Bally's Atlantic City -- Good Blackjack, Bad Parking, Elevator Tried to Kill Me…read moreVisited: Friday, July 31, 2026 -- roughly 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
3/5
Bally's Atlantic City still feels like a classic gambler's casino, and I mean that as a compliment.
Not a nightclub disguised as a casino. Not a luxury lifestyle palace where blackjack has been reduced to four tables next to an aromatherapy lounge. Bally's feels like a place built for people who actually came to gamble, drink and periodically question their financial judgment.
The blackjack was the highlight.
I found $15 tables with standard 3:2 blackjack payouts, which instantly earned my respect. No surrender, but otherwise a perfectly playable game. Better yet, most of the players actually knew what they were doing.
No donk-fest. No splitting tens because Grandma appeared in a dream. No hitting a 14 against a dealer 6 because "the vibes said so."
The East Coast table energy was excellent--talking, laughing, ball-busting, collective groaning and the occasional spiritual crisis when the dealer somehow manufactures a 21 out of six cards.
Two dealers stood out: Russell, originally from D.C., and Stephen, a local New Jersey guy. Both were entertaining, personable and ran a good table. Good pace, good banter, no nonsense.
The craps table was also fun, except apparently the dice had joined organized crime.
Nobody got much of a deep run going, including yours truly. I controlled the dice twice and produced two legendary performances:
Roll. Seven-out.
Twice.
That is not craps. That is basically a direct deposit into Bally's operating account.
Upstairs there's also a cool rotating bar overlooking the casino floor, and I had a very good gin and tonic there while reflecting on my relationship with probability and poor decision-making.
Now for the deductions.
First: $20 parking.
Twenty bucks to park so I can go inside and voluntarily hand you MORE money?
That sucks.
Second, and much more importantly, the elevator on the way out nearly turned my foot into an orthopedic case study.
I was wearing flip-flops and stepping into the elevator behind a family that had just arrived. My right foot moved forward and, at literally the last second, the elevator suddenly jerked upward what felt like about six inches.
My toe slammed into the raised edge, I tripped, and momentum plus gravity sent me forward in a full-body swan dive directly onto the poor woman standing in front of me.
There was no dignity left.
None.
One second I'm leaving Bally's. The next I'm basically performing an involuntary Olympic diving routine into an unsuspecting tourist.
Thankfully it ended up being more comical than catastrophic, and nobody appeared seriously hurt. But that elevator movement was absolutely concerning. If a lift can shift noticeably while people are boarding, that is something management needs to inspect immediately.
Because today it's my toe and an embarrassing midair embrace with a stranger.
Tomorrow, if something mechanical goes seriously wrong, it could be a legitimate safety and liability issue.
So Bally's gets 3 stars.
The gambling itself? I liked it. Good blackjack rules, competent players, fun dealers, energetic atmosphere, decent craps action and a cool rotating bar.
The $20 parking irritated me.
The elevator attempting to convert me into human origami cost them another star.
Come for the 3:2 blackjack. Stay for the East Coast gambling energy. And apparently watch your damn feet when entering the elevator.