What Happened to Atlantic City?

[@adamblack6867]

Atlantic City died when other states allowed gambling.

[@lgk684]

Exactly - that and on-line gambling

[@vince7189]

It was dead before that. Thay don't know how to run casinos. They insist on charging full boat for rooms to players. Thay have no idea how to fill the place with people.

[@charlieireland5422]

The City was almost a gost town before gambling, Casino's would have saved it if it wasn't for the State and city government making so many bad decisions and mismanaging all the new riches coming into town. They squandered it like it was like there was no tomorrow. All Crooks

[@SylenceIsbliss]

That., and I think it’s the increase of immigration, drugs and politicians stealing the money 💰 meant to up keep Atlantic City smh 🤦🏾‍♂️ I just came from a week vacation last week and it’s bad. Homeless wouldn’t stop asking for money from people and out burst on the boardwalk etc. but Oceans casino and hotel was very nice

[@jodi183]

Then explain Vegas

[@donplennox4701]

Ac truly is the definition of the other side of the tracks once you step off that boardwalk

[@2pugman]

What the hell is he doing, blocks off the boardwalk ?

[@markkaminski2416]

That's the truth. I worked there in the 80s during the casino building boom and it was like that then. I see it hasn't gotten any better.

[@Melvin-kq5we]

No matter what i love Atlantic city and have beautiful memories there that can never ever be forgotten..

[@MarkMiller-i8q]

And beautiful memories are all we have left of this once grand resort that catered to families and children and people who enjoyed the simple pleasure of sand, sea, sun and boardwalk. Once of the boardwalk, it looks like a city in a third world country.

[@Melvin-kq5we]

You couldn't have said it any better 👍 😐

[@BettyPhilaNJ]

That's all we have left is our beautiful memories from AC 40 50 years ago. It was once beautiful! Now it's SAD!

[@BettyPhilaNJ]

​@@MarkMiller-i8qwell said

[@susanedwards564]

The whole city needs a face lift.

[@marionmarino1616]

It was always like that. Visitors were warned not to leave the boardwalk 20 years ago.

[@jerseykevin27]

No it was not always like this at all

[@Flap_Dzack]

@@jerseykevin27 I remember Grand Opening of Every Casino, I mean Playboy, Tropicana, Resorts Show Boat, I stayed at the Lincoln Roosevelt Motel as a kid..lol AC was always generally safe 4 blocks from Boardwalk..Until the shooting drugs grew to a majority... There always was a Junkie under the Boardwalk... But they had shame in the 1980s, Now, if someone is outside...and looks at you, Chances are they will rob you.

[@blade_warrior_blue]

No it was not! Me and my wife used to go there twenty years ago, it was a completely different city.

[@zitiden4745]

​@@blade_warrior_blueit's still completely different. He just posted this in a negative light. We actually go there more now, than we did before. We enjoy so many concerts and shows and the food is amazing. This person did a horrible job on this video.

[@Brhoward31]

@@zitiden4745 Yeah, it's not that bad. It does get sketchy though depending on the hotel

[@melindaaimeeroth5580]

You should have interviewed the man who was sweeping his shop. A lot of people who had pensions used to come down, but now there are less people with pensions.

[@whobilly1]

"It looks run down". You just described 90% of AC.

[@alancutler6453]

Our family went to AC for the summer in the 50s. I remember how elegant it was on the boardwalk with all the fine shops and elegant hotels. I watched it decay over the coming years.

[@billhooper2307]

Thanks for adding context! It's a far cry from what it once was

[@christinsongbird]

Just like society went downhill and the culture. It’s grossly in darkness. But it’s just normal to most. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@zitiden4745]

​@@billhooper2307 of course it's a far cry, but then again so is humanity. Don't knock it elevate it lift it up. Your video did nothing to help the situation of Atlantic City or the people you interviewed. You missed out on so many positive aspects of Atlantic City. I challenge you to go the two days of the Air Show in August. I take great offense of you trashing Atlantic City like this. Do better!

[@theluvleetea]

I don’t care what you show what you say, I luv Atlantic City NJ😍

[@Truckinlive]

Lack of government support and bad residents neglect

[@abbenelson2231]

My great Uncle had 2 restaurants there at one time. (Lew Tendler’s) My parents met there in the 50’s, my grandmother lived in the Chelsea section. I remember going on the boardwalk as a child and it was wonderful to me. My family would stay every year at the Sheraton Deauville. Once resorts opened it went downhill.

[@jerseykevin27]

Vegas and Atlantic city was the only place you could go to gamble, now theres small casinos on every cruise ship, casinos in nyc and Philly

[@retroguy1976]

been to them all pretty much philly, Vegas which was nice but now its gotten super expensive post pandemic the cheap casino deals are out unless you get comped rooms casino's can get expensive during major events out there, I went out there twice during the sema show week since I was attending it I was able to save a few bucks on hotels

[@jerseykevin27]

@@retroguy1976 that's because old people used to negotiate, and not accept unreasonable prices .. today you all take it, no one negotiates

[@kingicicle]

NYC doesn’t have any casinos.

[@retroguy1976]

@@kingicicle not actual nyc but they are some in the boroughs empire city in yonkers and resorts world in queens near jfk

[@marionmarino1616]

@@jerseykevin27 Gambling will always baffle me. Why? I don’t see the fun of it, people standing around throwing their money away.

[@md1028]

This decay has been in progress since the early 2000's. When the Indian casinos were allowed to open up it destroyed the customer base for AC. Back in the heyday AC was literally Vegas east, they were the only game for much of the east coast, but today between casinos in multiple states and city's and online gambling there is not much left for a city like AC.

[@christopherbrenke8595]

Facts

[@kingicicle]

Also the Philadelphia casinos. Interestingly, the online casinos actually have helped AC because under NJ law, the servers have to be in a NJ casino.

[@Phillies2002]

The first Native-owned group bought a casino, Resorts, in AC in 2012. This has nothing to do with it. You're just making things up.

[@md1028]

@@Phillies2002 Who said AC, I said AC was the main game in town, clearly before you were born most likely. Foxwoods opened up in 1992 and then Mohegan in 96 I believe. They took a large portion of AC business that they never got back.

[@toplaycool21]

Maybe Atlantic City needs to reinvent itself. For a city that is supposed to be an attraction, it’s treated very poorly. They need to fix that.

[@aucourant9998]

When I was a student back in 1970 I got a Summer job driving the electric tourist chairs along the Boardwalk (the tips were great). I also worked as a dishwasher in the local Sheraton hotel, we got a free meal at the end of the night (gourmet stuff left over from the restaurant). I stayed in a small rundown hotel owned by an old Italian guy called Frank who claimed he used to work for the Mafia. He let me stay there for free for helping out with painting the joint. Despite my busy work schedule I really enjoyed the Summer there and in my memory I had lots of time to enjoy myself and meet girls. I looked like a sun kissed Californian surfer at the end of the Summer. It was absolutely heaving with people in those days. This was before the casinos and gambling arrived. I think it was better in those days.

[@MarkMiller-i8q]

Sounds like you had quite a wonderful summer experience. I was in AC during the summer of 1970 (as a vacationer with my girlfriend) and already, I could see the decline. By the way, as far as meeting girls, in the summer of '69, me and a buddy met two girls (sisters) from Harrison, New York on the boardwalk. They were there with their parents, though their parents were elsewhere when we called them over in front of the Dennis Hotel. We spent the next day at the beach with them and then went out to dinner that night. We even saw them months later. My buddy saw Ruthie over winter break and I went up to Harrison in January 1970 to see her sister Leah. Nothing long term, but the experience lingers as one of those bright, shining moments in one's life.

[@aucourant9998]

@@MarkMiller-i8q They were great days.

[@MortonT1958]

The visitors to AC are going there to visit the casinos. They largely remain in the casino or another casino. The businesses you can locate in storefronts on Pacific Ave won’t appeal to the casino visitors despite being feet away. The locals themselves, unfortunately, don’t have the economic base to support the small retail stores.

[@danielsiminski5878]

No matter what, I still LOVE going to AC....it's been and up and down there for YEARS, but i still enjoy it in the summer, with the beaches, and its diversity!👍👍👍

[@ArchYeomans]

I'd rather be in Atlantic City than in Las Vegas.

[@hilaryweinberg3672]

As someone who is born and raised you it really is not that bad. There is good and in every area.

[@boatbound3300]

80% greed & 20% nobody cares thats the story

[@willbygosh4887]

That's what political Greed and Corruption will do to a City.

[@ginasaskingquestions3638]

The guy you talk to at the beginning is Ariosto! I live in Atlantic City- he and I were neighbors for 2 years. He's a great guy!

[@theqz08]

Those casinos make millions online they should be able to maintain maintenance around the city

[@jerseykevin27]

It's bigger than that, there hanging on from Casinos in Philadelphia, NYC, on cruise ships

[@rl5337]

The casinos? The government takes half of every one of our paychecks

[@theqz08]

@@rl5337 Ok? And my statement still stands the casinos make 2x more online than in-person. Look it up

[@johnsnow145]

@@rl5337what country do you live in? Thats a lot in taxes

[@jaybutler]

The AC government has been corrupt as hell. The selling point of approving the casinos back in the 1970's was that they would generate a lot of local tax revenue which would then be used to fix up the rest of the city. The tax revenue came in, but the city with the exception the casinos and boardwalk was never improved.

[@s99614]

The big empty lot at around 3:40 was The Sands. They imploded it with intentions of building a newer, better one. But then neighboring states legalized gambling. If you see empty lots now, it's because the people who own them want too much money for them.

[@italianwaterice9594]

they werent building another

[@kingicicle]

@@italianwaterice9594The plan was to build a mega-casino. They demolished the old AC Post Officd to build it.

[@italianwaterice9594]

@@kingicicle i lived there.... the mega casino was going to be down by resorts..

[@kingicicle]

@@italianwaterice9594 Google it. Pinnacle Atlantic City was the proposal.

[@austinaubinoe2195]

@@kingicicleshould have never demolished that post office.

[@stevepackard8542]

I remember back in the 80's and 90's, they use to have bus trips to AC. I live in MD and we have slots and table games. I don't gamble, but our I hear our casinos are better. Many states have casinos today. Gambling and sports betting is legal - no need to travel to play.

[@kevinmitchell8679]

I remember those trips from MD to AC, it cost $25. You would get $15 back to gamble and $15 food tickets. Those were the days

[@stevepackard8542]

@@kevinmitchell8679 I took a bus trip from OC MD to AC with my summer job co-workers back in the 90's - Remember that well

[@cleantoronto3658]

yup. used to be a $99 red eye round trip for Toronto , Canada to Atlantic City. Great deal. no longer running of course

[@daviddisandro821]

want a treat? go to Florida Ave between Atlantic and Pacific. its like Kensington Philadelphia during the daytime

[@imilliemedina666]

That dope spot has been operating for YEARS. EIther the cops are totally ignorant or they are active partners.

[@brushfuller330]

I danced on Summertime on the Pier on the Steel Pier and got tix for The Beatles in 66 loved A.C. South Carolina was the place where alot took place.Yes!!

[@lindaharris8514]

I wouldn't be surprised if it slowly shut down. Most folks pass by several Resorts, before arriving in AC. Maryland Residents do not travel there much anymore. It is really sad, because I personally like AC better than Vegas ! I'm an East Coaster, and Vegas is just too incredibly HOT in the Summer. AC is much better, because of the breeze from the water.

[@Mizzayizza1]

The Atlantic City he's showing looks a hell of a lot better than what I saw in the 90's.

[@Scsibut]

I'm surprised while you were on the boardwalk you didn't show Boardwalk Hall. When the building was built it was the largest open floor plan building in the world. It also houses the largest pipe organ in the world and is in the current state of being completely restored.

[@zitiden4745]

Oh no, God forbid he share something positive. I don't know what Atlantic City did to this guy for him to create such a negative documentary. It's sad, he missed a great opportunity here.

[@bski824]

BEEN TO AC OVER 100 TIMES NEVER ONCE HAD A PROBLEM.DO ANOTHER VIDEO SHOWING THEGOOD THINGS ABOUT AC.

[@SwapzTV]

Come back in the summer. Totally different place especially on the boardwalk during the weekends

[@Scottz6776]

Most people understand that Atlantic city is a summer town now. If Bill were to do the same walk around video in July, he would notice a big difference.

[@paulfelkner6749]

Weekend are almost always crowded, even in the winter.

[@tr3yric3Gaming]

I’m here in July for the 4th. Staying in Caesars and if you walk out of the casino at any given time you will see someone smoking crack within 50 yards. Also if you are walking in between casinos you will get cat called by prostitutes

[@robertwendel7920]

Go 3 blocks from the boardwalk it's nothing but drugs and prostitution and crime. Do not venture in those areas. Stay by the boardwalk

[@jimdellavecchia4594]

AC became hood in the late 60's. Tony's Baltimore Grill and Angelo's are the only reasons to go there

[@r.pres.4121]

Like most other cities, Atlantic City most likely had racial tensions which led to riots in its worst neighborhoods.

[@johncantatore7986]

White house?!

[@Cicadelic60s]

Went to Atlantic City in 1963, what was amazing even then were these enormous deserted hotels right on the Boardwalk, that must have been big in their heyday. These hotels were real relics.

[@KevinConsolo]

I'll give you all a reason why it's declined the way it did. Mayor Marty Small!

[@debbiel8585]

AC definitely needs to clean up more. But I still luv going there. I luv walking around the stores at the outlet mall too! I am from St Louis. So such a different experience for us. Luv seeing the ocean and walking on the boardwalk. They need to bring it back!

[@zitiden4745]

He did a horrible job on this documentary. He did not even know he was at "The Walk". This guy had no clue about anything. He didn't even mention Hurricane Sandy and how many little businesses were not able to recover from the flood damage. There is so many positive aspects that we enjoy through out the year and he did not cover one. Sad that he wasted a trip and 12 minutes of our time.

[@MrLyosea]

9:20 According to google street view that video store was last in use at least in Oct 2019. Although it seems from 2012 to 2019 it was more a convenience store than a video store. But the state it's in literally looks like you thought(15 years ago)

[@Irvinlopez-v9s]

I think we all have an opinion as to why cities are going this route

[@paulstewart8891]

Love how he made sure to walk through specific areas... why not walk Orange Loop he was on the edge with the brand new luxury apartments built directly behind the guy he spoke to. What about the inlet where there are 8 new luxury townhouses being built or all the new small businesses that have popped up over the last 8 years...

[@limomangeno]

Yeah a real shame ,i used to stay at the Mayflower Hotel on Tennessee Ave across from the Central pier.That was in the early 60s.Where for a few years.Funny I went to mass at that Church.Had my first Jersey Submarine Hero there.Been to a couple of the Casino's but that was like 10 years ago.I live on Long Island so its a 3 hour drive...

[@zitiden4745]

Dude is lost. He went to Atlantic City and didn't go to White House Subs or Tony Bologni's. Horrible documentary. He didn't even know he was at "The Walk". Missed opportunity here.

[@95Comics]

The empty buildings are because people come visit the casinos and leave, with the exception of the outlet stores people dont walk around because of the city’s reputation for crime. They get in, and get out. And stay inside the casinos and boardwalk for the most part

[@edkrause929]

I grew up in AC during the 90s and as a kid to teen, I had some of my best memories, even through some od my adulthood. I went home for a conference back in 2013 and I barely recognized my home. Other than what I was there for and seeing old friends I had no reason it felt like to be there.

[@thehappinessclause6801]

It was great back in the day. Our crowd left, made plenty of money in those circles, but it is shit now.

[@goodjawn610]

I been visiting AC since I was a teen and its always been a rough town.. Everyone always said dont leave the casino area. I remember when they first built the outlets for shopping and even that was a little rough. To put it in context we were comimg from Philly, so I know bad when I see it. AC been bad at least since I the 90s when I was a kid. Winter time is always pretty desolate too.

[@jaredtalavera4710]

You're back in action now. My family and I like to visit AC in the summer.

[@SNNYC.MOVEMENT]

Last I been there was 2022. As I was walking around daytime I seen a guy literally dying on sidewalk bend over weird . Another situation I seen a helpless young pretty girl homeless in her 20s. It was sad haven’t been back yet

[@Mom2my4blessings]

I grew up not far from AC. There used to be a lot of casinos and the boardwalk. I remember Ocean One the mall that used to be there. Honestly AC has always been pretty bad once you leave the casino/tourist area. My dad used to work at a bank there years ago and it wasn’t that great. Now that the casinos are becoming less popular, the city will become more run down with less tourists visiting.

[@IndyAtlanticCity]

Ocean One mall recently reopened as ACX1 Studios for film & music. A new restaurant called Simpson opened inside ACX1 Studios on Saturday. You need reservations on weekends.

[@tinaduncan72]

I've visited AC in all season. Many establishments shut down during the pamedic and wasn't able to rebound as in many other places.

[@tiff5891]

We are living in the roughest times… 😔

[@sheldonhchambliss1385]

Great video because i have seen it with my own eyes

[@MrBmxbrawler]

The Madison is not abandoned. Its under construction. Waiting on permits

[@jerrygawronski965]

Starting to look like 1974 Atlantic City. If you were there before gambling you'd think this was much better.

[@robertwendel7920]

Your so right I was there in the 70s. They had that ride it looked like a big bubble off the Pear with glass windows and it took you under the water. So different before the casinos got there.

[@jerrygawronski965]

My family was in Brigantine for a week. There wasn't a board walk so we went to A.C. boardwalk. Scary and run down. Even in 1993 I drove off the main strip and at noon stopped to get water. The store could not provide change for $20, they only took EBT. My advice to anyone that visits, stay next store in Ventnor or Margate.

[@tony-ce7qp]

to it is still great there but yes it has issues i still go every year.....thank you great video!

[@willbygosh4887]

I visited Atlantic City a few years and I'm not anxious to revisit.The history is interesting though.

[@dbljinc664]

I love going to AC, but only for the casinos. I don't go anywhere in AC outside of the casinos except for some "live" entertainment. Every thing you see is closed because the residents of AC are struggling. Working in the casinos doesn't pay as well as it used to because of other states opening casinos. Something like Ripleys was always on borrowed time because newer generations aren't into that type of thing. Maybe one day industrial and well paying office jobs will come back to AC, but probably not. AC needs gentrification and a boost in city living like where I live. I live in Richmond VA and this city has become a great place for city living. But without that AC, outside of the casinos is going to wither and die

[@stevenjames9358]

I've been wanting to visit Atlantic City for years, as I've never been. You just saved me some money!

[@thomasallen6980]

This guy is super negative and has no idea what he is talking about. AC is a Summer resort The action is up on the boardwalk and the beach. It is the middle of Winter.

[@janicehart5397]

@@thomasallen6980 I agree. the place is hopping in the summertime. It's so much fun to walk the boardwalk and run in and out of the casinos.

[@PewPewmuddafukka]

Agreed, I live like prettty closeeee to AC and Summertime Months are COMPLETELY different than any other time of the year. Also This dude is acting as if Atlantic CITY is supposed to be the same as a suburban area or something 🙄 If you go to literally ANY city in the US and you Will find abandoned buildings/boarded up buildings, run down areas, not the most appealing looking. I will say AC isn't as Fun and Lively as it ONCE was, but it's not AS Bad as he made it out to be. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@laquan920]

I remember as a kid that fountain, use to be filled with Nothing but quarters,

[@DaRealPhillyJawn]

Ripley's closed because the lease ran out and the owners of the building wanted to do something else with it.

[@jonsmith848]

Believe it or not..

[@christianvidal1088]

Still empty

[@marystewart1125]

Philly…Atlantic City…both have disintegrated the last five years. We fled Philly…lots doing the same.

[@um52]

Facts

[@Rinaldiii]

Looks cold out there. I’m going later today for the first time all the way from Virginia.

[@JohnThomas-lq5qp]

A friend got mugged two blocks from a casino during a summer day. Now with casinos in Pa will never return to this shit hole getto.

[@enarccrane]

Are you related to Biff Hooper of the Hardy Boys? Enjoyed this video of a pretty important city gone bust. Used to work at Planter's Peanuts on the boards in the 70's ... before the Casinos...It had fallen on bad times by then. As with many old cities there are still some architectural gems to be found...

[@bryanabutterfly5541]

I went to visit for the first time for a couple days stay and i saw its mostly abandoned 😢 we wanted to see the history

[@bornyesterday21]

Our country is slowly dying.

[@ArchYeomans]

Republicans have sold us out.

[@yaqoubalshatti205]

Went down there last month, it was much more popping on the board walk.

[@gypsybeke3116]

You go there in the dead season when nobody’s there and shit on the whole city. Why don’t you focus on the positive things do a little research before you go down there go show the other part of town on Pacific Avenue -Stockton college... show the art scene at the arts garage and the outlets… the new waterpark… the 100 murals that have been painted over the last couple years. The distilleries & restaurants …fyi-They did an art show at the James saltwater factory recently… Come back in the summer and redo your video. It might be a little better. It’s not perfect, but it might be a little better… what you’re showing is like, no news to anyone… focusing on the negative doesn’t make things better.

[@gypsybeke3116]

And that fountain that you were focusing on that was so grimy and dirty. I believe that was part of Trump Plaza so that should explain that. They need to just get rid of it like they got rid of Trump Plaza.

[@JH-tg3qg]

Let me get your logic. So if it's summer the closed buildings would be occupied and the mayor will stop beating his daughter? Come on video don't lie and the locals keep electing criminals to run their city! Let me know when I'm lying ? Go ahead fact check me!

[@imilliemedina666]

I live in AC and he was quite accurate. If anything, he was too kind. Tennessee and Indiana and Renaissance plaza are the same, winter or summer. The water park has been dead since it opened. It was a scam of taxpayer dollars. Mayor Marty Small is a thug, Chief Sarkos is a lapdog, and the detective bureau is corrupt. There is not one decent supermarket, you have to go to Somers or English Creek to go food shopping, meanwhile they open weed stores all over town

[@imilliemedina666]

@@gypsybeke3116 That stinky fountain has been like that for 10 years. Yes they should get rid of that but they haven't. It's not all Trump's fault

[@JH-tg3qg]

@imilliemedina666 there is the truth 200% accurate!

[@beatnik228]

The casino's ruined AC sad, it was a fun place back in the 60's ,70's .

[@r.pres.4121]

Atlantic City was dying steadily from the late 60s on that is why casino gambling was approved by the voters in New Jersey in 1976.

[@marilynm5024]

Visited there about 7 years ago. Most unsafe feeling place. Will never return.

[@ArchYeomans]

Have you been to Las Vegas lately? Very unsafe, everywhere.

[@LenorJohnson-k7l]

I Love Ac you just have to be careful just like every were else

[@mpmbdevelopers5899]

You did not research anything about Atlantic City before filming/posting this. St Water Taffy building is getting a $5M reno as we speak, and the building was just used as an interior art space. The first interview (where you just interviewed a random guy off the street) at 0:41 in the background to the left is a brand new building, luxury apartments and largest new cannabis retail in NJ. And next to it is two new beautiful murals. The other places, like the video store - did you just seek out the one abandoned building that you could find to show something negative? Why not stop by Ducktown Tavern next door, or Tonys Baltimore Grill? You didn't bother to even go to the Inlet. FAKE NEWS!

[@joeystreets3606]

I would agree as someone who knows the landscape AC is upward trending and the surrounding areas as well. Brigantine has been red hot for 4 years as well. Also they are putting in a film production studio near Ballys and the restaurant scene is top 5 in New Jersey.

[@JH-tg3qg]

Stop electing criminals to run your city!

[@zitiden4745]

Thank You! 🙏 This is what I'm seeing, all negative. Like his objective here was just to trash Atlantic City. This guy didn't even know he was at "The Walk". What kills me is from these comments people are eating up this biased bs. This was a real missed opportunity. Sad.

[@JH-tg3qg]

@@zitiden4745 stop electing child beaters and elect people that aren't criminals!

[@IndyAtlanticCity]

The boardwalk is a city street and it is the main street in AC.

[@imilliemedina666]

I've been in the Madison. It has a great substructure, built with steel I-beams around 1930. It is structurally sound but badly mismanaged.

[@aqn1976]

I grew up during the glory days of AC and given the recent growth and legalization of casinos in surrounding states I am surprised how AC casinos are still alive :-///

[@UNCLECHUDKINZ]

Yoo bro I love your channel! Been trying to start a NJ youtube too. much respect!!!!

[@billhooper2307]

Appreciate it!!

[@zitiden4745]

You should, you'd probably do a better job. This was a horrible documentary with the only objective in mind was to trash Atlantic City.

[@TheKurtsPlaceChannel]

Very nice video. Thanks for posting and have a nice day too.

[@AmyDefelice-vp8ec]

Go there in the summer the boardwalk is popping

[@viviannayong6140]

Wow so sad how my city 😢looks now 😢

[@CynicalCracker1]

you missed Pats Steaks... cool building that was built and never opened

[@SAMSON12321]

The onl;y thing sadder than the run-down long closed up Atlantic City is this video that addresses absolutely nothing as to why AC closed down years ago. AC is a prime example of Corruption/Greed/Politicians etc when they put their hands into business. All of the torn down casinos, lack of people, no businesses etc indicate IT'S OVER!!!! I have not been to AC in over 15 years and even then you could see how greed/rent/lease etc was taking businesses out that had been established there many years to even generations ago. AC was busy year round 24 hours per day... THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS SEASONAL OPERATION... IT WAS ALWAYS OPEN!!! Some will claim it is do to such places as Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun for the fall of AC, but that is not the case. In this tri-state region there are 10s of millions of people who can easily get to AC... all of them certainly did not go to Foxy or Mohegan... they stopped as prices of everything from food to hotel rooms in AC went off the scale... Let's not forget politician/Mafia stealing. So AC has been reduced to a Roman/Greek ruin with no comeback.... Even during the summer it is not frequented like one would imagine. Guess I will live on the memories of the place. Just another reminder like the time we are currently in... ALL BLIGHTS/POVERTY/BUSINESS DESTRUCTION is always caused by GREED and POLITICIANS!!!!!

[@jeffreyg201]

The story of the decline of Atlantic City is endless, ......

[@jackcade68]

You are hella young. I remember AC in the early 70's, it was much like it is now. Check out the Jack Nicholson movie "the king of Marvin gardens".

[@zitiden4745]

Great movie!

[@jerryc5743]

I was born and raised there but I was a toddler in the early 1970's when that movie was released. I made a trip back a few years ago. Seeing what had happened to what was the Golden Nugget hotel, reminded me of the Ambassador hotel in the late 1970's before it was renovated and had become the Tropicana. The rise and fall ...and rise and fall of the town is so cyclical.

[@SJDSH777]

Ripley Believe or not was closed because of a fire a few years ago.

[@edwinsmith224]

i remember living there as a kid, i use to me a dope place 30 years ago, after seeing this it's depressing

[@e.l.norton]

AC has been a dump for at least 40 years. Hasn't been nice since at least the early 1970s.

[@jessewolf7649]

That makes it 54 years

[@PhillyBagel]

Even the 70s showed a distinct decline from its peak. That was the impetus to bring gambling to the city in the first place.

[@TheMoneyMakingMentor]

They should have made the casinos open up some retail stores and restaurants. Then maybe they would be run better and the town would not be in decay.

[@garbo8962]

My dads best friend married a girl from AC and refused to move. They were operating a liquor store when they got held up one night. My dads friend pulled a heavy shot gun on the nogoodnic and called the police. After waiting 20 minutes he called the police again and asked when they are going to show up for an attempted armed robbery. Cops told him to shot the guy because they were busy. Took them over halve a hour to show up. Next day he out it up for sale. AC is a shit hole high crime getto city.

[@RobertoLopezstudyis]

I like this video of Atlantic City and how it used to be back then.

[@sleeplessdreamer1814]

We have been to Atlantic dozens of times since 1980 and it was always mainly a Boardwalk facade. There were still restaurants and stores thriving off the Boardwalk till about 20 years ago, but it has been downhill since PA and NY got their own casinos.

[@CenenCompanioni-nb2rq]

No better in the summer. Were just there yesterday.

[@Wa3ypx]

We used to go to AC a couple days each year. Twenty five years ago I said, "There is only so many pensioners on so many tour buses to be able to support so many casinos." Most likely covid finally killed it off.

[@jeffreyg201]

Get your facts right. The city officially began to fall into decline after WW2 due to an overall change in the economy nationwide which affected tourism to the city. Pre WW2, AC was The Queen of Resorts, known for quality and class. The politicians promised high and delivered low when it came to putting gambling on the ballot, twice in the 1970's. Yes the casinos brought jobs but not high paying jobs, no city wage tax, and most employees lived outside of the city. The casinos are now considered to be a "shadow government" with the state in the pockets of the casinos. Atlantic City currently has a 3x to 4x the federal poverty rate with an overwhelming 3rd world population. About 30% of the residents are home owners and about 70% are renters. Generally speaking, casinos are considered to be a predatory industry.

[@MarkMiller-i8q]

That sounds right. So AC now is in the tight grip of the casinos. No conglomerate with all that power and money is willing to relinquish it, so in appears that AC will continue to limp on like a dying star, a dark husk of its former glory.

[@jeffreyg201]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5zbmXh9jNSAhKssi=umcrcjT2_b-n5-lL

[@CynicalCracker1]

you should come to burbs and see all the towns being infested with the people that used to be in these run down cities

[@jh9992]

AC has been a trial n error dump for over 50 years now.

[@antoinetteklaws4466]

You're wrong sir I was born and raised here in Atlantic City and at one time before the casinos came and bad management took over Atlantic City was beautiful at one time we was called the playground of the world everybody who is anybody including all four branches of the military did the furloughs hear a celebrities played around and played venues here and 59 years old.

[@joeystreets3606]

Yet Stockton put in College Dorms there. On the north end of the city

[@Trash2Cash]

Dude looks like he there in winter.. its completely different in summer

[@davidwadsworth8982]

Never ever walk along Pacific or Atlantic Ave. at night. I delivered and sold there for 12 years, I had to use my vehicle as a weapon at least 18 times.Twice right in this area. Do not leave the Casinos except to get to garage. And not on the street. Stay on the boards,that is where the cops are.But he is wrong about many things.The Boards are so alive in summer. Busy and hopping from first weekend in May thru last weekend in September,A 5 month summer season.Now with new water park summer can last all year long.

[@jeffreyg201]

During the first half of the twentieth century, Atlantic City was the nation's most popular middle-class resort--the home of the famed Boardwalk, the Miss America Pageant, and the board game Monopoly. By the late 1960s, it had become a symbol of urban decay and blight, compared by journalists to bombed-out Dresden and war-torn Beirut. Several decades and a dozen casinos later, Atlantic City is again one of America's most popular tourist spots, with thirty-five million visitors a year. Yet most stay for a mere six hours, and the highway has replaced the Boardwalk as the city's most important thoroughfare. Today the city doesn't have a single movie theater and its one supermarket is a virtual fortress protected by metal detectors and security guards. In this wide-ranging book, Bryant Simon does far more than tell a nostalgic tale of Atlantic City's rise, near death, and reincarnation. He turns the depiction of middle-class vacationers into a revealing discussion of the boundaries of public space in urban America. In the past, he argues, the public was never really about democracy, but about exclusion. During Atlantic City's heyday, African Americans were kept off the Boardwalk and away from the beaches. The overly boisterous or improperly dressed were kept out of theaters and hotel lobbies by uniformed ushers and police. The creation of Atlantic City as the "Nation's Playground" was dependent on keeping undesirables out of view unless they were pushing tourists down the Boardwalk on rickshaw-like rolling chairs or shimmying in smoky nightclubs. Desegregation overturned this racial balance in the mid-1960s, making the city's public spaces more open and democratic, too open and democratic for many middle-class Americans, who fled to suburbs and suburban-style resorts like Disneyworld. With the opening of the first casino in 1978, the urban balance once again shifted, creating twelve separate, heavily guarded, glittering casinos worlds walled off from the dilapidated houses, boarded-up businesses, and lots razed for redevelopment that never came. Tourists are deliberately kept away from the city's grim reality and its predominantly poor African American residents. Despite ten of thousands of buses and cars rolling into every day, gambling has not saved Atlantic City or returned it to its glory days. Simon's moving narrative of Atlantic City's past points to the troubling fate of urban America and the nation's cultural trajectory in the twentieth century, with broad implications for those interested in urban studies, sociology, planning, architecture, and history.

[@MegaBait1616]

Short story AC is a typical run American Blue City .....

[@jeffreyg201]

With casinos as it's shadow government.

[@MegaBait1616]

@@jeffreyg201 , I see some comments are blaming Trump but knowing the city history their Wrong.. People really know what is Really Happening there and continues to get only worse ..

[@marccarpineta3086]

Greed and corruption killed AC If AC could go “retro” and recreate the attractions it had before casinos…the Piers..the charm that once existed on its boardwalk it could become a shore town more like Wildwood as opposed to a crime infested city like Camden

[@marktweet7395]

This video says it all

[@blade_warrior_blue]

Nah even in April that place used to be lively and full of people 20 years ago. My wife and i both had our birthdays in April and went down there, it wasnt like this. This is depressing. I used go down there with my wife. Got some great memories. Just not the same anymore.

[@DFord-rv3nz]

I miss 1980's AC

[@michaelcroley485]

Why are their so many traffic lights every block has one practically.thats strange to me

[@joejoejohnson8207]

The lots are bring held..People are waiting holding the land when it comes back 😊

[@redips]

The Mayor needs to restore this place.