'I think it's going to work,' said Gary Hill, executive director of the Metropolitan Business & Citizens Association and a leader in the city's gay community. Its name is a play on the casino's new roaring '20s theme, inspired by the HBO series 'Boardwalk Empire' about Prohibition-era Atlantic City.įriday afternoon, a few hours before the club would open for the night, the colored lights were flashing, four giant palm trees scraped the ceiling and Right Said Fred's 'I'm Too Sexy' played on a giant video screen.
Prohibition is housed in a 13th floor room that used to be a lounge for slots players.
With the rainbow flag flying outside and all the energy in here, it felt like a celebration.' 'It filled right up and people danced until 3 o'clock in the morning. 'It's long overdue for Atlantic City to have a club like this,' said Joel Ballesteros, the casino's new director of marketing for the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender communities. Prohibition opened its doors Thursday at the Resorts Casino Hotel, marking the city's strongest bid yet in a yearslong effort to attract one of the tourism industry's most sought-after demographic groups. For the first time in its 33-year history of legalized gambling, Atlantic City has a permanent gay nightclub in one of its casinos.