Atlantic City

David B. Kilkeary, 39, of Crofton, was sentenced Friday in federal court in Trenton, N.J., for threatening to blow up the Showboat Casino-Hotel in Atlantic City in November 2007 unless paid $3 million. - Associated Press

First it was a beach, then it was home to Miss America and the streets of Monopoly, then it became the gambling mecca of the East Coast. Now, again, Atlantic City, N.J., is retooling its image, determined this time to be seen as a venue for first-class entertainment that appeals to all ages. This week, the attraction is comedian and commentator Jon Stewart, bringing his unique slant on current events to the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa for shows tonight and Saturday. Next week, Alice in Chains will be performing at the Borgata on March 12, while March 13 will see Jay-Z at the Borgata, Michael Bolton at the Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino and Robin Thicke at the Tropicana Casino & Resort.

Borgata Winter Poker Open Tournament Where: : Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, Atlantic City What: : The fifth annual Borgata Winter Poker Open tournament series boasts a guaranteed $2 million prize pool. The 16-day tournament series, held in the Event Center, will feature a wide array of tournaments, including No Limit Hold'em, No Limit Hold'em 6-handed, Ladies No Limit Hold'em, Deep Stack No Limit Hold'em, Limit, H.O.S.E., Seven Card Stud and Heads Up Double Elimination events.

Atlantic City's attractions are being rediscovered like delicate seashells emerging from the surf because tides are changing in the seaside resort. Thirty-one years after Atlantic City was reborn as the East Coast's answer to Las Vegas, visitors no longer have to head for the Jersey shore town to gamble. They can do it closer to home, now that Pennsylvania and other nearby states also have legalized casino gambling. Operators of family-style attractions say they sense a growing spirit of cooperation from the big guys lining the Boardwalk's Casino Row and at the Marina.

Mr. Rodney is in rare form today. Wearing sunglasses, a baseball cap pulled backwards that says "I (heart) Jesus" and a loud green-and-blue tie, he's at the wheel of a Hunt Valley Motor Coach bus cruising north on Interstate 95 through Harford County, bound for the glittering casinos of Atlantic City. "How y'all doin' this morning?" he bellows over the intercom. "Hey! We're not going to a funeral!" To many, the funeral reference is apt, since much of Atlantic City seems enveloped in gloom these days.

The former owners of the Tropicana Casino and Resort in New Jersey say they are working to transform the Tropicana brand into a low-cost, high service entertainment option in an effort to win back recession-weary customers - and the Atlantic City casino they lost control of in 2007. The company hired a Seattle branding expert to help with the program, which will focus heavily on trying to win back customers, a spokesperson said. The Tropicana has been operating under state supervision since its former owners were stripped of their casino license in December 2007.

Robert E. Kersey, a trumpet player, music educator and Carroll County public schools administrator, died of cancer Sunday at the Shores at Wesley Manor Health Care Center in Ocean City, N.J. The former Westminster resident was 84. Born in Trenton, N.J., he played the trumpet as a boy. When his father was named manager of the Hotel Lafayette in Atlantic City, N.J., he became a regular listener to live bands at venues at the resort. During World War II, he played in an Army Air Forces band and was an infantry rifleman at the Battle of the Bulge.

Cordish Co., the Baltimore-based real estate developer looking to become a major player in the casino business, has made two alternative bids for bankrupt Tropicana Entertainment LLC's casino in Atlantic City, N.J. - an all-cash bid of $575 million, as well as a cash-and-debt deal the firm values at $700 million, according to the casino's court-appointed trustee. Cordish is also proposing a $100 million face-lift for the troubled casino hotel after the deal goes through, trustee Gary Stein said.

Atlantic City, N.J. - On stage a few weeks ago at the Music Box Theater at the Borgata Hotel, Idina Menzel (star of Broadway's Rent and Wicked) admitted having some anxiety about bringing her singing act to this seaside resort. A peasant dress she'd worn when performing in Manhattan the night before, Menzel said, didn't feel right for this evening. So, just before the curtain went up, she'd rushed out to buy a sexy black lace camisole and brassiere - the straps of which she flashed to her audience.

The chairman of Baltimore-based Cordish Co., which is expanding into gaming management, confirmed yesterday that it is among a number of bidders vying to acquire Atlantic City's Tropicana Casino and Resort. The casino hotel complex lost its gambling license in December and was turned over to a New Jersey-appointed conservator, who is trying to sell the still-operating property. The Cordish Co. and gaming industry veteran Dennis Gomes recently formed a gaming management company - Gomes + Cordish Gaming Management LLC - to pursue projects in Atlantic City.