By Chuck Darrow
During the past quarter-century in Atlantic City, countless casino lounge performers have come and gone. Heck, casinos have come and gone in that period of time. But Beth Tinnon remains a local favorite.
Tinnon has been the queen of the local gaming hall lounge universe since she arrived here in September, 2000 with little more than hope as it was a suggestion, not a solid job offer, that brought the blonde, blue-eyed singer to Our Town.
Earlier that year, she explained during a recent chat, she was performing on a cruise ship. “I met some people on the ship and they said, ‘You know, you’d be great in Atlantic City,’” Tinnon recalled in the southern drawl of her native Gulletsville, Tenn. that remains despite her long Atlantic County residency.
“My contract was up in May, so I went back to Nashville, and I updated my bio, redid my headshot and went in the studio and did some demo recordings. And then I came to Atlantic City and opened the phone book and just started making phone calls. I think my first job was with Alex Glover at Center Stage Entertainment. I was only here three days, and I got a job at a high-roller party.”
since September 2000.
A different world
Tinnon couldn’t identify exactly which property hosted her local debut, but she is pretty sure it was either Bally’s Atlantic City or Caesars Atlantic City.
The world she entered at that time was somewhat different than the one Tinnon, who performs May 22 at the Bally Bet Sportsbook at the midtown gambling den, knows today.
“It was booming,” she remembered. “Borgata had not broken ground yet; there was a lot of talk about that, and about [the under-construction highway that would connect the AC Expressway with the Marina District]. There was a lot of growth; Atlantic City was really hitting its peak. So, I think I got here at a good time.”
As for the lounge landscape, the turn of the 21st century was a halcyon time for casino bars including those at long-gone casinos including the Dizzy Dolphin at the Atlantic City Hilton, the Casbah Lounge at Trump Taj Mahal, the Copa Lounge at the Sands Hotel & Casino and the Bourbon Street Lounge at the Showboat Hotel & Casino.
In the ensuing years, Tinnon played most, if not all. During the interview, she namechecked the above-mentioned properties as well as the Claridge when it had a gaming license. As a matter fact, when asked, she responded the only casino that’s never hosted her is Borgata. But there was one engagement that was particularly notable engagement.
Reaching the ‘Top’
In August, 2001, she began a three-year-plus run at the Top of the Trop, a sleek cocktail lounge located on the 20th floor of the original hotel tower at Tropicana Atlantic City.
“They wanted to have a personality for some of their lounges. Not just entertainers, but personalities,” she explained. “And Dennis Gomes [the late, former CEO of the Trop] came from Vegas, so he knew the importance of somebody who can sing a lot of different genres, look good, and have a personality and be good with customers.
“I auditioned, and that’s how I ended up getting my own lounge at the Top of the Trop.”
Tinnon’s time in the skyscraping saloon was such that she ultimately became the public face of the casino, with her visage beaming at drivers from billboards.
A large musical palette
Besides her obvious talent and warm, engaging stage presence, another key to her local longevity is clearly her versatility. She figures she’s sung “thousands” of songs starting in the pre-Atlantic City part of her career.
“I sing all different styles,” said Tinnon, whose calendar these days is filled with non-casino gigs (for a complete listing, go to bethtinnon.com). When I did the Wild Wild West [when it was part of Bally’s], I could sing country because that’s my background.
“And then at the Top of the Trop I was doing very classy, cabaret type stuff, like the ‘American Song Book’ and also smooth- jazz, Sade-type stuff, and Whitney Houston and that sort of thing.
“And then I would turn around and go sing at the Dizzy Dolphin and do Top 40 dance stuff. I was doing completely different material at each lounge. And I guess one of the reasons for the longevity that I have is because I’m able to sing a lot of different styles and sing them, you know, pretty well.”
While acknowledging the importance country music has always had in her life, when asked to identify her favorite genre as a performer, she quoted the late Ray Charles, saying, “There’s only two types of songs, good and bad.”
Here to stay
While Tinnon has lived through the city’s golden days, she’s also seen plenty of hard times. Logically speaking, with the resume she’s assembled here, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to have found steady work in other, less-volatile, gaming jurisdictions. So, what is it that has kept her here all these years?
“It’s the relationships that I’ve made over the years,” she declared without hesitation. “I’ve made a lot of great relationships; people know how hard I’ve worked Sometimes it’s up and sometimes it’s down. We’ve all kind of gone through a bunch of changes together and I’ve made my home here.
“And you can’t just want to just pick up and start anew. After COVID, I was like, ‘Hey, do I wanna go back to Tennessee, be more around family?’ But I love what I do here, and I don’t know who I would be if I were not entertaining. It’s just who I am.”
And what will be the key to her success going forward?
“The one thing about Atlantic City,” she reasoned, “is it’s always gonna change. That’s the only constant about the city. It’s always gonna change, and you have to be flexible.”
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.
