Things I learned in Atlantic City this weekend.

Note: The absence of gambling truisms (i.e. it's for suckers) in this post is intentional, as I am referring only to things I've learned.

1. There's a place on the boardwalk where feral cats congregate (between the Showboat and the Trump Gaudy Abomination, er, Taj Mahal) and in fact workers there have put out food and litter boxes under the boardwalk for the visiting kitties. One cute little black cat was letting people pet him, then he proceeded to cross my path about seventeen times.


2. There's no reason to go to the Taj anymore, as other casinos have stepped up to match the Taj's only redeeming feature, the poker room. While the Taj is the most popular and has a varied range of games, the Tropicana and the Borgata have large poker rooms also, and the Showboat's recently opened room, though smaller, is very comfortable and I was able to get a 2-4 Texas Hold'em seat during the busy weekend. I also visited the Bally's Wild West and Sands poker rooms and found them serviceable; the Sands has also added a metro theme to their casino which I found appealing.


3. If you're a gambler on a reasonable budget and can resist the Siren call of the slots (unlike me), poker will definitely give you the most play for your money. Even the Taj will have reasonable levels (though you'll wait longer due to the popularity). The Showboat was my favorite room (in fact, I dug the Showboat's new House of Blues-inspired redesign), with the Borgata a close second. If you've got a recommendation for a room that I didn't visit, let me know in the comments.


4. If you go to Chef Vola's and they offer a Chilean sea bass with a macadamia-nut crust, order that bad boy.


5. Finally, please, take it from me, just say no to video crack.