It takes something really special to get Gary and Kirsten Lucas to arrange for a babysitter and drive to Atlantic City from their home in New Britain, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
For the Lucases, both 34, a big-name electronic dance music DJ is worth the effort. They last came to Atlantic City more than four years ago to see Deadmau5 in the Event Center at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. They were back in the resort last Saturday to experience Skrillex in the new WAV Nightclub at the Playground Pier at Caesar’s.
“If someone is going to come here, it has to be for the best of the best, the best of that category, the best of that genre,” said Kirsten Lucas. “If it’s not, I don’t think people like us are going to drive from two hours away.” The couple live just 25 minutes from Parx Casino in Pennsylvania. They need a big incentive to come to Atlantic City. “People aren’t going to pay for mediocre,” Kirsten said.
Some of the biggest movers and shakers on the Atlantic City nightlife scene — Borgata, Ivan Kane and the Tropicana Casino and Resort — are betting on millennials like the Lucases, those born between 1980 and 1996, to help keep the resort afloat.
So even as the city is facing an unprecedented financial crisis, three new clubs are opening in town.
The clubs are designed to appeal to a new generation of Atlantic City visitors, young people who are more concerned with the latest music and dance parties than they are with slot machines.
Club operators say plans to diversity Atlantic City’s economy, to make it more than just a gaming resort, hinge on dance clubs and nightclubs. These venues are designed to attract young people with disposable income, who are willing to spend money on hotel rooms, shopping, dinners, alcohol and maybe a little gambling.
Aside from Haven Nightclub inside the Golden Nugget Atlantic City, there has been a void in Atlantic City nightlife since Club HQ closed when Revel Casino Hotel shut its doors in September 2014, said Zach Seidman, director of marketing & entertainment at WAV Nightclub.
“The WAV demographic is those over age 21-to-45-year olds. It’s a destination like HQ,” said Seidman, who used to work at Club HQ.
During its opening last weekend, WAV hosted DJ Tommy Trash and Skrillex, an eight-time Grammy Award-winning artist. Even before Skrillex came on, dancers were recording the laser-light show that accompanied one of the opening DJs on their cell phones.
Ed Pfaff, 22, of Prospect Park, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, also was in town for Skrillex. He likes electronic dance music and is a raver, but he said it is his buddies who tell him where to go, and he drives.
“They told me about Skrillex, and I said, ‘I’m down,’” Pfaff said.
Since Pfaff turned 21 on March 2, 2015, he has been to Atlantic City at least six times. He will gamble $200 during a 24-hour period. He prefers penny slots, blackjack and roulette.
“We always stay overnight,” he said. “Usually at the Tropicana.” Atlantic City is a three-hour round trip from his home.
When Pfaff comes to Atlantic City, he either visits the dance clubs or the casinos.
“We will come to Atlantic City no matter what, but this place makes it a lot better,” Pfaff said of WAV. He called the new venue a beautiful club and a great scene. “We do come here a lot, but this place does make us want to come here more.”
This weekend sees the opening of Premier at Borgata, which takes over the space that used to be occupied by MIXX. For years, Borgata divided resources between two clubs, with MIXX and mur.mur. But now mur.mur has closed with the debut of Premier.
Among Premier’s roster of DJ’s is celebrated electronic artist and record producer Steve Aoki, 38, and EDM artist and rapper Lil Jon, 45.
The opening of these clubs comes at a time when national attention is focused on Atlantic City’s cash crisis and the on-again, off-again efforts to save the city from default. It may seem like a strange time for entertainment venues to be making major investments in the city, but the timing is purely coincidental.
The process of building the $14 million Premier nightclub started about two years ago, when no one foresaw the city’s financial implosion, said Joe Lupo, Borgata’s senior vice president of operations.
“The significant capital investment does illustrate the importance of nightlife to Borgata, which introduced upscale nightlife entertainment to the city 13 years ago when we opened,” Lupo said.
And Borgata isn’t done. A new outdoor, 3,200 square-foot, Roman-style pool accompanied by 400 chaise lounges, cabanas and daybeds, an entertainment stage, full-service bar and lawn games should be open this year. This is bound to be another daytime and nighttime hotspot.
“As we have evolved, so too has nightlife, not only in Atlantic City, but also continued advancement in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami and New York,” said Lupo. Josh Held, who designed Premier, also created the clubs Marquee NYC, TAO Las Vegas and Voyeur Los Angeles.
Premier Night at Borgata was one part of the $15 million project whose funding was approved last year by the board of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. The CRDA did not provide any funding for the WAV at The Playground or Kiss Kiss A Go-Go at Tropicana.
“The continuing re-investment in world-class entertainment venues by Atlantic City’s casino properties dovetails perfectly with the CRDA’s commitment to another season of spectacular summer beach concerts and top flights acts at Boardwalk Hall,” said John Palmieri, CRDA’s executive director.
Late next month or early June, Kane, the man behind the Royal Jelly Burlesque Nightclub in the now defunct Revel, will debut his new club, called Kiss Kiss A Go Go, which takes over the space most recently occupied by the Comedy Stop in The Quarter at the Tropicana.
Kiss Kiss A Go-Go, which will be a sexy club with a Bangkok influence, will appeal to a broader demographic than the typical EDM club, Kane said. Electronic dance music clubs are usually aimed at people 21 to 25 years olds, but Kane sees the sweet spot of his club being 20-to-40-year-olds.
Royal Jelly Burlesque Nightclub was incredibly successful, and when Revel closed, Kane started having conversations with Tropicana about doing something at The Quarter.
“I’m thrilled by the opportunity to be involved here in the Tropicana,” he said. And he has faith in Atlantic City.
“I still believe it’s an incredible destination,” he said, although the city’s current financial situation is frustrating.
“Atlantic City needs to move forward. Premier, WAV, Kiss Kiss A Go-Go are one step forward. I’m 100 percent certain that we will be a successful,” Kane said.