Tuesday featured the debut of the Jabbawockeez’ Mus.I.C (pronounced Muse-I-C) show at Harrah’s Resort.
The white-masked marvels of dance, Jabbswockeez won the first season of MTV’s American’s Best Dance Crew. The show offers a terrific night out for the family and will at Harrah’s through Sept. 2. Go here for more info and here for video highlights of the show.
ATLANTIC CITY — On Thursday, May 10, the Kiwanis Club of Atlantic City honored Gary Hill of the Metropolitan Business and Citizens Association, Catherine Quinlan of TD Bank, and Tim Glenn of Glenn Insurance with Alan Angelo Community Key Awards at Harrah’s Resort.
From left, Gary Hill, Catherine Quinlan, Shannon Murphy and Tim Glenn.
Angelo is the late, longtime member and Past Governor of the New Jersey District of Kiwanis. The award named in his honor recognizes local men and women who have made a difference in the Atlantic City region through volunteerism.
“Gary, Catherine and Tim have devoted countless hours of hard work and dedication to achieving excellence in community service,” says Shannon Murphy, president of the Kiwanis Club of Atlantic City’s Foundation Board and chairperson of the Key Awards project. “We are inspired by men and women with a passion to improve their communities and we are proud to recognize their efforts with these awards.”
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Playboy model and reality TV star Holly Madison will be at The Pool After Dark this Saturday, May 5
ATLANTIC CITY — Harrah’s, Bally’s and Showboat will all be celebrating Cinco de Mayo with music, food and drink worthy of the holiday this Saturday, May 5.
Dos Caminos Mexican restaurant at Harrah’s is kicking off the weekend with Friday night parties at Xhibition Bar and Eden Lounge. Pre-gamers can enjoy $5 Corona bottles, $6 Patron Silver Shots and music by Vida Ventura & Freezie. The party at Harrah’s hits full swing with $8 watermelon margaritas, $8 Anejo Sauza Conmemorativo shots and special appetizers like habernero wings and chicken and chorizo nachos at Dos Caminos. Sammy D’s and Bill’s Bar and Burger are joining the fun with $5 margaritas for diners, and guests at Eden Lounge can enjoy complimentary chips and salsa with their Patron perfect margaritas and party favors like sombreros, maracas and moustaches to create their own mariachi. Partiers looking to dance the night away can head to the Pool After Dark for a night hosted by the one and only Playboy model and reality TV star, Holly Madison.
As proof that even surfers respect holidays, Worship Surf Bar at Showboat is offering Cinco de Mayo flavor with five days of celebratory specials. Now through May 5, guests at Worship Surf Bar will enjoy $1 tacos, $10 Corona buckets, $5 Avion tequila shots and $5 Avion margaritas.
Bally’s Atlantic City is celebrating with $5 margaritas at Mountain Bar. Also getting into the spirit at Bally’s is The Reserve with blackened salmon tacos at Preview Bar with pineapple and jicama salsa and chipotle remoulade for $12; a barbeque chicken flatbread with chicken braised in Dos Equis Lager and guajillo peppers, refried beans, Mexican crema and shaved chilies for $15; and cilantro and lime butter-seared mahi mahi with Mexican corn esquites and huitlacoche sauce topped with rock shrimp ceviche for $38 at The Reserve.
No matter what your Cinco style is, there is something for everyone at Harrah’s, Bally’s and Showboat this year.
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.
Yes, I was dazzled by the chance to see Revel up close last Monday, but with the announcement that Atlantic City’s casino revenues are down again in March by five percent, the focus must be on finding slices of the pie for every casino.
When Borgata opened in 2003, other casinos added amenities, rooms and other non-casino attractions to compete. Of course that was when the market was still flush before the crash.
Still, there are ways to stand out. As you can read in my recent story on the menu changes at Atlantic Club, that casino is hoping to provide excellent dining at price points that are affordable for folks who enjoy a night out but can’t afford the high end prices at Revel. The food was excellent and the prices are remarkably reasonable for the quality of the food. Not to mention that you can park free (including valet) and that is not a special, that is a regular policy.
Golden Nugget has been telling patrons to “Watch the Transformation” and now it is complete and the casino is holding a four day Grand Opening celebration. Go here for the details.
Pauly D.
Harrah’s Resort appears to be keeping up with the nightlife challenges presented by Revel with an increase in star appearances at the popular Pool After Dark. Upcoming appearances include Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins) from Saved By The Bell on April 21. DJ Pauly D from Jersey Shore and his own spin-off, The Pauly D Project, continues his residency at Harrah’s on April 28 and the next weekend, fellow Jersey Shore star Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola drops by on May 4. Then on May 9, singer Ashanti appears.
Showboat will continue its periodic series of free concerts at the Party Pit with a performance by Trapt on April 21 at 11pm. Showboat is also opening this summer the Worship Surf Bar on the Boardwalk side of the casino, right by the States Ave. surfing beach. In addition the casino added a celebrity chef to their culinary line-up with Aaron Sanchez’ Crossroads taking over the space that previously belonged to the House of Blues Restaurant.
As noted by Atlantic City Weekly columnist David Spatz this week, many of the casinos in town, Boardwalk Hall and Bader Field are gearing up for a big summer season with an excellent line-up of entertainment.
Let’s hope an influx of new and returning visitors are planning to “Do A.C.” this summer.
On Tuesday night, Jan. 17, in preparation for Atlantic City’s big gay-themed weekend, with a series of events planned by Caesars Entertainment, as well as Resorts Casino Hotel, in relation to Saturday night’s Miss’d America Pageant, a ‘drag’ race was held inside Harrah’s Resort.
The drag queens drew a large crowd outside The Pool at Harrah’s to watch the race participants — dressed up as women — compete for prizes. (See photos below!)
Six male contestants strapped on their stilettos and see if they’re coordinated enough to cross the finish line and the winner, John Ventura, of Vineland, (aka Stasia), received a two night stay at Harrah’s Resort, a $100 food and beverage credit, tickets to Out in AC Weekend, and a “romantic limo ride” with champagne. The other five non-winning participants each received a one-night stay at Harrah’s Resort and tickets to Out in AC Weekend.
Five of the contestants were selected by the radio station SoJO 104.9,
This ‘Drag Race’ is a precursor to Caesars Entertainment’s 4th annual Out in AC weekend which begins on Saturday, January 21st at The Pool at Harrah’s Resort with the Miss’d America Loft Party, from 2pm-6pm and continues Sunday, January 22nd with Out of Control Brunch and Bingo from 11am-3pm at the Harrah’s Ballroom.
See this Thursday’s issue of Atlantic City Weekly for details on the Miss’d America Pageant and the related events in Atlantic City.
Larry and Don Rickles in 2008.
Atlantic City Weekly columnist David Spatz has passed along the news Don Rickles’ son Larry passed away last Saturday, of respiratory failure due to pneumonia. He was 41.
Rickles is still scheduled to perform at Harrah’s Resort on New Year’s Eve despite the tragedy in his personal life.
ATLANTIC CITY — After breaking attendance records over the summer at Bally’s, the popular revue show Legends in Concert has been renewed for an additional eight weeks, moving to Harrah’s Concert Venue (Bally’s sister Caesars Entertainment property) through Nov. 17.
The show will include new customized musical arrangements, chic costumes, and multimedia components, and will feature tribute artists performing as Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones and others. The show will take place Sunday through Thursday nights at 8pm, and Saturdays at 7:30 and 10pm. No shows are scheduled for Friday nights, or the two Saturdays of Oct. 8 and 15. Ticket prices are: $30 with all seats reserved. Tickets can be purchased online by going here or calling 800-736-1420.
Fall performances at Harrah’s will appeal to all ages, and will feature a new Michael Jackson section performed by acclaimed tribute artist William Hall (pictured), who amazed fans at Bally’s over the summer. William learned to play the piano at the age of eight from his father, who toured with famed R&B artist B.B. King.
For more information on the Legends in Concert go here.
It was a busy weekend featuring glorious dinosaurs and an award-winning mythical creature made of chocolate. Dinoshore, the newly opened dinosaur exhibit at Showboat features a couple of animated dinosaurs, several full scale reproductions and real dinosaur bones, as well as a kids’ area where little ones can “dig” for dinosaur bones. The show is open daily. Go here for details and prices and here for a video of the exhibit.
Chocolate champion: Chef Deb Pellegrino.
Dinosaurs really existed, but Harrah’s Resort and Showboat Executive Pastry Chef Deborah Pellegrino, fashioned the mythical Kraken (from the movie Clash of the Titans) out of chocolate on the Food Network Challenge, which aired last night.
Given just eight hours to assemble her sweet mythical creation, Chef Pellegrino created her “Kraken cake,” sending her back to Atlantic City with the grand prize of $10,000.
“Competing in the Chocolate Myths battle was exhilarating,” said Chef Pellegrino. “It was an honor representing Atlantic City in the Challenge Kitchen today and I’m thrilled to be bringing the crown to the boardwalk.”
This was Chef Pellegrino’s second time appearing on Food Network Challenge, having competed earlier in the year to create a joke-telling confection on the “Comic Cake” challenge. Go here for a video of Chef Pellegrino.
A few more dino-might! pics.
The popular Mexican restaurant chain Don Caminos, with four eateries in New York and one each in Las Vegas and Ft. Lauderdale, is coming to Harrah’s, opening May 25.
Go here for a story about a tasting event at the Viking Cooking School Tuesday, May 10.
Shawn Fair (left), assistant restaurant chef at Harrah’s Resort, poses with Casey Thompson, runner-up and fan favorite of Bravo’s season-three series Top Chef. Photo by Christine Steiner
Casey Thompson was the inaugural Viking Cooking School special guest chef on Monday, Nov. 8, at Harrah’s Resort.
A finalist on season three of Bravo’s popular culinary competition Top Chef. Thompson guest hosted an intimate Argentinean Steakhouse cooking class in the afternoon and a Terrazas Cabernet wine tasting later that evening, followed by a meet-and-greet cooking demonstration. Thompson is the U.S. spokesperson for Terrazas de los Andes wines of Argentina.
For more on the Viking Cooking School, call 1-800-242-7724 or go here.
