ATLANTIC CITY -- The 2,002 rooms are wired for high-speed Internet access. The 3,650 slot machines spit out tickets, not coins. The shower stalls are built for two - nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
Then there's Mixx, a restaurant-nightclub featuring private club rooms, available for rent by couples seeking a little privacy.
After three years of construction and a price tag of more than $1 billion, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has opened its doors.
The joint venture of Las Vegas casino companies Boyd Gaming Corp. and MGM Mirage is the first new casino-hotel to open in Atlantic City since Trump Taj Mahal in 1990.
"I had to be here, just for the excitement of it," said Rosemarie Leone, 57, of Haddon Heights, N.J. "They said it was going to be beautiful and lavish and it is."
The 43-story casino, which sits on a sprawling 40-acre off-Boardwalk site, hopes to dazzle gamblers with technology and amenities previously unseen in Atlantic City.
Among its features:
Slot machines that accept paper money but not coins, and pay off in bar-coded tickets. Other casinos have them, but Borgata is the only entirely coinless slot operation in town. Still, early reports from some guests indicate that they miss the sound of clanging coins.
The casino's $10 million ad campaign urges gamblers to "Go to your happy place." It has emphasized sex in both the advertisements and the amenities.
Pillows in some rooms have "tonight" and "not tonight" embossed on them. And the doorknob signs, which say "Do not disturb" in most hotels, say "Tied Up."
"It's a fun place with a lot of energy. It's got an international feel and there's sensuality to it," said Rob Stillwell, vice president of communications for Boyd Gaming.
Boyd Gaming officials say the emphasis on the young and hip would help broaden Atlantic City's casino market, now made up of day-tripping slot players, many in their 60s and 70s.
"There's people, we believe, who aren't coming to Atlantic City who are going to come here and find their home in Borgata," said Sid Vaikunta, director of marketing.
http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/business/2003/07/04newatlanticcity.html
Then there's Mixx, a restaurant-nightclub featuring private club rooms, available for rent by couples seeking a little privacy.
After three years of construction and a price tag of more than $1 billion, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has opened its doors.
The joint venture of Las Vegas casino companies Boyd Gaming Corp. and MGM Mirage is the first new casino-hotel to open in Atlantic City since Trump Taj Mahal in 1990.
"I had to be here, just for the excitement of it," said Rosemarie Leone, 57, of Haddon Heights, N.J. "They said it was going to be beautiful and lavish and it is."
The 43-story casino, which sits on a sprawling 40-acre off-Boardwalk site, hopes to dazzle gamblers with technology and amenities previously unseen in Atlantic City.
Among its features:
Slot machines that accept paper money but not coins, and pay off in bar-coded tickets. Other casinos have them, but Borgata is the only entirely coinless slot operation in town. Still, early reports from some guests indicate that they miss the sound of clanging coins.
The casino's $10 million ad campaign urges gamblers to "Go to your happy place." It has emphasized sex in both the advertisements and the amenities.
Pillows in some rooms have "tonight" and "not tonight" embossed on them. And the doorknob signs, which say "Do not disturb" in most hotels, say "Tied Up."
"It's a fun place with a lot of energy. It's got an international feel and there's sensuality to it," said Rob Stillwell, vice president of communications for Boyd Gaming.
Boyd Gaming officials say the emphasis on the young and hip would help broaden Atlantic City's casino market, now made up of day-tripping slot players, many in their 60s and 70s.
"There's people, we believe, who aren't coming to Atlantic City who are going to come here and find their home in Borgata," said Sid Vaikunta, director of marketing.
http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/business/2003/07/04newatlanticcity.html
