Atlantic City may soon rival Las Vegas as the USA's number one resort for gambling.
Several firms are planning to invest some $9 billion (£4.3 billion) in the region to turn it into an area where people come - and then stay for more than just a spin of the roulette wheel.
Megacasinos are being planned by firms including Revel, which will open a 216-metre-tall resort in 2010.
Pinnacle Entertainment will establish a resort by 2012 and MGM Mirage will open a $5 billion facility in the area's marina district in the same year, the Associated Press reports.
Joseph Corbo, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, comments: "This is exactly the development cycle that Las Vegas has experienced over the past 15 to 20 years and is what Atlantic City is poised to achieve as well."
Upcoming events in the area include the city's Christmas parade and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra winter tour.
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