Atlantic City Weekly

Bottle Service

The lowdown — Bottle service started as a means for nightclubs to more easilly deal with massive crowds in big cities like New York and Las Vegas. Rather than purchasing individual drinks, patrons could buy an entire bottle of spirits in designated seating areas, and each bottle would be delivered with glasses, ice, mixers and all the garnishes. Despite its costliness, bottle service in Atlantic City has exploded in popularity and continues to grow. Some of the places that offer it include 32 Degrees Luxe Lounge (348-6700) and Providence nightclub (345-7800) in The Quarter at Tropicana; Mixx and mur.mur nightclubs at Borgata (317-1000); The Pool (441-5165) and its newest component The Loft at Harrah’s; Club Worship (800-522-4700) at Showboat; the Casbah (449-5138) nightclub at Trump Taj Mahal; Dusk nightclub (441-5165) at Caesars. Game On! (345-6800) at The Pier Shops at Caesars and the 40/40 Club (449-4040) next to A.C. Outlets - The Walk.

VIP Service

The lowdown — Often A.C.’s premier nightclubs have long lines and hefty cover charges on weekends (particularly if there’s a celebrity guest or DJ), but there are services provided, or tricks to the trade, that can help ease the burden groups or individuals, and/or increase the bang for your buck. A company called VIP in Atlantic City (816-3165 or vipinatlanticcity.com) bills itself as a private concierge service that plans daylong or weekend-long nightlife trips to A.C. Sometimes, says owner Tony Penza, getting onto a nightclub guest list and receiving VIP treatment (preferred seating, no waiting lines, no cover charge) is as simple as knowing the right people. “Some of the guest lists can be had by befriending local clubs on Facebook, Twitter or joining their mailing lists,” says Penza. “Borgata’s ‘mur.mur Monday’ allows free entry with a receipt from dining at Izakaya beforehand. Getting to know the club DJs is another good way to get yourself onto a guest list.”

If an entire night or weekend in A.C. were being sought, that’s where the concierge service would come in. “We take care of everything, start to finish — their transportation into and out of A.C., casino hotel rooms and suites, limo service, fixed-menu dinners with or without open bars during dinner, entertainment like male reviews, strip clubs, private entertainment and, of course, their nightlife experiences.”

Generally a member of the service acts as a host once all the details are finalized, and handles all the logistics. “This gives groups coming to town a stress-free night, since all they have to do is show up and enjoy.”

Companies that are more venue-specific with the packages they provide offer similar services. Among them are the team of Chris Bonanni, Shawn Morton and Tova Ioannucci at Next Level A.C. (377-0897 or nextlevelac.com), Steve Sagan of 1Source (334-9037 or 1sourcenj.com), Brett Perloff of Perl Media (facebook.com/perlmedia), Denis Sinelnikov of Wildin’ Out (wildinout.com), and Alec Krayzel of AK Promotions (215-694-8584 or twitter.com/AKPROMOS).

You can also plan a night on the town, or get some excellent ideas to plan your own entertainment, by going to acweekly.com.