Atlantic City gamble ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — We stood on the Boardwalk at the junction of Park Place, trying to imagine this beach resort in its glory days, a century ago, and the modern-day attempt to r In 1978, the State of New Jersey approved casino gambling for Atlantic City. It was thought that Las Vegas north would be an instant goid mine: a population of 100 million people or more lived within an easy driving distance. All the big names moved to de- velop: Resorts International, from Paradise Island in the Bahamas; Caesar's Palace; the Sands; Har- rah’s and a series of properties bearing the name of Donald Trump. Trump's Taj Mahal on the Boardwalk is a garish $1 billion monstrosity. Huge concrete ele- phants guard its portals. Just across the Boardwalk, for five dollars, you can sit on top of a real elephant. Two large, tired beasts stand all day on a small platform posing for pictures. This is the city immortalized by the monarch of all board garses, Monopoly, You walk not only Boardwalk and Park Place, but all of the other landmarks: Ventnor, Atlantis, Pacific, Tennessee, Mar- vin Gardens, St. Charles — they are all there, in all cases shabby replicas of what they once must have been. Atlantic City, known for de- cades as the ‘‘Queen of Resorts’’ began its march to prominence with the laying of the first planks along its beach in 1870. It ultimately became a broad walkway that stretches five miles. Extensions along neighboring beachfronis have created a 16- mile promenade. The first rail to the fabulous beach was Jaid in 1854. By the 1880s, rail lines from New York and Philadelphia were depositing hundreds of visitors each day. Atlantic City gave the world the picture postcard. It was here that the amusement «pier was invented. Carnival attrac- tions ran out of space along the shore. In order to create more com- mercial space, horizontal sky- ‘ scrapers of games, rides and amusements stretched out into the (These writs were filed with the Vancouver registry between Ju- ly 17 and July 30, 1992. In- formation is taken from the statements of claim.) Plaintiff: Sussex Group - S.R.C. Realty Corp., 2996 Lonsdale Ave., North Van- couver, and Donna Pinkowski, 4774 Armour Crt., North Van- couver. Defendant: Arthur Nicholson, 2299 Alden Lane, Norih Van- couver, Claim: $13,712.50 commission for the sale of property. Plaintiff: Royal Bank of Canada, 2015 Main St., Van- couver, Defendant: Marilyn B. Dili- genti, a/k/a Marilyn Slade Dil- igenti, 6221 Imperial Ave., West Vancouver. Claim: $11,326.80 owing on two credit cards. ~ Plaintiff: Danny Proud, 625 East IS5th St., North Van- couver. Defendant: Yimer, 2553 Venables Vancouver. Claim: General and special damages for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident on or about Dec. 3, 1990, in Van- couver. Fantaye Gizachew St., Plaintiff: Valerie A. Smalfier, $60 Crosscreek Rd., West Vancouver. ebuild a devastated city. Gary Bannerman OPEN LINES water: Million Dollar Pier, Steeplechase Pier, Central Pier, Steel Pier and several others de- veloped international prominence. Modern reconstruction has rescued a few of these, but the rotted remains of others can he seen along the shoreline. Bungy jumping from a towering crane is this era’s principal attraction, but there are ferris wheels and hun- dreds of vides. It must have been magnificent at its prime. Elaborate rococo artwork dominates the exterior of hundreds of buildings, both small and large. Many of these, back from the beach, are now slums. The advent of the automobile, inexpensive air transport, the cor- ruption of New Jersey govern- ment, and tremendous competi- tion from Florida and other more temperate zones, ultimately destroyed Atlantic City. By 1970 it was one of the con- tinent’s most depressed economies. It was hoped that gambling would turn back the clock. Today, modern glitz stands side by side with Victorian, turn-of-the-cen- tury charm. But has it worked? CIVIL, SUITS. Defendant: Colin Tobias and Chery! Jolyn Tobias, 567 Dolores PI., North Vancouver. Claim: General and special damages for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident on or about Nov. 8, 1990, on the southbound lane of the Lions Gate Bridze. Plaintiff: Ivanka Vukorep, 442 East 29th St., North Van- couver. Defendant: Charles George Scott, 1562-1959 Marine Dr., North Vancouver. Claim: General and special damages for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident on or about Feb. 9, 1992, on the Lions Gate Bridge. Plaintiff: Cindy Anne Hender- son, 4520 Jerome Pl., North Vancouver. Defendant: Bentley Develop- ments Ltd., #800-885 West Georgia, Vancouver, and. Holidays, 135 West Ist St., North Vancouver. Claim: General and special damages for a fractured left scaphoid and other injuries sustained when a _ Holidays employee threw a custumer out of the premises, knocking the plaintiff to the ground. Periodically, in British Colum- bia, campaigns have been mounted to approve casinos for special resort or development areas. Initiatives have come from Harrison Hot Springs, Whistler and other locales. This is not unique. Scores of cities in Europe have approved smail tasteful casinos as a revenue source and an enhancement to tourism. it can be said that al! gamblers live in a fantasyland. It is also true of those who think a casino means instant prosperity. Las Vegas has triumphed because of its vast space and its easy proximity to Los Angeles. It was also first financed through decades of development by underworld sources more interest- ed in laundering funds than achieving profit. Atlantic City is a better mod- ern-day model. Billions of dollars have been in- vested since 1978. A beautiful beach resort, the annual Miss America Pageant, a 22,000-seat convention centre and interna- tional notoriety gave the casinos a huge step forward. A population larger than that of Canada is within a three-hour driving radius. Not only was success considered a cinch by its developers, it was thought that the New Jersey resort would send Las Vegas itself into a serious tailspin. Las Vegas is bigger, brasher and more prosperous than ever. !1 is the world’s most successful con- vention location, creating atten- tion with entertainment, boxing championships, golf tournaments, and even Grand Prix racing. If it were possible to zap oneself onto the Atlantic City Boardwalk, or into the lobby of a resort hotel, the iNusion of prosperity would remain for a while. This summer’s entertainment features Frank Sinatra at the Sands, Paul Anka at the Trump Palace and many other luminaries. But Atlantic City remains an ugly, devastated monument to un- speakable poverty. The thin Sunday, August 2, 1992 - North Shore News - 9 a loser veneer of glass palaces near the beach is no more than frosting on a pile of crumbs. The view from most hotel win- dows is of parking garages and abandoned, derelict buildings. Dozens of square miles of ur- ban property look like the after- math of war. There is no evidence of any development generated because of the casino boom. The business press has reported the problems within the Trump empire and Resorts international, now owned by Merv Griffin. This is evident within the glit- tering hotel palaces. Signs of wear and tear are everywhere: chipped marble, dirty carpets and inade- quate service. The vast casinos are all the same, dominated by thousands of slot machines: crowds of people, moronically pumping coins and pulling levers in a game with predetermined rewards to the house. Business tycoons have been pulling levers in Atlantic City since 1978. It has recently become apparent that there is no jackpot in the machine. New Jersey has obtained substantial revenue. Atlantic City continues to suffer. It is a sad and bitter place. B FAMILY Law. A Place To Go When You're Pregnant And Need Support: BIRTHRIGHT a Cal 937-7313 « Free Pregnancy Test » & 229 Lonsdale @ North Vancouver 687-7223 in Vancouver Call # TREASURY BILLS INSURED TERM DEPOSITS CANADA SAVINGS BONDS RSPs and RIFs TAX SHELTERS MUTUAL FUNDS DIVIDEND TAX CREDITS BLUE-CHIP STOCKS & BONDS Working closely with you or your accountant, our advisors J are trained to identify needs, assess risk, and execute a sensible, comfortable ap- proach to investing. 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