Atlantic City Wants More New York Visitors. Is Transportation Holding It Back?

ATLANTIC CITY — New York City Councilman Frank Morano says Atlantic City has plenty to offer New Yorkers looking for a getaway.

The challenge, he says, is convincing them to come — and making it easier for them to get here.

Morano, a Staten Island Republican who is also a radio host and frequent Atlantic City visitor, said during an appearance Monday on The AC Mike Lopez Show on WOND that Atlantic City's efforts to draw more visitors from the New York metropolitan area may require a combination of better marketing and transportation.

“I think some of this is a marketing problem,” Morano said. “Maybe it's an aspect that Visit AC and the CRDA and all the hotels and the North Beach Association need to all work on.”

But Morano said getting to Atlantic City without a car remains part of the equation.

“From Staten Island, right now the best way that you want to go if you don't want to drive is by bus, but there's not necessarily the kind of bus service that there used to be,” Morano said.

His comments come as Atlantic City tourism officials are already making a concerted effort to reach potential visitors in New York — and as others in South Jersey are calling for improvements to the region's transportation network.

‘Would You Rather Go to Las Vegas or Atlantic City?’

Morano pointed to an observation once made by the late Bruce Deifik, the former owner of Ocean Casino Resort.

Deifik, Morano recalled, believed that if people in New York or Philadelphia were asked whether they would rather spend a weekend in Las Vegas or Atlantic City, a substantial majority might choose Las Vegas — despite the additional distance and travel involved.

Morano said Atlantic City's offerings make that difficult to understand.

“That's crazy when you think about everything that Atlantic City has to offer — dining, nightlife, gaming, entertainment, the beach, rides, amusements, the water, all sorts of stuff that other cities can't compare to,” Morano said.

He said the issue may involve more than simply getting the message out.

“So I think some of this is a marketing problem,” Morano said. “And some of it does, I'm sure, have to do with transportation.”

A South Jersey NewsBeat review of current transportation options and Atlantic City's tourism marketing efforts shows a more complicated picture.

Atlantic City is already advertising aggressively in New York, while travelers who don't want to drive have direct bus service available. What Atlantic City does not currently have is a direct passenger rail connection to New York.

Atlantic City Is Already Marketing in New York

Visit Atlantic City has made the New York metropolitan area a significant part of its tourism marketing strategy.

The tourism organization said its 2025 out-of-home advertising campaign targeted New York City along with Philadelphia, Washington and Boston. Atlantic City advertising appeared on digital billboards in Times Square during New Year's Eve and at Macy's Herald Square during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The campaign also included a broadcast commercial targeted to Northern New Jersey and New York, Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore.

Visit Atlantic City's 2026 marketing plan calls for continuing to emphasize high-visibility out-of-home advertising.

The organization has also commissioned a visitor-profile study to examine who visits Atlantic City, what motivates potential travelers and how its marketing can more effectively reach them.

Visit Atlantic City President and CEO Gary Musich said earlier this year that combining the city's leisure and convention marketing efforts has allowed the organization to broaden its approach.

The numbers show the tourism organization is generating substantial business. Visit Atlantic City reported 205 meetings, conventions and trade shows in 2025, accounting for 533,242 attendees, 328,067 room nights and approximately $362.3 million in economic impact.

Those figures represent meetings and convention business, not Atlantic City's total visitation.

New Yorkers Can Get a Direct Bus — But Not a Direct Train

There is already direct public transportation between New York and Atlantic City.

NJ Transit's Route 319 provides service between New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal and the Atlantic City Bus Terminal. The route also serves Newark and Jersey City, and NJ Transit offers a discounted New York-Atlantic City round-trip excursion fare of $49.75.

But travelers looking for a direct train have no comparable option.

NJ Transit's Atlantic City Rail Line connects Atlantic City with Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, with stops in Absecon, Egg Harbor City, Hammonton, Atco, Lindenwold, Cherry Hill and Pennsauken.

There is no current one-seat rail trip between New York Penn Station and Atlantic City.

Morano acknowledged that Atlantic City has tried other transportation approaches before.

“They've tried the train and other things before, and there wasn't the traffic necessary to support them,” he said.

Atlantic City's most notable recent attempt at direct New York rail service was the Atlantic City Express Service, known as ACES.

The service began in 2009 and offered direct weekend trains between New York Penn Station and Atlantic City. It was backed by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and several Atlantic City casinos.

But ridership failed to meet expectations. The service was suspended in 2011 and ultimately discontinued.

The history goes back even further. Amtrak launched New York-Atlantic City service in 1989 but discontinued its Atlantic City service in 1995 after failing to attract enough passengers.

That leaves Atlantic City facing a transportation question it has wrestled with for decades: Would improved transportation generate additional visitors, or must additional demand exist before expanded transportation can be financially sustainable?

“I think it's one of those things where if you build it, they'll come,” Morano said, before acknowledging the difficulties encountered by previous efforts.

“So I don't know what the solution is,” he said. “I think it's a combination of transportation and marketing, probably some other factors as well.”

Transportation Debate Already Growing in South Jersey

Morano's comments come just days after another South Jersey political figure called for improvements to Atlantic City's existing rail connection.

As South Jersey NewsBeat reported Friday, former Atlantic County Democratic Chairman and former South Jersey Transportation Authority board member Michael Suleiman called on NJ Transit to consider express Atlantic City-Philadelphia trains, particularly during major events.

“An hour 40 train ride from AC to Philly is crazy,” Suleiman said during an appearance on Off The Press with Scott Cronick on WOND.

Suleiman proposed limited-stop trains and schedules coordinated with major concerts, conventions and other events.

“If there's a big event in Atlantic City, have an express train from Philly,” Suleiman said.

He also said portions of the largely single-track Atlantic City Rail Line could eventually be double-tracked to allow trains traveling in opposite directions to move more efficiently.

Suleiman's broader argument was that transportation should be viewed as economic development — making Atlantic City easier to reach for visitors while improving mobility for South Jersey residents and workers.

“We need to get our fair share down here,” Suleiman said.

‘A Great Opportunity to Rediscover It’

Morano believes Atlantic City has another problem to overcome: perception.

For potential visitors who haven't been to Atlantic City recently, he said, the destination they remember may not be the city that exists today.

“If people haven't been there in a while, you know, it's a great opportunity to rediscover it,” Morano said.

“There's so much to do, whatever your interests are, and I think people in the Northeast don't necessarily have a full appreciation of that.”

That is particularly important for a destination that can be reached from much of the New York metropolitan area without getting on an airplane.

Atlantic City continues to use major concerts, festivals, conventions, casino entertainment, dining and its beach and Boardwalk to attract visitors. Its tourism organization is putting the city's message in front of New Yorkers.

The question Morano raises is whether the transportation network is doing enough to help turn that interest into actual trips.

For Morano, neither marketing nor transportation alone appears to be the answer.

“I think it's a combination of transportation and marketing,” he said.