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Borgata Trashing the Competition

"`There is, to a large degree, a generation gap between Borgata and existing properties in Atlantic City,' said Robert L. Boughner, chief executive of the casino that rises like a 40-story gold ingot at the north end of this island city. `Many of the other places are just reincarnated old hotels, and they just don't have the technology and the amenities to keep up with us.'

"...The other casinos are `slots warehouses,' he said in an interview this month, and because they have inadequate ventilation, they smell. `They do -- they can't help it,' he said.

"This is not the kind of language usually heard among the collegial band of Atlantic City casino operators, who generally refrain from one-upping each other, and instead stick to the idea that the success of one helps the success of all.

"...So even while competitors grit their teeth at Boughner's boastfulness, they have been busy rebuilding, refurbishing and polishing their own aging casinos in an effort to shift Atlantic City from a place that could once take its business for granted, to one that has to fight for every gambler it can get -- from the high-rollers that casinos love, to the retirees, gray-haired and otherwise, whose savings and pensions provide the casinos' bread and butter.

"...`Traditionally there has not been a lot to do in Atlantic City other than to gamble,' said Dennis C. Gomes, president of the Tropicana and this year's head of the New Jersey Casino Association, an industry group. `But now we're providing everything to do, so we're not worried about Borgata. We're happy to have them, and we're going to knock their socks off.'

"...Borgata (the name means `little village' in Italian) is a joint venture between MGM MIRAGE and the Boyd Gaming Corp., and Boughner believes that his lush new resort will do even better than those numbers by appealing to a younger, richer crowd. Or at least, he says, to those who fancy themselves as such.

"...So the Borgata will have billiards and beer in its barbershop, along with private hair-coloring stalls for men whose appearance has not kept up with their self-image.

"The casino's cocktail waitresses, called Borgata Babes, have become like the extinct Playboy Bunnies, a separate marketing theme, promising soothing beauties in heels and bustiers who remember patrons' names and their favorite drinks..."

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