Inside America’s Casinos: Stop 11 – Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino

Join CDC Gaming as we embark upon a road trip Inside America’s Casinos. For our 11th stop, we visit Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino.

After visiting the newer generation of Atlantic City’s casinos, properties like Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in the Marina District and Ocean Casino Resort on the northern end of the Boardwalk, it was time to head a few blocks south to my next destination.

Half an hour later, after a leisurely walk of about a mile on the Boardwalk, there it was, that big, red, scripted “B” you can’t mistake for anything else but Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino. As soon as I walked into Bally’s, I knew I was stepping into an entirely different era of Atlantic City’s casino history — and not necessarily in a bad way.

If I was wondering if the Atlantic City Boardwalk experience I remembered from decades ago was gone, Bally’s made me a very happy guy, allowing me to go back in time and visit beloved familiar turf. The property carries the unmistaken feeling that still remained with me from my Atlantic City party days. The casino has a homey casual feel, shaped by decades of wear and tear, the addition of new parts, remodeling of old ones, changes in ownership, and shifts in market conditions.

Unlike Ocean, which feels like it was built from a tight blueprint meant to give it a single modern vision, Bally’s began as a parcel of land on the Boardwalk, with layers added over the years as the area evolved. I felt I was walking on a thin line between nostalgia and neglect and that tension defined my visit.

Visiting Bally’s — a defining piece of Atlantic City’s history

The history of Bally’s stretches back to Atlantic City’s early casino days. It originally opened its doors as the Golden Nugget in 1979, making it one of the Garden State’s first casinos after the 1976 referendum and Casino Control Act.

The property quickly became one of the city’s premier destinations, attracting gamblers and guests from all over the East Coast. In 1987, it was acquired by Bally’s and rebranded as Bally’s Park Place, followed by a name change to Bally’s Atlantic City. Over the years, the resort gradually expanded, adding several towers and structures.

Unlike newer larger resorts, Bally’s Atlantic City occupies a smaller footprint. Still, just like the layers that make it, it represents many layers of Atlantic City’s modern gambling history.

-Arriving at Bally’s – a classic Boardwalk-casino experience

I arrived at Bally’s on foot this time around, but as I was walking toward it on the Boardwalk, it immediately brought back the version of a classy Atlantic City Boardwalk property, which ironically treats the Boardwalk like a backyard, which may have a lot more in-and-out traffic, but it’s not the main entrance to the house. Bally’s sits on Pacific Avenue between Michigan and Ohio avenues. The streets felt narrower and traffic was more compressed than I remembered from years ago. Walking toward the main entrance felt a lot grander back in the day. Although it wasn’t a clean manicured surroundings like at Borgata, the building aged well and gave off a nice inviting vibe.

It felt to me less like entering a self-contained isolated resort and more like entering Atlantic City itself.

First impressions — traditional character

I made myself a rule during this trip to record the first thing that came to mind once I walked into a property. When I walked into Bally’s, the first thing I noticed was how traditional the atmosphere felt. Lower ceilings, heavy carpets, tight walkways, and more machines and tables were all compressed into a smaller gaming floor.

Bally’s design — Old-school casino energies

Everything in Bally’s says old school and not in a bad way. The furnishings and lighting are darker and the layout is tight and fragmented. Although some areas looked like they were updated more recently than others, the overall design of the property seemed to be frozen in time. There were old carpets and furniture that had seen better days, but oddly enough, everything added character.

I felt there was something familiar about Bally’s. And not because of my memories, but more of a contemporary feeling that the casino knows exactly what it is and, until it decides on its next step, it’s not trying to become something else.

Beyond gaming — limited, but still active

The order of properties on my list probably doesn’t do Bally’s Atlantic City a lot of justice in the beyond-gaming department. I was arriving on the back of visits to Borgata and Ocean, two inclusive resort properties designed to diversify their visitor demographics by catering to non-gamblers. Any way you look at it, Bally’s non-gaming offerings are a lot more limited. But they’re still there.

The resort has 1,100 hotel rooms and a spa. Dining options are limited, but there’s a good selection of food in different price ranges, from the upscale Park Place Prime steakhouse and a Johnny Rockets burger joint to Carluccio’s pizza place and everything in between. It’s not as wide a selection as other casinos, but you won’t leave hungry. Still, keep in mind that most of the dining is casual, which suits the place (and me) just fine. There’s also The Yard, an open-air club and entertainment venue, and Phil’s Carousel Bar, which hosts live-music shows and DJ nights.

Although there are non-gaming options at Bally’s, there’s a lot less of an attempt to create a full hospitality ecosystem. Instead, the property feels like it’s designed for accessibility and affordable shorter stays,  based mostly on repeat casino traffic.

The gaming floor — Old-school focus

Bally’s casino spans 83,000 square feet, one of the smallest in Atlantic City. The casino is home to around 1,400 slot machines and 85 table games. There’s a good mix of slots and limits on both machines and game tables. There’s also a small, but nice, and functional Bally Bet Sportsbook and if you’re a higher roller than me, you can go to the Legacy Lounge, an upscale venue adjacent to the casino, exclusively for high-tier members of the Bally Rewards program.

Although some areas felt disjointed, everything on Bally’s gaming floor was close, compact, and easy to find. This isn’t a casino that makes you want to wander for hours and get lost in an ocean of slot machines. Instead, it allows you to walk in and focus on your gambling.

The crowd — Older, traditional players

Maybe it was the relatively early hour of the day, but one of the things I noticed about Bally’s was the lack of younger players. Compared to Ocean’s younger resort crowd or Harrah’s party energy, Bally’s felt older and gaming-oriented. Many players I spoke to were locals and repeat visitors. I noticed players sitting on their own for longer gambling sessions as opposed to large groups huddling around gaming tables. The crowd and atmosphere at Bally’s felt a lot calmer and less performative than some of the other Atlantic Casinos I visited.

Players come there mainly to gamble, not to see and be seen.

Leaving Bally’s – A reminder of Old Atlantic City

As I left Bally’s and stepped back onto the Boardwalk, I couldn’t stop thinking about how different it felt from the newer properties trying to reshape Atlantic City. Bally’s doesn’t try to lean into lifestyle and luxury and it doesn’t try to hide its age. Instead, it feels comfortable in its own skin — a surviving piece of classic Atlantic City history.

The property is imperfect, disjointed, and occasionally outdated, with parts that need some love and attention. But it’s still active and very much alive.