After a six year stint in Las Vegas, the Miss America Pageant is coming back to the Garden State.

Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno makes Miss America announcement (NJ Office of Information Technology)
Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno makes Miss America announcement (NJ Office of Information Technology)
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Organizers have announced the pageant will return to Atlantic City this September.

Roger Gros, the Publisher of Global Gaming Business Magazine, says this is great news.

"The Miss America Pageant has its roots in Atlantic City, and for it to come back there kind of validates, ah, this is where it really belong… I think it shows you that Atlantic City is still a viable destination resort, even though it might just be an east coast destination resort."

He says, "There's no question that the return there is a marketing opportunity for Atlantic City. In the past, the casinos were kind of shut out of the marketing opportunities that the pageant offered, but I think now that the casinos are intimately involved in the marketing of the city, I think you're going to see a real coming together of not just the casinos and the pageant. But the entire business community and the city."

Gros adds, "It sends a message that Atlantic City is back…It is what you recall, the fun place of your youth, so I think it's going to be good news for the city…I think it shows that Atlantic City is still there. It wasn't washed away in Hurricane Sandy, it wasn't completely decimated by competition from surrounding states, and that Atlantic City offers a lot more than just gambling…It helps to promote the message that the city is trying to get across for the past few years. Atlantic City is more than just gambling, it has many, many different amenities and the Miss America Pageant will really highlight that."

 

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