Atlantic City Weekly

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Good news for Atlantic City! The Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship tournament, held in Atlantic City two weeks ago and in each of the past three years, was so successful that the A-10 Board of Directors decided to sign a contract for the series to return to Boardwalk Hall for the next three years. Congrats to the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority's Jeff Vasser and staff. This is truly good news!

At a press conference at the Atlantic City International Airport on Monday morning, March 23, Gov. Jon Corzine announced that AirTran Airways will become the newest air link in Atlantic City and the southern New Jersey region. Corzine said, "We could not be more pleased that AirTran will be providing air service out of the Atlantic City International Airport. The dynamic environment in Atlantic City and ongoing economic development throughout South Jersey has created the opportunity for AirTran to serve a market that has been eager for more convenient access to national air service. This new addition is a real boost for business and tourism in the Garden State."

In response to the South Jersey Transportation Authority's request for proposals (RFP), AirTran's offer of two-a-day flights between A.C. and Atlanta met the criteria set by the authority that included frequencies and nationality of service. The negotiations between the two entities took a couple weeks to resolve the various issues in their response to the RFP for a contract to be signed for air service to begin on June 11.

AirTran Airways connects to more than 35 destinations. AirTran will offer an introductory flight fare of $69 each way for tickets purchased by April 16. This news has been long in coming, and is the result of hard, tedious work by a myriad of entities. It would not have happened without the assistance of the chairman of the Assembly and Senate's tourism committees, Assemblyman John Burzichelli, State Sen. Jim Whelan, and the staff of the SJTA, particularly executive director Bart Mueller, director of marketing and communications Sharon Gordon, and airport director Tom Rafter. This is also good news!

The 1971 Villanova men's basketball team, runner-up to UCLA in the NCAA Tournament that year, was invited by Villanova coach Jay Wright to the Wildcats' game against UCLA, played in Philadelphia on March 21. Chris Ford learned his basketball at Dante Hall in A.C., played in the A.C. Puerto Rico Reciprocal Visitation Program, at Holy Spirit High School, and was on that 1971 Villanova Champion team that amassed a 27-6 record. He won several NBA Championship rings playing with the Boston Celtics, where he later became an assistant coach. He then became the head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. Chris was on hand with his 1971 teammates for the game that saw Villanova handsomely defeat UCLA, 89-69. As soon as the game was over, the members of the former championship team rushed into the Villanova locker room to greet the winners with a rousing standing ovation. According to my source, all involved had tears in their eyes from this tribute for such a fine display of basketball prowess. Now it's on to Boston for Villanova for a showdown tonight (Thurs., March 26) against Duke. The area's basketball fans will have their eyes glued to the television set hoping Villanova will repeat as champion for the first time since 1985.

On or about July 4, at the former Planet Hollywood restaurant site at Caesars Atlantic City, a new nightclub called Dusk will open. Eric Millstein and Kevin Friel, who helped open Borgata's MIXX and mur.mur clubs, will be the developers of this facility along with the nationally recognized DJ AM. It is located on the corner of Arkansas Avenue and the Boardwalk, directly across from The Pier Shops at Caesars. Caesars has long wanted to have a dance club and this is an excellent site for that purpose. Other clubs in casinos have done very well and Caesars is anticipating that Dusk will be a good attraction.

Every Sunday, the Atlantic City Country Club offers a delicious and delectable brunch. To accompany the brunch, the country club brings in various high school choral groups or musicians to entertain those dining. The country club makes a contribution to the high school of those performing for their music program. On Palm Sunday, April 5, at 1pm, the Atlantic City Country Club will hold an Easter Egg hunt. It is free and open to children up to 12 years of age.

Most of you may know by now that Gilda's Club moved to a permanent home at 700 New Road in Linwood. It is a wonderful facility offering them more room to handle the great programs they offer. Due to the economic conditions in our nation, organizations such as Gilda's Club find that donations are off and they need help raising revenue. I decided to have a T-shirt made with a picture of Pinky at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa that says, "Borgata and Pinky, Perfect Together." I wore the T-shirt for the past couple of weeks on my Insider Notes show, and last week a couple asked where they could get a Pinky shirt. I said if they would be willing to pay $10 that it would go to Gilda's Club and they said, "Yes, we would be happy to do so." The shirts are now available at the AAAA Bike Shop, located in Ventnor, and Formica Brothers Bakery in Northfield. Please help me help Gilda's Club. The shirts come in medium, large and extra large sizes. Thank you!

Pinky's Corner airs Monday through Friday from 4 to 6pm on News Talk WOND-AM 1400. His TV show, WMGM Presents Pinky, airs Saturday at 7:30pm on TV40. Pinky's e-mail address is: pinky@atlanticcityweekly.com.