November 10, 2020
Atlantic City Casinos and Their NJ Online Casino Partners
Atlantic City Casinos and Their NJ Online Casino Partners
Atlantic City, New Jersey, is known as America’s Playground, with a sparkling nightlife brimming with casinos and a foundation for some of the best gambling opportunities in the world, both in-person and online.
To help you choose the best casinos to get your gambling fill, we’ve assembled this guide of all the casinos in Atlantic City. Not only is this an in-depth exploration of each of the casinos in Atlantic City, but we’ll also go over the online casinos associated with them that are making the world of virtual gaming a competitive new horizon for the best gambling center on the East Coast.
Atlantic City: A Brief History
In 1976, New Jersey voters chose to legalize gambling, though they restricted the casinos to Atlantic City. This is how the already famous boardwalk and beach destination became ground zero for the largest casino district on the East Coast. It became so glamorous and profitable that it entered most homes in the country in the form of the Parker Bros.’ game, Monopoly, which is based on Atlantic City.
The gambling capital of the East Coast has nine major casinos, each of which is now associated in some way with subsidiary online casino branches, which will be discussed below.
Since 1978, many casinos have come and gone. Some of the ones that have closed include the Trump Taj Mahal, the famous Revel and Showboat casinos, and, unfortunately, the Atlantic Club, which was the first casino in Atlantic City designed especially for the people of New Jersey rather than for tourists; it was called a “locals casino” for that reason.
However, the nine remaining casinos with their different themes are still going strong, servicing a total of over 15,100 hotel rooms and over 1.1 million square feet of combined luxury casino and resort space.
They are spread out over the city’s popular districts, with three in Marina, three in Uptown, two in Midtown, and one in Downbeach.
Keep reading for our in-depth guide to each casino and its online counterparts.
Casino Guide: In-Person and Online
The nine remaining casinos in the Atlantic City area have had a lot of competition lately, both against downturns in the economy and the prevalence of votes favorable to legalized gambling in the states surrounding New Jersey.
However, these casinos make up the gambling capital of the Eastern United States and should not be underestimated for their luxury, legacy, and thrilling services. Here’s a description of each as well as of the online resorts associated with them.
Resorts Casino Hotel
The Resorts casino is the first casino to be built in Atlantic City. Naturally, this gives it certain clout, both in-person and on this list.
Built in 1978, just two years after gambling was made legal in New Jersey, the Resorts is not only the first legal casino in New Jersey but the first one anywhere in the United States outside of Nevada. Numerous recent renovations have proven that the Resorts casino is still a force to be reckoned with, with its hotel tower going up in 2004, doubling the number of hotel rooms it services.
Additionally, the hotel renovated its theme in 2011 into a “Roaring Twenties” aesthetic that encompasses the clothes and attitudes of its staff, its architecture, and its food. Staying relevant and stylish is what the Resorts has had to do to survive both as an old establishment and as one of the smaller casinos in terms of square footage.
However, the Resorts casino’s ability to embrace changing times is part of why it has been around for so long. To that end, the Resorts has partnered with several online casino providers for a multi-tiered modern approach to bringing gamblers their favorite games in a virtual format.
These online affiliates include their own Resorts Casino online gambling site as well as DraftKings Casino, Mohegan Sun, and PokerStars, the last of which also offers an online poker program.
Caesars
The next casino to open — in the very next year, no less — is the famous Caesars Atlantic City Casino, which was originally called the Boardwalk Regency.
As another well-established hotspot for luxury gambling in Atlantic City, Caesars is also constantly being renovated and expanded. In 1985, it built the massive 1100-seat Circus Maximus Showroom and has hosted many famous names, including Celine Dion and Lionel Richie.
The famous Roman Empire theme of the Caesars casino (similar to that of the famous Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas) has been continuously expanded over the years, with outside renovations and the new hotel tower being built with Roman facades.
In addition to its famous showroom and dining, Caesars, of course, has a famous repertoire of games to play, which are replicated on numerous online gaming sites in New Jersey under the Bally’s gambling license. The most famous of these is the Caesars Casino & Sportsbook online casino.
This site features games from the casinos featured throughout Caesars in its 40 locations throughout the world, including many of the famous slots. Additionally, those who want to mix their in-person and online gambling experiences will be happy to know that you can win Caesars rewards on your player account through the online casino, meaning that you’ll never have to stop accruing bonuses with Caesars if you don’t want to.
Bally’s
This is another casino that is technically owned by Caesars Entertainment, which owns three casinos in Atlantic City. Bally’s is located in New Jersey’s Midtown. It was also founded in 1979 and is located at the address “Park Place and Boardwalk,” which you probably recognize from your Monopoly board.
Bally’s is notable as the largest casino in Atlantic City by far, with over 220,000 square feet of gaming space and over 5,000 slot machines to choose from. In addition to the slots and the many conventional table games, there are also virtual hybrid games featuring dealers on video screens, automatic roulette tables, and more.
The Wild Wild West Casino is a famous offshoot of Bally’s that offers more traditional table game experiences in a luxury, Western-themed facade. The rest of the casino is done in a modern aesthetic.
In conjunction with Caesars, Caesars online, 888 online, and Harrah’s casino, Bally’s Atlantic City also has online gambling options, offering players award-winning virtual casinos to go along with its in-person gambling experience.
Harrah’s
Harrah’s Atlantic City is the last casino on the list owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. It features an 800-seat theater called Broadway by the Bay and a modern spa and domed pool in the resort expansion of the casino.
While not as large as Bally’s, Harrah’s has 177,000 square feet of gaming space and over 5,500 slot machines, 40 poker tables, and 139 table games to keep you busy. It’s so adept at poker that it even hosts a World Series of Poker event each year.
Harrah’s shares its online gaming license with Caesars and Bally’s but retains its own online gambling casino under the Harrah’s name.
Tropicana
The Tropicana Casino & Resort is the only casino in Downbeach, located on the beach and Boardwalk of Atlantic City. It’s as famous for its shopping and recreation as its gambling spaces.
With over 25 restaurants, 20 bars, 4 pools, and 25 shops, the Tropicana Casino & Resort will keep you busy. In addition, it has a large gaming floor with over 2,400 slot machines and 132 table games.
Tropicana is largely responsible for making online gambling legal in New Jersey in the first place, so you can bet that its Tropicana Online Casino and its partnership with Virgin Casino are both profitable.
The Virgin Online Casino is one of the most acclaimed of its kind in New Jersey. It features a large selection of unique games that incorporate more table games than most online casinos, taking advantage of a service team of real dealers based in Atlantic City for a refined, accurate digital gambling experience.
Golden Nugget
The Golden Nugget name has been used many times, but the current casino is the most acclaimed. This particular casino used to be the Trump Marina before it was purchased and renamed in 2011.
It’s the smallest in-person casino on this list, offering a little over 74,000 square feet of gaming space. It has a mid-sized theater, a nightclub, sports courts, and a resort spa. It also features a 2000-seat ballroom that has seen a lot of action from some famous music industry names, including Prince and Sting.
Where the Golden Nugget Casino excels is in its online casino experience. Despite being a latecomer to the industry, the Golden Nugget Casino’s site became the most prolific in New Jersey in terms of its game selection: It now offers a staggering 500+ unique games to choose from, including hundreds of slot machines and dozens of table games with real dealers based in its casino.
Borgata
The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa is currently the largest hotel in New Jersey, servicing almost 3,000 rooms. It is also the most profitable casino in the city.
The Borgata’s 161,000 square feet of gaming area features 4,000 slot machines, 200 table games, and 85 poker tables. These poker tables offer daily high-stakes tournaments, including many associated with the World Poker Tour. Some buy-ins to these games reach as much as $1,000. It is the top venue for poker on the entire East Coast.
With such a luxurious in-person experience, you can bet that the Borgata is associated with online gambling excellence, as well. Through BetMGM, PartyCasino, Pala, Scores, and the eponymous Borgata Online Casinos, it continues its traditions of high-stakes poker games even in virtual form.
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Now we’re getting to the newbies. The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino was opened in 2018 on the site of the closed Trump Taj Mahal. It was bought by the Seminole Tribe of Florida at that time and converted into its current form.
It has many notable restaurants, including the Hard Rock Cafe and White House Sub Shop, both of which are known as historic landmarks in Atlantic City.
Its 167,000 square feet of gaming rooms, 2,000 serviced hotel rooms, and permanent shows at the Ego Lounge and Blue Velvet Theater make it one of the most well-known and frequented hotels and casinos in the city.
The Hard Rock Online brand is still relatively new and has also partnered with Unibet Casino and Bet365 to try and get a handle on the online gaming experience in New Jersey.
Ocean Casino
The Ocean Resort Casino is the newest on this list, opening in June of 2018. It’s on the site of the old Revel casino but no longer services its luxury gamblers. Instead, the Ocean Casino aims to service mid-level gamblers with its gaming facilities, which feature over 120 table games and 2,500 slot machines.
It has three luxury restaurants but 10 that are less formal, in keeping with its goal to give more middle-class gamblers a chance to have a luxurious experience within their means.
While both the Ocean Online Casino and the Parx Casino NJ brands are relatively new, they are trying to get a foothold in the online casino world and are steadily improving both the number of games that they offer and their new user interfaces.
The Takeaway
These nine casinos are the pillars of the luxury nightlife in Atlantic City, New Jersey. They each offer their own definition of luxury, dining, and high-stakes gambling experiences for those in need of them.
In addition to the gambling tables and slot machines, these locations also offer some of the most luxurious hotels, bars, spas, and restaurants in the world. Their partnerships with software brands have led to the creation of many successful online casinos, many of which carry their names.
This guide should help you choose between these casinos and find the best virtual casino counterparts available in New Jersey. No matter which you choose, Atlantic City’s decadent gaming scene has something for you, whether you want to go in-person or experience their refined gambling experiences from the comfort of your home.