A few of the Lehigh Valley area companies with Atlantic City service started their business and their casino runs at the same time: 1983. On top of the incentives, operators say the deregulation of the bus industry in the early 1980s created many new, smaller companies. And if the casino is handing out deferred vouchers, good for $5 on the next trip, the carrier can count on repeat business. In the winter, when the casinos offer more money and bigger vouchers, the customer might even come out ahead before he puts that first quarter in a slot machine.Ī bus company can hardly lose: The customer essentially recoups his fare. This summer, the $17 to $18 fare from the Lehigh Valley to Atlantic City just about equals what the casinos hand passengers when they step off the bus, making it essentially a free ride. To fill the buses, they provided incentives of free quarters, meal vouchers and gifts. When the casinos opened in 1978, they knew that buses could bring in scores of customers. The idea of spending a day rubbing elbows with high rollers in restaurants has a built-in appeal. But just how good and how long it will stay good isn’t the sure bet it once was or once seemed. No doubt about it, the Atlantic City casinos have been good business for bus companies with regular lines and charters to Atlantic City.

Atlantic city casino bus trips voucher