This coming weekend is the first ever OUT in Atlantic City weekend sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment. Visitors to the famed East Coast gambling mecca will be able to rub shoulders with celebs like Lance Bass, Amanda Lepore, Cazwell, and the cast of the L Word while taking advantage of all Atlantic City has to offer and indulging in special gay-themed parties, brunches, and outings.
We chatted with Jennifer Weissman, Regional Vice President of Marketing for Harrah's Atlantic City Operations to find out why Harrah's -- which is the first and only gaming entertainment company to achieve a perfect score (two times in fact) on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index -- and Atlantic City are the perfect combo for a weekend away.
Out: From your perfect score on the HRC's Corporate Equality Index to being the only gaming entertainment company to endorse the Employment Non-Discrimination Act on a federal level, Harrah’s seems to really value its relationship with the gay community.
Jennifer Weissman: Our corporate culture is one that is very impressive when it comes to being inclusive. We truly believe that our business is better when we have a diverse group of people working towards common goals. We believe in order to do that, we have to be inclusive of all communities. And similar to the entertainment we provide, we strive to provide a diverse employee workforce.
Very similar to our recent food and wine festival, we believe our upcoming event in Atlantic City will provide Atlantic City -- but more specifically our four Harrah’s–owned properties -- an opportunity to showcase all of things that make Atlantic City and Harrah’s Entertainment unique. We believe that in order to do that we have to provide a diverse array of entertainment. Our real inspiration is that we have to change the way we’ve been doing business in Atlantic City and to do that we have to provide unique reasons to generate travel from all kinds of folks. We believe that entertainment is one of those common ways.
What does Atlantic City have to offer gay visitors?
We’ve got great shopping. The Pier is adjacent to Caesars and it’s a mix of high-end luxury retail with dining. We have restaurants like Buddakan from New York City and Sonsie, which is in Boston, and great retailers like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, True Religion jeans -- really a wide variety of retail that appeals to everyone. The other thing that we have that I’m not sure that everybody really knows about are our great spas. Caesars has a phenomenal award-winning spa called Qua and Harrah’s Resort has The Red Door Spa. We also have terrific nightlife. The pool at Harrah’s is a great place to relax during the day and then on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays it turns into an ultra nightclub. We’ve got great visitors throughout the year like Kim Kardashian, Stacy Keibler, and upcoming we’ll be having the cast of Twilight. We have a wonderful nightclub at Caesar’s called Dusk. We also have great rooms. Our casinos and hotels really showcase some of the premiere hotel rooms in the area and on the East Coast. And finally we’ve got the wonderful boardwalk and the beach. There’s really a lot for people with very varied interests.
What are a few reasons someone should choose Atlantic City over any other destination -- including Las Vegas -- as a weekend getaway?
First and foremost, I think Atlantic City provides great value. There are a lot of things to do within a very defined, small area. As I mentioned earlier there is great dining, spas, and nightlife, but then you also have all the wonderful Italian restaurants that are spread throughout the city. There are places like White House Subs -- many celebrities have gone there because it has some of the best sub sandwiches on the East Coast. You have the boardwalk and the beach that you’re not going to get in Las Vegas and it’s really a culture all unto itself. There’s the indigenous salt water taffy and the fudge and all the pizza shops lining the boardwalk. And you’ve got unique entertainment -- things you might not necessarily find along the Eastern Seaboard. There are also a lot of shore towns close to Atlantic City, so it really lends itself to great day trips in and around the area. So if you’re looking to get out of Atlantic City for the day, there are places to visit like Cape May which is incredibly charming with all of the Victorian houses right near the water. And there are other great places like Avalon and Long Beach Island, which again have those very shore town characteristics of the boardwalk and the great shopping that’s unique to those kinds of areas.
To learn more about OUT in Atlantic City taking place this weekend, September 25-27, and to book a room and purchase passes to all the events, head here.
Previously > Weekend OUT in Atlantic City
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