Laguna casino

Hotel and casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey

Harrah's Resort Atlantic City is a casino hotel in the marina district of Atlantic City, New Jersey, owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. Harrah's is one of the largest hotels in New Jersey.

The casino is one of three in the marina district (away from the Boardwalk and ocean beach) of the city, along with the Borgata and the Golden Nugget. Harrah's was the first to be located in the district and remained the only resort there until Trump's Castle (later Trump Marina, now the Golden Nugget) was opened in It was the fifth casino to open after the legalization of gambling.

History[edit]

Harrah's Atlantic City was conceived, and initial construction started, by a partnership of LM Walters Co and Holiday Inns. It was originally to be named the "Holiday Inn Marina Casino". Holiday Inns purchased Harrah's Corporation, following the death of Harrah's founder Bill Harrah, during construction of the facility. Though Bill Harrah did not participate in the new casino's development, the facility was re-branded Harrah's Marina Hotel Casino prior to opening. The new casino was located in the marina district – the first casino in Atlantic City not located on the famous boardwalk. Harrah's Waterfront Tower rises 46 stories above the Marina in Atlantic City.

Harrah's opened on Saturday November 22, with a room hotel tower, now known as the Coastal Tower,^[3] and became the top-grossing casino in the city. In , Harrah's opened the new all-suite Atrium Tower,^[4] due to the complex's popularity and the opening of Trump's Castle across the road. Another expansion occurred in with the opening of the Marina Tower.^[5] The Harbour, Atrium, and Marina towers each stand at 16 stories tall,^[6] and the Atrium Tower is connected to the Coastal and Marina towers by hallways on each floor. In , the story Bayview Tower opened, along with expanded gaming space.^[7]

The Waterfront Tower opened in , along with a new pool and a spa, to better compete with the nearby Borgata, which opened in The hotel tower is Atlantic City's second tallest building, at feet.^[8] At night, the entire surface of the tower displays varying digital images. On a square footage basis, this installation is believed to be the largest exterior LED display surface in the world.

In November , Harrah's began renovating the Bayview rooms/suites. The rooms will look like the ones in the Valley Tower at Harrah's in Las Vegas. Floors 4, 5, & 6 were done before Christmas and opened on December 23, The full renovations were completed in ^[9] In late , Harrah's announced its room/suite Harbour Tower would be renamed the Coastal Tower and completely renovated to look similar to the recently renovated Bayview Tower rooms. The first set of rooms will open on Thursday February 7, , and the rest of the rooms should be completed by summer ^[10]

In July , Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment, taking over operations of the property. In connection with that acquisition, Vici Properties bought the real estate of Harrah's Atlantic City for $ million and leased it back to Eldorado (newly renamed as Caesars Entertainment).^[11][12]

Restaurants and shops[edit]

Harrah's features a variety of restaurants, both for fine and casual dining (including a restaurant by Gordon Ramsay),^[13] and a small collection of stores.

Entertainment[edit]

The seat Broadway by the Bay Theater opened on December 31, , with singing team Sandler and Young. The room featured many of the staples of Harrah's properties in Reno and Lake Tahoe including Sammy Davis, Jr., Andy Williams, The Oak Ridge Boys, Marilyn McCoo, Shecky Greene and Suzanne Somers. Many professional boxing events have also been held in the theater. In , the room was remodeled to feature theater-style seating and seats were added. The seat theater was renamed The Concert Venue. Recent headliners have included Ron White, Penn & Teller and Patti LaBelle.

Events[edit]

Sports[edit]

Boxing matches are held at the casino.^[14]

Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa[edit]

The Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa is a state-of-the-art spa located next to the domed pool in the new expansion of the resort. It consists of 23 treatment rooms, Jacuzzi and sauna rooms, and a cafe. Closed in A new spa opened in

Gaming[edit]

Harrah's has ,&#;sq&#;ft (16,&#;m²) of gaming space, with 5, slot and video poker machines and table games.^[15] The poker room has 40 tables,^[15] and hosts an annual World Series of Poker event.^[16] Harrah's also has a sportsbook which offers sports betting that opened on August 1, ^[17]

Poker Room – Harrah's Atlantic City features 40 poker tables open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The room offers mainly low limit cards games. Most big limit poker players tend to play at The Borgata. They host a number of tournaments every year, including a WSOP circuit event and some World Poker Tour tournaments as well.^[18]

The Pool at Harrah's[edit]

The new pool at Harrah's is located under a large glass dome and is surrounded by palm trees and other plants. Due to the landscaping and warm temperature year-round, the pool has become a very popular destination in the city. It has a minimum age of 21, and guests under 21 can use the family pool on the opposite side of the resort. On Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights, the pool is transformed into "The Pool After Dark," offering live DJ music with artists such as 50 Cent, PSY, Jesse McCartney, and VIP Bottle Service.

The pool closed for major renovations on January 17, , and reopened on March 3,

Transportation[edit]

Harrah's has a bus service, the Caesars Rewards Shuttle, which takes hotel guests and Caesars Rewards members to Caesars Atlantic City and Tropicana, the other Caesars Entertainment properties in Atlantic City. it operates 11am-8pm Friday-Sunday. it goes from Harrah's to Caesar's then to Tropicana in that order.

Harrah's Atlantic City is also accessible via the Brigantine Connector and is serviced by Route 2 and 3 of the Atlantic City Jitney Association.

The Casino is also accessible by rail via the free jitney buses to and from the Atlantic City Rail Terminal (NJ Transit Atlantic City Line).

Also accessible by NJ Transit Bus #

The casino offers air charter service via Republic Airlines to Atlantic City International Airport from many cities across the East coast with hotel packages.^[19]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]