If you live on the East Coast and want to have a Las Vegas type of experience, there is only one place to have it Atlantic City, New Jersey. Atlantic City has all the enjoyment of Las Vegas with the added benefit that it’s not in the middle of nowhere in the desert. Atlantic City is close to New York, and it’s on the beach, so you don’t always have to walk from air conditioned hotel to air conditioned hotel to enjoy the experience. You can walk down the boardwalk and onto the various piers in deep appreciation of cooler weather and ocean beaches. That alone makes it worth a visit.

A lot of people think you have to stay in the more expensive casino hotels to enjoy Atlantic City, but you can enjoy a more economical vacation by staying at any of the regular hotels in town and simply walking down the boardwalk to visit the casinos. Even the three and four star hotel casinos can turn this vacation into a cheap trip, with prices below $50 a night. You can take even more off or book a great price at a premium five star hotel casino if you use online services like Trip Advisor, Booking Buddy, Expedia, Priceline and Orbitz, just to name a few. Some of these services quote savings of 65% and will also help you with transportation if you are interested.

New York is less than 130 miles from Atlantic City. That’s exactly two hours driving, less than half the distance from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, a trip people make regularly. Let’s face it, in transportation alone, Atlantic City is a great gaming destination. There are twelve major hotel casinos and that beautiful ocean view. In Vegas you can see the strip on one side and the airport and desert on the other. Atlantic City is a better looking gaming spot all around. I can’t recommend it highly enough, with its beautiful hotels bountiful slots and tables. It truly is a gambler’s paradise.

You know your preferences better than anyone else. Atlantic City has quaint bed and breakfast hotels, smaller boutique hotels and absolutely state of the art gambling paradises like Harrah’s, Caesar’s and Trump Entertainment Resort. Each of these hotels wants your business and the casino hotels more than most. They are often willing to cut room costs to the bone to keep you happy at their tables. These days it pays to explore your internet options and do a bit of searches. Just looking up Cheap Trips to Atlantic City will bring up all kinds of well, cheap trips to Atlantic City.

Those same hotel search engines will often locate a flight as well if you live a bit further away; say in Washington DC or Norfolk, VA. Even DC is less than 200 miles away. However you look at it, taking a trip to Atlantic City will keep your hard earned dollars in your pocket at least until you hit the casino. Let’s face it; you came for more than just a great hotel, good food and beach front views. You came to have fun, and it’s a lot more fun when you hold on to your cash until you get there. So hey, it’s okay to be cheap!