A.C.'s Gambling Empire Strikes Back

Atlantic City casinos saw enough of their business getting siphoned away by Pennsylvania gambling halls that they started fighting back -- with billboards.

Tired of watching slots parlors in Pennsylvania steal away their best customers, A. C. casinos countered with billboards and direct marketing aimed squarely at residents of the Keystone State.

Trump Entertainment Resorts put up billboards around Pennsylvania touting all the things that Atlantic City offers but Pennsylvania doesn't. A photo of a billboard in Bethlehem, Pa. was posted on the Press of A.C.’s Web site.

Included on the billboard’s checklist of A.C. offerings that you can’t find in Pa. were table gaming, ocean views and the beach (duh).

The only thing the two had in common was slot dollars.

The message: Sure, you can feed money into slot machines close to home, but do you have all the other amenities like an ocean, hotels, spas and many gourmet restaurants, not to mention table games?

Since the first slots parlor opened in the Philadelphia suburbs in November 2006, Atlantic City's 11 casinos saw their revenues plunge as gamblers who once had little choice but to drive to the shore could now play the slots much closer to home.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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