Beyond the poker tables

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Inside Resorts Atlantic City, the roulette wheels were spinning and the slot machines were ringing. Just outside, on a broad, sandy beach, all was quiet. The only sounds came from the rhythmic lapping of waves or the occasional cry of a gull. It was 7:30 a.m., time for yoga.

His back to the Atlantic Ocean, his bare feet in the cool sand, instructor Kris Waldron faced his class of 10 eager students and began talking them through a series of positions.

“Just relax your feet in the sand,” he told them. “Get ‘em in nice and tight like this. Now, deep breaths. Inhale, and look up at the sky. Now, exhale. Inhale, one, two, three, four, five. Now exhale, one, two, three, four, five.”

Once warmed up, it was on to other exercises. There were sun salutations and eagle poses, stretching and meditation.

“People have been doing yoga on the beach for a long time,” Mr. Waldron says. “But this is the first casino to offer it on the beach.”

The free class, held three times a week for employees and guests of Resorts, is part of a larger trend in Atlantic City, where casinos are thinking outside the box to appeal to gamblers.

For years, the prevailing strategy was to keep guests indoors, avoiding any off-premise activity that would take gamblers away from the casino floor. But stiff new competition, together with the city’s repeal of a long-standing ban on booze on the beach, has changed that.

Outdoor activities have become a decent bet for casinos hoping to hold on to old customers and woo new ones with beach bars, outdoor rock concerts, tableside food service and other amenities.

“We’re putting our best natural resource out there,” said Bill McNulty, vice president of food and beverages for Bally’s Atlantic City. “This isn’t rocket science. It’s common resort practice.”

The beach bars began springing up in 2002, after the city dropped its ban against alcohol on the beach. Today, the bars are nightlife fixtures.

Four casinos — the Atlantic City Hilton, Bally’s Atlantic City, Trump Plaza and Caesars Atlantic City — have them, all offering live entertainment, food, drinks and other amenities.

At Bally’s, flaming Tiki torches and transplanted palm trees ring the 200-person capacity Bikini Beach Bar, where servers wear bikinis with sarongs over them. There’s even a “Bikini hot line” to call that gives information on water temperature, tides and the tanning index.

By day, the open-air bar serves lunch and cocktails and offers rentals of cabanas, beach umbrellas, beach chairs and lounge chairs. By night, it becomes a party place, drawing younger gamblers and nightlife seekers who may not even set foot in the casino.

“It creates a youthful atmosphere for Atlantic City,” said Josie Weber, 30, of Watchung, N.J., who recently sat sipping a fruity, tequila concoction. “The way they’ve done it here, it’s beautiful and it has great ambiance.”

Casinos aren’t worried about losing business by customers leaving the building.

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