When Atlantic City's 12th and newest casino opens on April 2, it will be pioneering many entertainment resort "firsts," throwing down the gauntlet to its neighbors on casino row. (The Revel is located at 500 Boardwalk, which is on the far north end of the Boardwalk.)
Revel is the first smoke-free casino floor, a big gamble (yes, pun intended) in an industry where players like to puff while they play. Currently, NJ rules allow 25% of the casino floor to be designated for smokers but, given the nature of smoke, that is very hard to contain. Revel will have just one small area outside, away from everything else, that will be set up for smokers. The area is isolated and no one has to walk through it to get anywhere else on the property.
Revel will have more part-time employees than any other house on the Boards. That might sound like a plot to avoid paying benefits, but according to Revel CEO Kevin DeSanctis. . . (Continue reading below)
"The number one issue when you open is you can't overpromise on staffing," he said. "I don't want to have to take people who are working full-time and transfer them to part-time. We have more part-time, and hopefully if we are successful, we will take people who are now part-time and put them on full-time. I don't want it to be the reverse."
And now Revel will be the first casino with free entertainment. Yes, you read that right. Guests will be able to find free shows at The Social, a 700-seat showroom in the middle of the casino floor. No, you won't see Madonna, Tony Bennett or a big current band like Maroon 5 for free. That's pushing it. What you will see are acts like America, Eddie Money and Edgar Winter. These artists regularly play Atlantic City's other casinos with prices of $25 to $50 per ticket, sometimes more.
The Social will be similar to the Wolf Den at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncas, CT, a house that DeSanctis opened in 1996. Acts schedule at the Wolf Den in the next few months include Irish band The Saw Doctors, country singer Phil Vassar and former Righteous Brother Bill Medley.
“I think we’ll program [The Social] the way Mohegan’s Wolf Den was originally envisioned,” DeSanctis told reporters last week during a conference call to discuss Revel’s debut in six weeks.
“I always liked the concept of not charging in that environment, other than you probably have to buy a couple drinks,” he added.
There will occasionally be “name” artists performing in The Social, he said. Although they won’t be A-list entertainers, DeSanctis stopped short of labeling them B-list.
“I think we’ll have some surprises in there,” he said. “Yes, it will be a lot of musical groups. But there’ll be some other things there. ... I also think on weekends, when there’s an awful lot of people in town, we want to create some surprises there. But I wouldn’t want to be confined to the B-level entertainer thought process.”
Stay tuned to this column for all the exciting events surrounding the opening of the beautiful Revel resort. Use the subscribe button under my name at the top of the article to make sure you don't miss anything!
SOURCES: therepublic.com / atlanticcityweekly.com
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