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02/23/2004 Archived Entry: "Casinos and the Useless Food Voucher"

First of all, let me state that I'm not one of those drivers that expect a free meal everywhere they take a group -- not that I'll turn it down, but I know it's not reasonable to expect that everywhere. That said, if you're going to offer a driver something, make it a sincere offer -- not a come-on to spend more for a high priced meal.

I took a group to Caesars casino in Atlantic City, NJ yesterday. (Photo at right is their impressive lobby by the front desk.) Like a number of the casinos, Caesars offers drivers a food voucher towards a meal -- in this case, $5.00. That would be a nice gesture IF there was something to buy for that amount in one of their restaurants! However, in my research while there yesterday, the least expensive meal I could find was about three times that amount. Oh, I did find one small "express" restaurant in the middle of Caesars with hot dogs for $3.50, but they wouldn't accept the voucher; they're "not part of Caesars," even though they're located in the middle of the casino. The Sands casino also gives drivers a $5.00 voucher, but they at least have a restaurant where you can buy something for that -- a milkshake or even a banana split, as well as a few other snack items.

Unless you're content to park at Hansen's (on Rt. 40, three miles out of Atlantic City) and stay there, it's already a challenge for drivers to entertain themselves on the strip. It's relatively easy to get into Atlantic City by hopping aboard another coach returning to pick up their passengers, or by grabbing a Greyhound or city bus; but it's a little more challenging to return the three miles back to Hansen's. If you can't catch a city bus ($1.10 fare), a taxi costs $8.00 plus tip, so it's almost not worth the effort to take advantage of a food voucher to begin with.

Well, after doing my research I decided to return to the restaurant at Hansen's, which at least is reasonably priced with a pretty good variety of food. So I took the #508 bus and arrived back at Hansen's at 7:10 PM. The restaurant closes at 7:00 PM. Oh well. At least I had some peanut butter crackers and an apple along with me.