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- report from Joe F., April 2007
My wife and I had tickets to a show at the Atlantic City
Hilton in Atlantic City, NJ this weekend (4/14/07). We drove our 32' Minni
Winnie to the Showboat Casino which is on the far north end of the AC
Boardwalk. Last year we did this 3 times after first calling the casino and
speaking to security to clear it. Which they did. They told us to use common
sense and not to "set up camp" because it is just a parking lot. We availed
ourselves of this hospitality on 3 occasions in the summer of 2006.
This
is why we didn't think twice about driving the motor home to AC and park at
the Showboat this year. Although since this was our first trip to the
Showboat in 2007, we did check in with the hotel when we arrived. We were
assured by the lady at the service desk that this was fine (she was not with
security). We spent Friday night in the parking lot and went out on Saturday
morning. We returned around 4 p.m. to find a sticker from Showboat Security
affixed to our entry door window. It read that due to AC Ordinance, RVs were
not permitted in casino parking lots. A person from Security happened by at
this time and we questioned him about the sticker. He said that he doesn't
know about last year, but this year the city was enforcing their ordinance
and making the casino tag offending vehicles. He said if the motorhome does
not move, and security has already tagged them, it can be ticketed by the
city and the casino will also receive a fine.
By
this time, the show that we had come to AC for was starting in 3 hours which
was not enough time for us to drive the RV to our home, switch into our car,
and make the return trip to AC in time for the show. After questioning some
bus drivers and other state workers who were fixing buses in the area, we
were told to try parking in the bus depot. They may or may not have allowed
us, but it was going to cost us $35 to $50. Nobody was sure.
So,
we drove through town towards the AC Hilton and found that it had a very
good sized outside parking lot. My wife jumped out and asked the parking
attendant if they would allow us to park in their lot. All the attendant
cared about was he $10 parking fee. Which we happily paid! Crisis averted
for the moment.
But
by now, he show was starting in 2 hours, and would be over by 10 pm. As soon
as he show was over, we darted back to the RV (leaving our friends behind
with mouths agape -- questioning us why we brought that motorhome, lol). But
we were filled with anxiety at this point and wanted to be sure that our 32'
hotel room was still in the parking lot. And it was WITHOUT A WARNING
STICKER affixed by their security force. We were beat. Needless to say we
needed a few hours sleep before attempting to drive out. Their was a
horrible storm moving in and I don't like driving in high winds. It was a
restless few hours for both of us as we awaited a rap on the door and
flashing red & blue lights.
We
left the lot, unscathed, unticketed, and untowed. And will not return to the
A.C. casinos with the motorhome. We are so disappointed about this. On all 3
occasions that we drydocked at the Showboat last year, we were never
bothered by security. Several other RVs were parked there as well. We stayed
for the entire weekend on those occasions and spent quite a bit between our
gambling, souvenir shopping, eating and drinking. I mean, we spent money
there and improved their economy. Now we feel snubbed.
We
wonder if having the slideout extended, and the TV antennae raised was a big
red flag this time. Although last year we did the same thing.
UPDATE on this ordinance in Atlantic City: You CAN park a motorhome in a paved lot in A.C.
The ordinance prevents owners from staying in the RV. I suppose they
thought we stayed in there overnight (which we did) but I still don't
understand how they came to put the warning sticker on the RV during the
daytime when we were not in the RV.
-CasinoCamper Note
Sounds like "Stealth Mode" is called for in AC. Dark
window shades, no TV, slides in, no turning lights on/off, etc.
- report from Pat & Tom,
September 2006
I live in the Atlantic City area and have heard that it
is not legal to stay in an RV overnight. When we go to the casinos, we
do occasionally see an RV in the parking lot during the daytime.
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