CASINOS & RESORTS
TechnoBeat
It is impossible not to enjoy yourself at theis delightfully anachronistic production. The old Ocean One/Shops At Caesars building at Boardwalk and Park Place has been renamed The Playground. There are still has plenty of retail stores, but there are a number of bars and nightclubs with different themes, such as a 1920s speakeasy and a New Orleans honky tonk in the back of the complex known as “T Street.” Tanger has expanded the number of outlet stores you’ll find at The Walk, the town’s main shopping complex. Outlet malls have popped up with great regularity around the country, but The Walk features factory stores from brands such as Chaps and Skechers. What Atlantic City has over its gambling competitors is the world’s most famous boardwalk, as well as well-maintained beaches. Given area weather, guests probably can sneak a few days in
Photos courtesy DoAtlanticCity.com
Trump Taj Mahal
AC No Longer DOA: The past year hasn’t been easy for Atlantic City’s casino industry, as several showplaces closed. It wasn’t that the gamblers were getting luckier – it was ever-growing competition from nearby casinos in the greater Philadelphia area as well as Resorts World in Queens made it hard for some of this area’s casinos to cover high fixed costs. Atlantic City officials have recognized that their city could no longer place all of their bets on casinos for their economic well-being, and have worked fast and Tropicana furious at diversification. “AC” is suddenly hot again. The upcoming Miss America Pageant actually left Atlantic City for a few years, but now has returned. The Atlantic City Comedy Festival is slated for Columbus Day weekend. In addition, there are high level wine and food festivals scheduled throughout the year. Entertainment has always been a forte for AC. Name acts continue to play the casinos, while Madonna will perform at Boardwalk Hall on October 3. While name acts understandably bring out high rollers, the relatively inexpensive house shows that the casinos are known for are every bit as enjoyable. This past summer, The Taj Mahal featured mentalist Wayne Hoffman showing off his ESP skills in “Mind Candy,” while The Tropicana offered an old school magic revue, “Madame Houdini,” with female prestidigitator Hellevi Woodman in the title role. A favorite of this reviewer, however, was The Borgata’s “Burlesque,” still scheduled for Thursday nights through the fall. It offers 1940s-style risqué song-anddance numbers as well as R-rated comedy.
Harrahs
the surf and be comfortable through midOctober. It’s also hard to beat the low impact exercise from walking the five-milelong boardwalk. There is a new tram that runs along the boardwalk that charges $2. The Trump Taj Mahal no longer has ties to “The Donald,” though the Trump name is prominent there and on their website, trumptaj.com. The Taj is celebrating its 25th anniversary, but the celebration has been a bit muted because of both labor and economic survival issues. Financier Carl Icahn has agreed to become the new owner of the Taj if he can get union concessions. Business aside, “The Taj” remains the gem of boardwalk hotels with its spacious rooms and plentiful restaurants. Il Mulino offers top-notch Italian cuisine, while Robert’s should please any serious steak fancier. On the less formal side, The Hard Rock Café, famous for its ribs and rock music memorabilia, is hot, as is a longtime favorite, White House Subs, famous for its overstuffed hero sandwiches. Harrah’s, across town by the Marina District, also has superb restaurants. Sammy D’s is a great place to go for light fare such as salads or a late night dessert, or have a full dinner. Dos Caminos offers tasty authentic Mexican cuisine, including the healthy salmon a la plancha. You can get to the Marina District from the boardwalk via the small buses known as The Jitney. For more information call (888)AC-VISIT, or log onto atlanticcitynj.com. – Lloyd Carroll
6 • Good Times Magazine - September 8 - 21, 2015
By Richard Joseph Branciforte
NGHTMRE. He produces trap and dubstep and all subgenres of trap and dubstep. He’s got everything from dirty dubstep to chill dubstep to trap originals and trap remixes. NGHTMRE is a very versatile producer and has a relatively strong following in the EDM community. However, he’s the type of person that deserves to have even more recognition than he does right now. From his Nuclear Bonds EP with Slander and his array of remixes of songs by Rae Sremmurd, Lookas, Victor Niglio, Porter Robinson, and so many more. His musical style will even go past trap and dubstep, experimenting Party with all types of sounds. That’s the Thieves kind of versatility that the music industry needs. Someone who can make good, popular music, but that doesn’t conform to any norms or produce what he is told to. One song I haven’t been able to stop playing is his “Dum Dee Dum” remix. When it hits, it just makes me feel some type of way. I expect to see some big things from NGHTMRE in the future. Last, but certainly not least, is my man Jauz. Just a couple of months ago I had no idea who this was. But I’ve seen his name pop up everywhere from festival headlines to getting pretty big now (at least in my new tracks and all over my Facebook eyes), yet the general public has no feed. Jauz, like NGHTMRE, is all idea who they are. Of course they’re over the place with his production. not getting played on the radio and Some songs have trap vibe, some they didn’t do a collaboration with Justin Beiber. I’m here to be the voice have a chill vibe, and others might as well be in a category of their own. of those artists right now because He recently had a banging set at these guys are taking off and I think Hard Summer in LA and is only riswill be huge within the next few ing up, with a new track out on months. Monstercat feat Pegboard Nerds. The Party Thieves is sitting around genre you ask? “Wubs.” It’s great 58,000 Soundcloud followers as this isn’t it? That’s exactly what it sounds writing. Though that is nothing to like. Wubs. But their musical mixed scoff at, that’s not really the number and mastered to give the listener a where people start being able to recride. I’d like to see more collaboraognize your song in the general pubtions like this including Jauz. I mean, lic. What Party Thieves does have the guy just finished a collaboration going for him is his ability to be with Skrillex. How much more reindope. I was trying to figure out a difforcement do you need from me? ferent way to say it, but I couldn’t. Make sure you check that out too The stuff this guy produces is pure fire. Every drop has an epic sound to when you get a chance. Well, that’s all for me for now. it and sounds like you could have a Enjoy your day and drop me a line at drumline bump to it. He seems to richiegtechno@gmail.com. work well with Instant Party!, as two of my favorite trap songs consist of a collaboration between Jauz these two. “Savages” is the type of song I would open up a set with. It’s got an eerie beginning that gives an ominous feeling that just breaks into some gangsta trap music. His other hit, “No Heroes,” is something I would play as the last song in a set with the confetti canons ready to go, having the whole crowd pumped and jumping. Sorry, just my DJ fantasy coming to life right there. But either way, he’s gonna blow up at the end of this year and in 2016. He’s already mi=aking his way into festivals and I think he will soon be headlining the trap and bass stages. The next person I’d like to bring up to the plate is As Electric Zoo draws closer, the energy I feel in the dance community is definitely stronger. It is one of those premier events that just gets you in the mood for all types of EDM, everywhere. This has definitely passed on through me and I’ve been scrolling through all of my tracked artists on both Soundcloud, Facebook, and Spotify, looking for new kinds of music. Although most of my feed tends to be taken up by an odd assortment of deep house and mellow tunes, I do occasionally find a song that really gets me going. There are a couple of artists that seem to be