Atlantic City Insider
By AC Mike Lopez
The week of May 13th started off with a delicious breakfast at Brittany’s Café in Ventnor with my pal Alex Marino,COO of Stockton University. Anybody who knows Alex knows that he is always on the move so I was incredibly thankful to have the opportunity to sit down with him. We talked about a lot during our conversation but all I can say is that there is a whole lot to look forward to at Stockton in the coming year.
Later in the day I settled in at the Atlantic County Historical Society in Somers Point where Anthony Catanoso, owner/president of the Steel Pier delighted us with a presentation of the Steel Pier. In front of a standing room only crowd, Anthony took us back to the beginning days of the pier in 1898, through the leasing of the pier from Donald Trump in 1993, through today.
During the Donald Trump era in Atlantic City, Trump build the 1,000 foot pier for the sole use of landing his helicopters as he charted high rollers into A.C. to visit Trump Taj Mahal. In 1993 Trump signed a 2 year lease with Anthony and 5 other partners.
With $1,600, the brothers opened the Steel Pier, keeping it in business for almost 20 years on small leases year to year. Eventually, they bought the pier from Trump and began building the Infamous Steel Pier for what it is today. The pier now boasts a 227-foot observation wheel, 25 amusement rides, and a helicopter ride down the Atlantic City beach. It has also become home to many weddings and large events with 13 food outlets and 4 bars. The entire presentation can be found on my Facebook page – Mike Lopez.
Tuesday morning I headed over to Boardwalk Hall to catch the AC Blackjacks practice at 10am as they prepped for the May 18th game against the Baltimore Brigades – a game Atlantic City ended up winning 48-41. Practices are open to the public Tuesday through Thursday, 10am-noon. The next AC Blackjacks game will be held May 25th at 7pm. Get your tickets at www.acblackjacks.com.
The events continued with the Meet AC’s Atlantic City Hospitality Marketing meeting at Top Golf Swing Suite at Ocean Resort. Orange 142 Marketing Company presented the latest in digital social media analytics and advertising. I’d like to thank Ocean Resort for hosting us and Doug Mankiewicz, Jim Woods and the whole Meet AC team.
Wednesday night ended with a New Jersey Lifestyle Magazine contributor’s dinner at Valentina’s Northfield NJ presented by publisher Nick Valinote. Be sure to get your hands on a NJ Lifestyle Magazine at www.njlifestylemag.com or call 609-513-0813.
Friday, we taped the AC Mike and Coach James show at Triax 57 Studios at Playground Pier. Check it out on Triax 57 Facebook, Mike Lopez Facebook or AC Mike Facebook. After taping, it was off to Hard Rock Casino Hotel where I attended Tommy Shaw and the band at the Soundwaves concert venue. Myself along with a packed house of Styx fans rocks out to every song. Then it was off to bed where I spent a luxurious night in one of the rooms at Hard Rock Hotel.
Saturday morning I jumped on my bike and headed down to Kennedy Plaza to attend the Stop the Heroin Recovery Walk where thousands of participants gathered to hear Tony Luke talk about recovery, the loss of his son, and awareness. Thank you Bill and Tammy Schmincke for keeping Steven’s legacy alive.
It’s Memorial Day Weekend and things are happening all over Atlantic City including:
5/25: Amirn Van Buuren at HQ2
5/25 AC Blackjacks vs. Albany, Boardwalk Hall, 7pm
5/25 Freestyle Free for All 2019, Hard Rock, 8pm
5/25 The Gin Blossoms and Collective Soul, Hard Rock
5/26 Kevin James, Borgata Events Center
*For more AC Memorial Day Weekend happenings go to ACMikenj.com, Facebook pages: Mike Lopez & ACMike, Instagram @acmikenj.
See you on the 48 Blocks of Atlantic City.
Seek & Serve
Respectfully
AC Mike Lopez
Mike Lopez is an executive board member of the Miss New Jersey Education Foundation and the Gilda’s Club of South Jersey. He also currently works for the Camden Diocese Parish Of St Monica of Atlantic City . In addition to catching him in person somewhere on the 48 blocks of Atlantic City you can go to Facebook as Mike Lopez or ACMike.
