Trip Report 09/23 -long

Last Saturday we went to see Julie Roberts at Trump Marina . We were running late so we grabbed dinner at the Seafood Buffet . Most of the items were excellent , but I think $25pp+tax/tip is a bit much for a buffet . They should keep it below $20+ tax/tip considering the room isn%26#39;t anything out of the ordinary .

The show was great . But there was no opening act . Julie would benefit from some tighter mgt. and better production values , but it was great to see her in person .

And Trump Marina retains the title of Worst Beverage Service . All drinks , except wine , were served in plastic cups ( $7. %26amp; UP) . For beer you had your choice of Bud or Bud Lite . Mary ordered a ';Cosmo-no lime'; . The waitress brought a Kamikze on the rocks ( Which is basically a ';Cosmo -no cranbury ,on the rocks'; .) We sent it back . The waitress returned with drinks for others at our table but forgot Mary%26#39;s drink . When she brought the drink after a long wait ... It was another Kamakaze on the rocks . Mary decided to keep it . But the waitress never came back with our change . I wrote a letter of complaint .

Also if you decide to go to the Shell Showroom try to get seats near the middle as the sound sytem there only rates a 50 ( scale of 100) as compared to a 95 for HOB Music Hall or Harrah%26#39;s Showroom .

The table seting was CRAMPED !

After the show we went to the casino for a bit . Security had gathered around an older woman who said that a woman had pushed her and stolen her cashout ticket .

Harrah%26#39;s , Showboat and Taj were all super quiet ! I thought that the Jewish New Year might have had a some effect . Mary said that she thought that the tighter Slots since the NJ Budget fiasco might be affecting things . Worship at HOB was closed when we passed at 3am . The Casbah @ Taj was open but quiet . Harrah%26#39;s was very quiet as were the slots there ! But when we were leaving there was a line of about 20 cars trying to get through the ONE Cashier lane open . Some people started just going around the cones . More poor service !

We went to EGO at Taj . Place is geting worse instead of better . When they first opened they had specialty drink menus at the tables and the bar . I guess that either customers took them as souvenirs , OR ... they realized that the bartenders couldn%26#39;t figure out how to make most the drinks on it .

We sat down and politely asked a waitress to take our order . She said she would be back in a minute . She then sauntered past us 7 or 8 times , over the next half hour ,without looking our way . And apparently Ego hires their waitresses based on their ability to appear in in state of constant slow motion . There was also another waitress whom I saw on the floor twice in that half hour .

We had decided on starting out with Pina Coladas . We had them there a few weeks ago and they were excelent . In fact we saw quite a few people geting them . So I went up to the bar a ordered a couple . Bartender told me they had no frozen drinks . ??? I just ordered a couples of over-priced SoCos and went back to the table .

Since there is no host at either entrance , people including children were coming in off the lobby and sleeping in the back booths . From the casino entrance groups of loud ,scuzzy looking people were coming in and pulling up chairs by the dancefloor and not ordering any drinks . The waitresses have policy of not asking ANYONE if they would like a drink . Or telling them that they neen to order a drink . There are no 1 drink min. signs on the tables . The band ';Alter Ego'; was pretty good .The DJ plays music that is more like the Casbah Dance Club%26#39;s and chased many 30+ customers out of Ego . One drunken 20 somethink guy tried to ask a girl to dance and fell down in the process . I don%26#39;t think Ill go out of my way to give Ego another chance . Eden @ Harrah%26#39;s is a much better club as far as bartenders , drinks , waitresses and customer control are concerned . I do like the table seating and light show better at Ego . I saw one security guard pass through Ego while we were there . (Shouldn%26#39;t a security guard at least give the impression he can climb an entire flight of stairs without stopping for a rest ?)

We played a lot at Showboat and Harrah%26#39;s but finished up about $100 down each . We%26#39;ll be back in AC Oct 21st ( Maybe a quickie on Oct 8th. )

Trip Report 09/23 -long

allure... Sometimes the waitresses are understaffed, and you can understand if they aren%26#39;t prompt; the service you mentioned just seems like inattentiveness and not caring! And they wonder why people flake out on tips or act churlish?!

At the end of the day, it%26#39;s all about the customer. If the customer is not happy, then the worker who *relies* on the customer will not be happy!

At least the show with Julie was good; at least your ears were satisfied! LOL

Trip Report 09/23 -long

Allure, great report covering all bases. I%26#39;m disappointed to hear about Ego - it started out so well. I%26#39;m starting to think that the nightclub scene in AC is drawing mostly from a college-age set of patrons who are not around this time of year. If that%26#39;s the case, some changes are going to have to be made. Some effort to attract the 30 to 50 crowd with leisure time and money to spend would seem to be in order. Poor drink service at a nightclub, of all places, is a real bad move by casino management. Most patrons would not give the place a second chance.

Oh well, if I had my own casino........

ACMama

Great report Allure . Glad you enjoyed Julie .

ACmama , agree with your comment on additional venues for the (hate to say the word ) older generation .

There is a good amount of disposable income that they are missing out on .

Trump marina sounds like a NIGHTMARE for a few drinks. $7.00 and up, i would expect my drink in a glass not a cheapo plastic cup. Didn%26#39;t sound much better at The Taj bar either.

I knew there was a reason that i don%26#39;t go to bars anymore and that is surely a few of them.

CHEERS !!!!!!!

There was an article on msn.com today about the sorry state of Trump%26#39;s casinos and how the company doesn%26#39;t really have the cash (or the ability to borrow the cash) to fix them up. It did not mention Steel Pier but did mention a new tower at the Taj.

I think the title of the article was ';Fire Donald?'; if anyone%26#39;s interested.

It sounds like '; The Donald'; is heading out of the casino business slowly and maybe thats why Wynn is coming back to AC as he sees a great opportunity and the acceptance for nice Hotel / Casinos etc.. and with the name Wynn you can guarantee something special unlike the brand name of Trump whicjh seems to have worn out in AC.

CHEERS !!!!!!!

I stayed 3 nights at the Taj last week and from our window we could see them excavating for the new tower. The rooms seem to have been recently remodelled. About the only new thing going on in the casino was the news stand being gutted.

I enjoyed gambling there and found my money went a long way.. Although in the end it all ended up in Donald%26#39;s pocket! but the breakfast buffet and the Bombay Cafe isn%26#39;t up to scratch. I%26#39;ve eaten there 3 times in the past year and it is consistently poor. We ended up going next door to Resorts for dinner one night.

The music from Ego was so loud that people playing at the tables in front of the club couldn%26#39;t hear what the dealer or other table mates were trying to say to them.

The music from the DJ and to a lesser extent the Alter Ego band , is louder than the Dane Anthony Band .

We saw some work being done to make room for some new stores (?) on the walkover from the self park garage .

About the ';older'; patrons vs. the younger crowd , it actually seems that when they find a good spot , the over 40 crowd knows how to party better than the 20 somethings . Just compare the weekend crowd at the Lounge at Steak 38 to the crowd at Worship HOB ! A lot more spirited %26#39;interaction%26#39; going on at steak 38 !

Here%26#39;s an interesting addition about my visit to EGO ; I had said the SoCo%26#39;s were overpriced . I apologize . I checked my receipt tonight . ( I have the bad habit of just shoving any change and receipts from the bar or restaurant into my pant%26#39;s pocket .) The SoCo%26#39;s were only $7 ea. - Fair enough . What brought the total to $20 is that the bartender ';Rich'; also charged me $6 for a bottle of beer . Seems kinda hard to make that mistake since he put the two drinks in front of me and then turned around and rang them up . Didn%26#39;t he notice that the Price WASN%26#39;t Right ?

allure,

Perhaps that%26#39;s a reverse on the buy back system...instead of him buying you a drink, perhaps you bought him one!