RADAR 6 - Road Trip Publication Date: July 1, 2003 Road Trip: New Jersey You have got to be kidding, Atlantic City? I loved the movie, but did it spur a desire to visit? No. Travel there by bus? Not likely. Did you know the travel industry is actually concerned because boomers refuse to take bus trips? At 8 AM on Tuesday, April 20th, we boarded a large tour bus with thirty other gamblers for the day-long trip to Atlantic City. One and half movies later we arrived and were issued two chits—$18 to jump-start our gambling and $5 for food (not alcohol). We surveyed the scene at the Sands, our personal casino. Voyeurs, we wandered from intense roulette players to confusing craps, but below the smoky haze were the fields of dreams: slot machine after slot machine. The old Boardwalk, the beach, and the expanse of the Atlantic are beautiful. We turned our backs to the ocean to view the incongruous sight of glitzy, tacky, high rise hotels and casinos with the most famous names in the industry. Which building was ours? Finally we committed to gamble a dollar each in the nickel slots. I got twenty nickels for four quarters. The banker did not even blink. Up seventy nickels, then four nickels left, up 120 nickels, then down to ten cents. Two hours later we were thirsty. With a $5 chit each, we managed two milkshakes and the balance in gummi bears and M&Ms. Net for the day: $34. Nancy Haragan