Where to Go from NYC: Atlantic City

Technically and figuratively it's an island unto itself. There's ritz and glitz in a carnivalesque atmosphere, but also quieter stretches of boardwalk, vacant plots of land, a vibrant Little Italy, and a six-story elephant-shape building.

Get There

It's two hours by bus (NJ Transit, Greyhound) from NYC. There's also the direct ACES train. If you win big, this would be the appropriate time to take a limo. Once there, rolling chairs (boardwalk people movers) and jitney buses can get you from place to place. But so can your own two legs.

Where to Stay

Seaview: about 8 miles from AC
The Borgata
The Chelsea
Water Club

Where to Eat

Bobby Flay Steakhouse
Cuba Libre
Formica Brothers
James' & Fralingers' for salt water taffy (it originated here)
Knife and Fork Inn
Midtown Farmer's Market (Atlantic Avenue between North and South Carolina Avenues, Center City Park)
The Continental
Tony Baloney's
White House Sub Shop

What to Do

1. Casinos
Bally's
Borgata
Harrah's
Resorts
Trump Plaza

2. Anything but casinos
Check out Ducktown/Chelsea, AC's Little Italy and Vietnamese Town
Walk up Absecon Lighthouse
Cruise the Boardwalk
Shop The Pier at Caesars
Visit Lucy the Elephant
Get a treatment at Spa Tocare
Ride the Steel Pier Ferris wheel

For Your Bedside Table

Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City, by Nelson Johnson
Shore Stories, An Anthology of the Jersey Shore, edited by Rich Youmans