If '06 was wild '07 should be wild²...

January 2007

I knew those physics classes would come in handy one day. That’s about what you’ll need to calculate the rising popularity of the “City That’s Always Turned On” in 2007. You see, there is a direct correlation between the opening of each new project and improvement that has occurred in 2006 and the market acceleration forces which take hold as a result. Often refered to as “The Multiplier”effect, it means, as more attractions are added, more visitors will come, and more people will talk to other people about them, and so on, and so on.

The only hitch in the proverbial giddyup of Atlantic City’s economic future is the fact that elected politicians, right on up to the Governor, keep floating the possibility of Video Lottery Terminals, a.k.a. Slot Machines, a.k.a. VLT’s, at race tracks, as a way of pumping up the purse for races. Huh? Horse racing is a dying industry. You can no more force a person to partake in a leisuretime activity then you could force them to cut trans-fats out of their diets. It’s ridiculous and preposterous, bordering on imbecilic. The smart thing to do is to protect the Atlantic City casino industry so that it continues to be the one-of-a-kind attraction that has enabled it to continue to grow through both good and bad economic times.

2006 was full of surprises...

2006 brought a lot of prosperity and opportunity to South Jersey, but it also brought its share of controversy, tragedy, and shocking surprises.

On the positive side, the area welcomed windmills to the site of the Atlantic County Utilities Authority Atlantic City location off the White Horse Pike by the Marina District. The project has been a huge success, and there’s already talk of expanding it out in the Atlantic Ocean. Pinnacle Entertainment acquired the Aztar Corporation, owners of Tropicana in Atlantic City as well as other gaming properties throughout the US. The Pier at Caesars, an exclusive, luxury retail shopping and entertainment center, opened at the site of the former Ocean One Mall on the Boardwalk across from Caesars. Harrah’s Entertainment accepted a buyout offer from two privately held firms, Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Gro u p, in the amount of $17.1 Billion. Trump Entert a i n m e n t announced its intent to develop the former Steel Pier into a stunning addition to the Trump Taj Mahal. Originally, Trump was not going to renew the lease of Atlantic Pier Amusements, the company owned by the Catanoso family, current operators of the amusement rides on the pier. The Trump project is being refined and will not be ready to move forward until 2008, so Trump has re-leased the pier for the 2007 season back to the Catanoso’s. Atlantic President Tony Catanoso had lobbied for his company to be able to stay for one more year and our congratulations go out to him and his family for getting the extension. They have worked extremely hard to give Atlantic City visitors, residents and their families a fun, family-style, safe alternative attraction since 1996, and we’re glad they will get the additional year. They have certainly earned it. Steel Pier will open for the season on Palm Sunday weekend. For more information about the upcoming year, or for tickets call (609) 345-4893 or online at steelpier.

The rumor mill was working overtime this past fall when Steve Wynn was seen at Yankee stadium with Donald Trump. Newspaper photographers captured the moment when it looked like Wynn was pitching Trump some kind of deal. The following day a news release was indeed sent out, confirming that Wynn and Trump are currently in negotiations to move forward on a major, megacasino resort at the site of the current Boardwalk Hall. Boardwalk Hall is currently enjoying one of its most successful seasons ever, having just been named the largest grossing arena of its size in the world for the second year in a row. The Hall has played host to Bruce Springsteen, Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand, and The Rolling Stones to name just a few. It was also rumored that any Wynn/ Trump deal would require the Hall to be torn down in order to accommodate the new project. The public outcry over keeping the Historic Hall as it is, resulted in Wynn/ Trump revisiting their plans to see if the Hall can be incorporated into the project. Stay tuned on this one as it could be the biggest news of the year...Some of the other, less notable happenings in 2006 were the closing of the world’s first named airport, Bader Field. The closing of the airport has created one of the most valuable pieces of waterfront property available on the east coast and the city is currently exploring options on putting the development of the land out for bid...Atlantic City Council President and longtime activist, Craig Calloway resigned his position in August after pleading guilty, along with two other Atlantic City councilmen, to accepting over $36,000 in bribes. Calloway’s plea bargain calls for him receiving three years in jail. He is expected to begin serving his sentence in March of 2007. Atlantic City Mayor, Bob Levy admitted in October that he was not a Green Beret after claiming that he had been a member of the prestigious special forces group for over forty years.

Klein moves radio show to WIBG...loses TV gig as a result...

Fans of the South Jersey Insider Radio Show can catch my program at its new home on WIBG 1020 AM Life Radio each Saturday from 1 to 3pm. WIBG carries a big signal which can be heard clearly in four states including all of South Jersey. The show is part of an ever growing lineup of local talk radio programming at the up and coming station, which features the extremely popular Hurley In The Morning radio show Monday through Friday from 7am to 11am with longtime area broadcaster Harry Hurley as host. Josh Hennig hosts an afternoon drive time show from 3pm to 5pm, and on Saturdays The Betson Connection with Chuck Betson can be heard from 10am to 1pm.

As a result of moving the radio program, I lost my longtime gig presenting the weekend events on NBC News Channel 40. The radio and TV stations are owned by the same company. Next month, I will reveal why I moved the show, as well as my new home for the Insider on TV. In the meantime, here’s to you in 2007.

Dan Klein is publisher of the South Jersey Insider Magazine, as well as host of the weekly radio show by the same name, heard Saturdays from 1PM to 4PM on LifeRadio 1020 AM - WIBG.