Atlantic city gay hotel

Atlantic City’s revamped Resorts Casino aggressively targets gay travelers

ATLANTIC CITY Resorts Casino Hotel hired what is said to be the gaming industry’s first marketing director devoted strictly to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Resorts—the city’s oldest casino, which was recently brought out of bankruptcy by industry veteran Dennis Gomes—has appointed Joel Ballesteros director of alternative lifestyle marketing. The move could be a precursor to the opening of the first gay nightclub at an Atlantic City casino.

“A gay nightclub is one of the things being proposed,” Gomes tells Press of Atlantic City. “It may happen. It’s a good possibility. If we do have a nightclub like that, it will be focused on the gay community, but expose to everyone.”

In another bid to attract gay travelers, Resorts in May will debut a show called “Believe” that is in the style of “La Cage aux Folles.”

Gomes has rebranded the property with a Roaring ’20s theme, capitalizing on the popularity

Out History

In 1979-80, Atlantic City was booming. Gambling had been approved a few years earlier and the city was reinventing itself, big time. The grand old hotels from the 1920s were being renovated or torn down to build brand brand-new gaudy casinos. Not exactly like those in neon-clad Las Vegas, but much more flashy compared to the art deco hotels from the Boardwalk Empire era. Neighborhoods were gentrifying, whole blocks were razed, little motels were now condos, and it was non-stop action everywhere you looked. I felt an immediate and deep connection with Atlantic City; we were both searching for, and building, a modern identity for the world.

My father worked in construction. He remodeled and updated the former summer homes and apartment buildings into year-round residences. I enrolled in Atlantic Metropolis High School and began learning my new life in this small but burgeoning seaside city.

One of the English teachers ran an “experimental” class. You had to apply to attend, and I was lucky enough to receive in. It wasn’t your traditional high school class; it focused on c

Ocean House is a Queen Anne Victorian house, about 150 years old. In current operation since 1964. The house is located in the center of Atlantic City, on the beach block, there are no streets to cross to get to the beach and boardwalk. Basic, no-frills rooms for men in a cosy, clothing-optional and intimate atmosphere offered. Exclusively gay, only reservations in advance.

open: All year; rooms from US$ 42-150; free morning coffee; number of rooms: 15

  • Gay. Exclusively or almost exclusively gay men
  • Air conditioning
  • Parking available

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Gay Atlantic City

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In 1854 the Camden and Atlantic Railroad began educate service between Philadelphia and the coast, and the first commercial hotel was built the same year. The first boardwalk was constructed in 1870 and soon after half a million people were visiting each year. To verb the traffic more lines followed, including the Reading Railroad. Sound familiar? Landmarks and street names of this town are properties on the board game Monopoly. The city's golden age came in the 1920's when speakeasy liquor flowed freely despite prohibition, and gambling flourished in back rooms between blocks of the big modern hotels that had transformed the city. After the war the city's economic decline was a factor when voters approved gambling for Atlantic City in 1976.

The new Atlantic City of casinos and mega-resorts is again a gay-popular destination. The Adj Jersey Civil Union law of 2007 helped, and having your ceremony here is a good reason to visit. Atlantic City’s current mayor, Don Guardian, is gay and several resor