The buzz at the "Boardwalk Empire" premiere last week is that Harrah's Entertainment Eastern Division President Don Marrandino has some more entertainment goodies up his sleeve for the coming months and 2011.
One of those concerts is confirmed. Toby Keith, one of the biggest country stars on the planet, will headline Boardwalk Hall with "Celebrity Apprentice" winner Trace Adkins on Nov. 12, sponsored by Caesars Atlantic City.
The 49-year-old actor, musician and restaurateur has sold millions of albums. In fact, to date, he has released 13 studio albums, two Christmas albums and other compilations. His stellar career has included 19 No. 1 hits and 16 additional Top 10 hits. Some of his most popular tunes include "Beer for My Horses" and "As Good as I Once Was."
Tickets, priced at $55.60 and $78.70, are already on sale.
The other buzz performance included Marrandino's close friend Donny Osmond. The word at the party was that Marrandino was in Las Vegas last week to discuss bringing Donnie and Marie Osmond's Vegas show, which is currently at the Flamingo Las Vegas, to Caesars for a summer-long run.
This would be a major coup for Marrandino and Caesars. The Donny and Marie show is one of the hottest tickets on the Strip, and bringing the popular brother-sister team to Atlantic City for an extended engagement would make it one of the - if not THE - most high-profile long-running revue the city has ever seen.
The Donny and Marie booking would follow in the footsteps and top the booking of Straight No Chaser, which recently wrapped a summer run at Harrah's Resort.
Marrandino wouldn't comment on the booking, but his smile told me that something is definitely in the works.
New Starbucks
opens at Tropicana
A new Starbucks recently opened at Tropicana Casino and Resort, but this version is a little different than the ones you may be used to.
In addition to the regular coffee, food and beverage options that you have come to expect at a Starbucks, the Trop's version, which is located inside The Quarter, offers a one-of-a-kind design that is environmentally friendly and reflective of the city's heritage.
Built on the company's Heritage Concept, the interior of this Starbucks features crown molding, copper-colored pressed tin ceiling tiles and an overall old-world pub style to create a caf� that is more 1920s than 2010.
There are also vintage Atlantic City photos and artwork. And a wall is covered in reclaimed brick that is glazed with a coat made from recycled products. An oversized table was created from timber that was once part of an old barn in Thurmont, Md. And the iron railing was repurposed from an old home reminiscent of early 1900s Atlantic City architecture.
Record attendance
at WPT Borgata Open
The World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open, which concludes Thursday, Sept. 23, received a record-breaking championship event start when it opened last weekend, attracting 1,042 poker professionals and amateurs to the Event Center, generating a prize pool of more than $3.4 million.
This was the largest attendance for a Poker Open championship event and the largest field in the history of the WPT.
Known poker players included Poker Open champions Olivier Bueguet and Roy Winston, World Series of Poker Main Event Champions Jerry Yank and Robert Varkonyi, as well as WPT commentator Mike Sexton.
The Borgata Poker Open will be televised on Fox Sports Net.
'Amazing Race'
contestant search
If you always thought being a contestant on CBS' "The Amazing Race" would be a cool thing to do, Resorts Atlantic City is offering a chance to be on the hit TV show.
Resorts will host a casting call in its ballroom from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29. Everyone who attends the search will be interviewed on video.
Celebrity sightings
Last week's "Boardwalk Empire" premiere attracted more than a dozen cast members from the HBO series at Caesars. After the premiere and swank afterparty at One Atlantic inside The Pier Shops at Caesars, cast members Michael Stuhlbarg (Arnold Rothstein) and Michael Pitt (Jimmy Darmody) partied at Dusk's after-after party.
Also at Dusk recently, Sean Kingston performed to a packed house, offering hits that included "Beautiful Girls," "Take You There," "Fire Burning" and his new single, "Letting Go (Dutty Love)," which he performed twice on the crowd's insistence.
The Pool at Harrah's offered a booking quite opposite from the Kim Kardashian-types you may expect there as Dennis Haskins, who played Principal Belding on "Saved by the Bell," made an appearance.
One of this summer's breakout music stars, Taio Cruz, performed "Break Your Heart" and "Dynamite" as The Roots' Questlove helmed the turntables at mixx at Borgata.
Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort's Casbah featured back-to-back performances by Mickey Avalon and Outkast's Big Boi recently.
Borgata raises
cancer awareness
Look at Borgata's Water Club throughout this month and notice that its Immersion Spa is illuminated with the color teal every night from 8 to 10 p.m. as the casino supports National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
To raise awareness about this "silent disease" to its 6,000 associates, Borgata will also distribute teal ribbons and education information regarding ovarian cancer and its symptoms in support of the "Turn the Towns Teal" compaign.
Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of gynecological cancer deaths in the United States. More than 22,000 women are diagnosed with the disease in this country every year, and approximately 16,000 die from it. With early detection, the survival rate is 90 to 95 percent.
