also has a piece today about the ACA’s fall marketing campaign (including TV and print ads).

The article notes that ACA “executives decided that a special flight of ads was necessary [to counter the storm myths still out there nearly a month following Sandy] and allocated about $850,000 of what was left unspent from the fall campaign budget. The special campaign, like the regular ‘Do AC’ ads, is being created by Havas Worldwide New York, the agency that the alliance hired in February.

“The special ads are intended to have ‘the clarity of a single message: Atlantic City is open for business,’  said Lee Garfinkel, co-chairman at Havas Worldwide New York and chief creative officer for global brands at Havas Worldwide, part of the Havas Creative division of Havas.

“The special campaign also uses phrases like ‘Our boardwalk still standing strong’ and ‘We welcome you back as the Jersey Shore makes its comeback.’

The television commercial, which began running on Monday, is re-edited from the spots that had been running since April, Mr. Garfinkel said, to be “a little more relaxed” — that is, slowed down somewhat, presenting more sedate images and running less text to read on-screen.

Related: Atlantic City Recovering From Sandy in Many Ways

In Atlantic City and the surrounding areas, it’s well known that the Atlantic City Boardwalk was NOT destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

However, as the Atlantic City Alliance has found out, according to one North Jersey blog:

“A whopping 41 percent of the American public believes the Atlantic City Boardwalk is destroyed, when actually it was just a useless, dilapidated section of planks near the inlet that washed away.”

How is this possible?

According to the blog post, “The Atlantic City Alliance says it will fight back, including with a full-page ad in the New York Times on Wednesday [Nov. 28] – the group’s first ad with a national reach.”

The ACA also has a new TV spot that will air beginning this week in the New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Baltimore regions.

“It’s a shame that sloppy and lazy reporting by major outlets created this sort of problem,” the blog post goes on.

What’s even more of a shame is that some people — some of them reporters and editors — either don’t listen, don’t want to hear the truth or a combination of both.

This video alone, filmed five days after Sandy, shows the Atlantic City Boardwalk intact.

So does this one, a “Board-Walk,” attended by hundreds to show the world the historic Boardwalk was not destroyed by Sandy.

So does the pic below:

The Atlantic City Boardwalk after Hurricane Sandy. Despite reports, the Boardwalk is intact. (Photo: Can Do AC blog)

Rants and raves about burning topics that have caught my attention midweek, be it greedy corporate shenanigans, frustration or joy in regards to the Philly sports teams, a movie, show or DVD that has fired up my imagination, an intriguing personality, or what’s happening in the region. — Lori Hoffman, Associate Editor, Atlantic City Weekly.

The Internet and social media have become indispensable tools and a source of information for the majority of Americans, including the newspaper I work for. However, when that news is misleading, the web becomes an unstoppable force of misinformation.

So who started the ball rolling when it comes to the news that Hurricane Sandy destroyed the Atlantic City Boardwalk? It was none other than The Today’s Show’s longtime weatherman Al Roker. Roker is someone the nation trusts without question. As a newsman, the shots of destroyed Boardwalk made for a dramatic background when Roker did reports on the storm.

He didn’t necessarily announce that the entire Boardwalk was destroyed, but he didn’t explain that he was using a backdrop that represented a piece of the Boardwalk that was already condemned and wasn’t near the heart of the Boardwalk along casino row, which sustained little or no damage. That news would have taken the “drama” out of the dramatic footage.

The pictures told the story and turned a news story into a game of Chinese whispers. The idiomatic expression “Chinese whispers” refers to any story or piece of news that has been unreliably communicated by word of mouth among many people, leading to questionable information or a distorted account of the original story.

(more…)

Construction begins on Resorts' $35 million Margaritaville project (Photo: C. Steiner)

ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY — On Wednesday morning, Nov. 14, as reported in this space yesterday afternoon, construction began on the $35 million Jimmy Buffett-themed Margaritaville project at Resorts (on the Boardwalk side).

“We are thrilled to get the Margaritaville project underway,” said Gary Van Hettinga, the new president and C.E.O. of Resorts Casino Hotel following a partnership deal with Connecticut-based Mohegan Gaming Advisors, who will have a minority ownership in the property.

The project, which is expected to be completed by Memorial Day weekend 2013, includes a 16,000-square foot Landshark Bar & Grill, which will be located across from the casino, according to the Associated Press.

Construction work started on the Landshark venue Wednesday morning.

An AP report Wednesday afternoon states that Resorts president Gary Van Hettinga called the Margaritaville project “a vote of confidence in the seaside resort’s long-term viability.”

“It shows we are extremely confident that the future of Atlantic City is bright and that non-gaming amenities are an essential aspect of it,” he said at the construction site Wednesday morning.

More tidbits about the project from the Wednesday, Nov. 14, AP report:

• As is the case with other Margaritaville properties owned by entertainer Jimmy Buffett, plans call for island-themed landscaping, including palm trees, more than a dozen cabanas, two beach volleyball courts, a bocce ball court, two horseshoe pits and a fire pit. An adjacent surf shop also is planned.

• Wednesday morning, crews using heavy equipment began moving pilings onto the beach that will support the restaurant, which will be on the sand just about 200 feet from the Boardwalk.

• Part of the Margaritaville complex will be inside Resorts as well. Workers were gutting a restaurant that will be re-done as part of the project, while others were putting up new drywall in corridors.

VIDEO: Jimmy Buffett announces the Margaritaville project in Atlantic City

The New York Times‘ “Frugal Traveler” blog featured a post yesterday that hopefully will help change the perception some folks (and groups) still have out there — that the Atlantic City Boardwalk was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

(The Boardwalk, as you can see below, is intact for the most part, minus a damaged stretch that was reportedly destined for demolition anyway.)

ABOVE: The cast of the Bally’s revue show Legends in Concert lead a Board-Walk parade to spread the word that the Atlantic City Boardwalk is open. (See a photo gallery from the event here)

Blogger Seth Kugel writes:

The morning after Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey, television networks broadcast startling images of the Atlantic City Boardwalk. It appeared to be shredded to pieces. Pylons stuck out of the water. Chunks of wood had been swept inland and deposited on city streets.

It was terrible news for Atlantic City tourism. It was also entirely misleading, as I learned during a visit this weekend.

Read more of the blog post here.

RELATED: Atlantic City Recovering From Sandy in Many Ways

This year’s Atlantic City Marathon, the 54th annual, will take place on Sunday, Oct. 21, with related events starting on Saturday, Oct. 20, on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

As was the case last year, it should be a good time for all, with live music throughout the marathon route and more activities including a Fitness Expo.

Click here for the marathon weekend details.

PICS! Here is a link to photos from last year’s marathon.

USAF Thunderbirds

ATLANTIC CITY — The 10th annual Atlantic City Air Show, dubbed “Thunder Over the Boardwalk,” will take place for the first time on a Friday — this Friday, in fact, August 17, with an Armed Forces Parade slated for the A.C. Boardwalk on Wednesday, August 15.

Reports indicate that the air show organizers expect the biggest crowd yet for the resort’s annual show, with the 1 million number being tossed about. Last year’s air show drew about 750,000 people, with about 100,00 less the year before.

In preparation for this year’s big, free event in the sky — and over the Atlantic City beach and Boardwalk — here are some highlights from previous years, including video and photographs.

2011 Video Highlights

2011 Photos Part 1

2011 Photos Part 2

2010 Video

2010 Photos

2009 Photos

More 2009 Photos

2009 Video Highlights

2008 Video Highlights

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