Remembering when AC was the ‘American Monte Carlo’
Remembering When In four days, Resorts Casino-Hotel will mark its 47th anniversary as the first legal casino to open outside of Nevada. The stories of that epochal day—about entertainer Steve Lawrence rolling the dice after making the first-ever state-sanctioned bet...
The unique beginnings of two Boardwalk hotel/casinos
Two Atlantic City hotel/casinos – one still standing, the other no longer with us – had rather unusual beginnings. The Brighton Hotel & Casino is barely remembered today, although it was actually the fourth hotel/casino to open in Atlantic City, and the resort’s...
How ‘song doctors’ saved these classic tunes
By Seth Briliant Between 1900 and 1940, thousands of songs were published. Some became very popular and have endured to this day, while others languished on dealers’ racks and were slowly (or sometimes quickly) forgotten. Many songs have interesting stories about...
When Hugh Hefner came to Atlantic City
By Bruce Klauber Hugh Hefner and Atlantic City were made for each other, so it seemed. As the founder of the Playboy empire, Hefner had been selling flesh, flash and glamour since he founded Playboy Magazine in December 1953. Seven years later, he founded the first...
Pearl Bailey and Louie Bellson: A love story
By Bruce Klauber It was an unlikely, unique, ahead of its time, and courageous love story, but it was a love story, nonetheless. Pearl Bailey was an internationally beloved entertainer. Louie Bellson was one of the finest drummers in the world of jazz. Pearl was...
