Atlantic City Pier at Caesars, Then and Now!

The Pier at Caesars: then and now! Atlantic City, NJ

After years of speculation, worry, and a seemingly open-ended construction process, the Pier Shops at Caesars have been a reality for about a year now. I can remember working at Bally’s in 2002 and as a front desk clerk having frequent occasion to be in the Bally’s high-rise while running room checks. I would look down at the remnants of the pier and wonder when something would happen. Even now as a concierge, infrequent visitors to AC stun me every so often by asking for "that mall that looks like a ship". If that’s not a trip in the way-back machine, you have to wonder what is. The Pier as we know it today used to house the Shops on Ocean One (hence today’s Pier using the address "One Atlantic Ocean") and before that the "Million Dollar Pier". By the way, am I alone in thinking that the address "One Atlantic Ocean" is just plain cool, not to mention just a little bit ballsy? Didn’t think so. (Side note: a guest I once checked into Bally’s lived on, no joke, Wit’s End Road, at least so his license said. Who wouldn’t want to live there? How many of us do now anyway?) Ocean One fell into disrepair and basically turned into an eyesore in the late 1990s, and was closed permanently in 2002 to prepare for the pier’s leveling and lengthening. For those that don’t know, The Pier Shops stick out roughly 900 feet into the Atlantic Ocean, when measured from the Atlantic City Boardwalk edge to the tip of the Level One fishing section.

The original idea and management of The Pier Shops came from The Gordon Group, eponymous company of one Sheldon Gordon, who among other things built The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and the Beverly Center in Los Angeles. Sheldon Gordon is recognized as a pioneer of the "Entertainment Retail" concept in the United States. Delays in The Pier’s construction became the talk of the town at one point and ultimately stretched to just over two years. The Gordon Group had originally told the AC Planning Board that the complex would be open in the early summer of 2004, only to see the estimate slip to June of 2005 and then to Summer of 2006. Construction is still not totally complete as we speak, but the majority of the leftover work is concentrated in what will become Rumjungle and the One Atlantic wedding chapel. The Gordon Group turned management and leasing functions of The Pier Shops over to Taubman Centers in early 2007. Taubman Centers is a real estate investment trust that currently owns and/or manages 23 urban and suburban regional and super regional shopping centers in 11 states. Hopefully, the list of stores will only continue to grow. The Pier Shops should not be missed on a trip to Atlantic City. It’s the perfect place to spend that big hit on the slots, or to just grab some great dinners.

One related note on The Pier at Caesars: the fishing section that sticks out from Level One as mentioned earlier is probably the best spot in the city for watching this year’s Thunder over the Boardwalk Atlantic City Airshow, scheduled for August 14th and 15th. You will easily be several hundred feet closer to the action than anyone on the beach, and while admittedly not as comfortable, for photo nuts like me it doesn’t matter. Anything that makes the zoom lens work better.

Mike Holovacs, the Atlantic City Mole, is a concierge at one of the larger casino properties in town. Feel free to leave comments or questions.

Look for more information about Atlantic City Casinos here.

List of restaurants at the Pier!

• Buddakan
• The Continental
• Phillips Seafood
• The Trinity Irish Pub
• Souzai Sushi & Sake
• Game On Sports Bar
• Sonsie
• Rum Jungle - Coming Soon!
• Starbucks

List of stores at the Pier at Caesars!

• Victoria's Secret
• Coach
• White House Black Market
• It's Sugar
• Iridessee
• Betsey Johnson
• BCBG
• Max Azira
• Brookstone
• Erwin Pearl
• FILA
• Stuart Weitzman
• Adriano Goldschmied
• Gymboree
• Janie & Jack
• Brats
• Sunglass Design
• Oh My Godard
• Cos Bar
• Kenneth Cole
• Torneau
• L'Occitane
• MovadoGuess
• Tommy Bahama
• BEBE
• GUCCI
• CACHE
• Cole Han
• Geox
• Hugo Boss
• Burberry
• Dandelion
• Watch Gear
• Ann Taylor
• Apple
• A X
• Armani Exchange
• Marshal Rousso
• Bottega Veneta
• The Body Shop
• Sports City
• Tiffany & Company
• M A C Cosmetics

Atlantic City Cruises - a family friendly activity in Atlantic City, NJ

Atlantic City Cruises - Gardner's Basin

800 New Hampshire Ave, Atlantic City, NJ 08401

Atlantic City rightfully directs most of its press and marketing activity towards things that cater to the over-21 market. After all, it’s a gambling town, and the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority (correctly) does not lose sight of that. But an activity that might unfortunately go overlooked during a visitor’s time here is Atlantic City Cruises. The cruises are a spectacular option for families visiting in the summer, and also for the other parent with the kids when Parent #1 is in convention meetings all day. As a concierge, I’m amazed sometimes at the number of people that didn’t know an excursion like this was available, and I’m all too happy to help. The cruise season currently runs from May 10th to October 14th, with anywhere from one to six departures per day from two convenient points in Atlantic City. Cruises depart from Historic Gardner’s Basin at New Hampshire Avenue, at the northern end of the island. (Atlantic City is on an island – a lot of people don’t realize that when they’re here – fun fact.) Cruises aboard the "Cruisn 1" also depart from the "E" Dock of the Senator Frank S. Farley State Marina, which is right across the street from Trump Marina. Captain and Owner of Atlantic City Cruises Jeff George does everything with his boat, from private parties to fundraisers, along with his regularly scheduled itineraries. I’ve personally been on several private group cruises with Jeff, and I loved every one. The scheduled voyage choices include things like a 9am combination bay and ocean cruise that highlights the ocean inlet and the resort’s bayside. It’s only an hour, which leaves a full day on the beach. Other options are the 11am narrated casino skyline tour, which looks at the AC skyline from the ocean side. Enjoy Memory Lane at sea for an hour. Cruisn 1 is a U.S. Coast Guard-certified passenger vessel with a maximum capacity of 150 people, but Jeff likes to keep it around 100 if possible so people can be more comfortable as they take in the sea air and the views. Atlantic City Cruises has been featured on The Weather Channel, NBC 10 Philadelphia, Fox 29 Philadelphia, CBS 3, and CN8. The New York Times, the AC Press, and the Philadelphia Inquirer have all done reports on AC Cruises. Also new for this season is Atlantic City’s only parasailing outlet, courtesy of AC Cruises. It used to be that anyone who wanted to parasail had to go down to Ocean City and fight the traffic into and out of the family resort. Not only can you now parasail without leaving AC, you can fly solo or tandem and take the option of being dunked in the bay on your way down from your temporary 500-foot perch or coming back to terra firma completely dry. In short, I love to cruise on Atlantic City Cruises, and everyone visiting the city that’s Always Turned On should definitely consider AC Cruises in their vacation planning. The AC Mole gives him two opposable thumbs way up!

Check out the Atlantic City Cruises Coupons << Click Link Mike Holovacs, the AC Mole, is a concierge at one of the larger casino properties in town. Feel free to leave comments or questions.