Expert: AC's Efforts To Become Family Resort Could Work

By David Madden

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) - Atlantic City's efforts to morph back into a family resort, albeit with casinos, could actually work if given enough time. That's the message from more than a few people who support the concept.

There may not be a diving horse on Steel Pier anymore, but the re-emergence of the pier itself is just part of the transformation.

Dr. Israel Posner, a gaming and hospitality expert at Stockton State College of New Jersey, thinks people are starting to see Atlantic City for more than just tables and slot machines.

"What you have here is a lot of interesting things in a very beautiful environment and in a very concentrated geography," Posner explains.

An ocean, casinos, shopping, entertainment and the arts are all accessible on foot or maybe a jitney ride.

Sixty percent of the strip in Las Vegas is now comprised of anything but casinos, but that change took decades to take hold.

Posner says Atlantic City and New Jersey leaders will have to show the same patience.