How Atlantic City Boardwalk and Marina Casinos Compare

View of the Atlantic City Boardwalk casinos from the MarinaView of the Atlantic City Boardwalk casinos from the Marina

There are nine Atlantic City casinos. Six are on the Boardwalk. The other three are on the Marina. Bally’s, Caesars, Hard Rock, Ocean, Resorts, and Tropicana are on the Boardwalk. Borgata, Golden Nugget, and Harrah’s are in the Marina District. Wild Wild West is a part of Caesars.

The Boardwalk and Marina District are not within walking distance. A car, cab, or rideshare is required to travel between these two areas of Atlantic City. The casinos in the Marina District aren’t on the beach. Atlantic City casino guests who wish to be on the ocean should stay on the Boardwalk. 

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Atlantic City Marina District casinos

The three casinos in the Marina District have a different personality than the ones on the Boardwalk. Borgata, the busiest casino in Atlantic City, is in the Marina District. It is by itself and is not easily walkable from Golden Nugget or Harrah’s. Those two casinos have a connecting sidewalk.

All the Atlantic City Marina casinos are full-service resorts. Each offers a wide variety of dining options that tend to be more on the higher end than is found on the Boardwalk. The hotel rooms at these three casinos are nicer than most found on the Boardwalk. However, the two busiest and newest casinos on the Boardwalk are competitive in the hotel segment.

Borgata is the largest. Harrah’s is the middle property in terms of size. Golden Nugget is a boutique hotel with a small casino. Each has a unique casino experience.

Borgata offers the best value on its casino floor in the Marina District. There are banks of 99.5% video poker starting at the $0.25 denomination. Borgata has some $5 table games. It has a variety of 3/2 blackjack tables. At $25, these games often stand on soft 17.  

Harrah’s has some 99% video poker. Its table limits tend to be higher than Borgata, while its odds can be a little worse. Golden Nugget is closer to Harrah’s than Borgata in terms of game quality. However, its video poker is among the worst at lower limits in Atlantic City, though its higher limit video poker games are among the best. Golden Nugget has a 10 times odds craps table. This is the highest in the Atlantic City Marina District. 

Atlantic City Boardwalk casinos

The six casinos on the Atlantic City Boardwalk are generally older than the ones in the Marina District. Visitors staying on the Boardwalk will find the six casinos to be walkable in decent weather. Tropicana is on the south end of the casinos. Ocean Resort is at the north end. The distance between these properties is about 1.5 miles. Those that think this is too long of a walk may ride in a push cart or take a tram. 

Ocean Resort is the newest casino on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. It opened as Revel in 2012. It reopened as Ocean Resort in 2018. Hard Rock reopened on the same day. It was once Trump Taj Mahal. These are the two luxury casinos on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

Hard Rock and Ocean Resort helped bring looser blackjack rules to Atlantic City. Ocean also has quality overall video poker, while Hard Rock has the best video poker game in Atlantic City. Both casinos offer a decent value to go with their luxury experiences. Table games start at lower minimum bets, while there are exclusive high limit salons for those who want to bet more while being treated with a VIP experience.

Caesars and Tropicana are two Caesars Entertainment casinos on the south end of the Boardwalk. Wild Wild West is part of Caesars. These are older, but popular, casinos. Tropicana offers a large selection of table games, including ones that are exclusive in the market. The only Atlantic City Boardwalk poker room is there. 

Caesars offers quality video poker, including 9/6 Jacks or Better. Its table game limits and quality are about average for the Atlantic City market. Wild Wild West is mostly table games with a small room for slots. The largest Caesars Sportsbook in Atlantic City is in the back of Wild Wild West. 

Bally’s was acquired from Caesars in 2021. There have been several improvements to table games since the change, including higher craps odds and improved blackjack rules. Unfortunately, the quality video poker Bally’s inherited from Caesars was mostly removed.

Resorts was the first Atlantic City casino. It does not offer much in the way of unique games or rules. The limits are a bit lower than average for the market. The video poker is below average. Its restaurants are mostly casual, including its food court. It is aimed at the budget Atlantic City local and tourist.