The Casino File
Ocean Casino Resort’s latest addition/innovation is anything but par for the course.
Last Saturday evening, a few hundred of the pleasure dome’s closest friends — including a few bold-faced names — gathered to celebrate the grand opening of Ocean’s 18 Mini Golf & Bar. The 8,000-square-foot, high-tech complex located in a previously unused space on the property’s “city” side next to the La Scala’s Fire Italian eatery is the first such facility under a gaming-hall roof anywhere in the world.
Ocean’s 18 (an absolutely perfect name!) is laid out over two levels, each of which boasts a nine-hole course. Individually, the holes don’t take up a lot of space; there isn’t a lot of length to them. But they are arranged in ways that provide some degree of challenge to players.
The holes’ designs are modern-bordering-on-futuristic, with the color scheme emphasizing blue and lavender. There are no mechanical animal tails or windmills to be found, but both courses are big on tunnels, tubes and chutes. And only one of the 18 holes has a casino-related theme (a roulette wheel).
Two unique features are digital, QR-code scorecards and a real-time leaderboard that allows guests to measure their performances against others throughout the day.
According to Becky Thiry, Ocean’s executive director of marketing, the concept was a no-brainer for the property which, incidentally, has for years housed a Topgolf outlet.
“We looked at what our customers want and need, and we thought a mini golf course that had a lot of new features and things that the market hasn’t seen before would be a great addition for our guests of all ages,” she said. “It gives our guests something interesting to do in addition to all the other great amenities we have.”
While miniature golf is firmly ensconced in the “family fun” category, it’s no accident that “& Bar” is part of its name. And it’s why it becomes an over-21 playpen nightly at 9. That, reasoned Thiry, dovetails with the gaming hall’s multi-generational marketing strategy.
“Just like some other amenities we have on property, there is a bar that’s available for 21-and-older guests,” she offered. “But families are allowed and we encourage them to enjoy the space before 9 o’clock. We embrace visitors of all ages to Ocean, and we think this is [something] that will appeal to both families and those who are 21 and older.”
To that end, two large bars dominate the front part of Ocean’s 18, whose optical technology was created by HYPERVSN, the company that conjured the much-talked-about hologram program at The Sphere in Las Vegas. Here, that includes “Ava the Avatar,” a virtual human who welcomes and interacts with guests. Ava is multilingual, which allows guests to communicate with the hologram in their native languages.
The venue, which is open Wednesday through Monday, also claims a 12-foot Great White Shark hologram over the main bar that Ocean folks brag is the largest hologram ever installed in a mini-golf course or inside a casino. And two giant video screens display various athletic broadcasts giving the place a sports-bar vibe.
Admission is $15 per person for nine holes and $25 for 18. There are no age-related discounts. And an extra $5 buys three chances at the “Challenge Hole.” For more, go to theoceanac.com.
Shootin’ the breeze with ‘Shooter’
Gilmore” movies, made an appearance.
As noted above, a few familiar faces showed up at Saturday’s grand-opening bash including “Jersey Shore” cast members Sammi “Sammi Sweetheart” Giancola and Jenni “JWoww” Farley. Also spotted were former Philadelphia 76ers president, Pat Croce and the Phillie Phanatic, who cakewalked to the sounds of the Avalon String Band. But the main attraction was veteran character actor Christopher McDonald who famously portrayed golf hotshot Shooter McGavin in both “Happy Gilmore” movies. We asked him if he’d ever envisioned he’d become a golf icon.
“I had no idea [‘Happy Gilmore’] was gonna be big,” offered the genial Waterloo, N.Y. native who turns 70 next month. “This one blew up when it got to television, everybody watched it and it became iconic.”
He modestly turned away praise for his on-the-links performance, admitting that he “acted like a golfer; I needed a little help, so I had a pro with me.”
Nonetheless, he aced the lower-level “Challenge Hole.” So, he obviously has some idea of how to play the game, right?
He explained that at his peak, he was playing twice a week, primarily at charity-related events. Then, he estimated he was a seven handicap, “but today, I’m probably a 12.”
Chuck Darrow has spent more than 40 years writing about Atlantic City casinos.
