Sunday, July 13, 1997 | 9:27 a.m.
The gambling halls are increasing their advertising, drumming up promotions and striving to hold on to customers naturally drawn to the new kid on the Boardwalk.
At Caesars, it's a month-long celebration of Julius Caesar's 2,097th birthday, which is July 12.
"With any kind of new attraction, you'll see increased traffic," said Caesars spokeswoman Valarie McGonigal. "You should try to use your imagination to create another kind of must-see event. That's what we're attempting to do."
The Wild, Wild West Casino, an expansion of Bally's Park Place, opened July 1 and is being heralded as the first of a new generation of themed, Las Vegas-style casinos.
With its 35-foot ceilings, talking animatronic characters and costumed dealers, the Wild, Wild West is drawing big crowds. The challenge for Caesars and other properties is to either keep customers from going to the new casino or to make sure they come back to their usual casino.
"Clearly, it's going to take from the existing market to a significant extent," said veteran New Jersey casino industry observer Michael Pollock, who writes a newsletter about the market.
"Casinos will market directly to (customers) in areas such as increased cash back at slots, meal vouchers and so forth" in hopes of hanging on to customers.
Like wary gamblers, some casinos keep their cards close to the vest.
Representatives of Resorts Casino Hotel, Trump Marina Hotel Casino and Showboat Casino Hotel would not say what plans they have to compete with the Wild, Wild West.
Officials at Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino and Trump Taj Mahal did not respond to inquiries.
The Claridge took a pro-active approach, embarking on an intensive 1 1/2 -month radio campaign prior to the Wild, Wild West's opening that stressed the Claridge's slogan of "smaller is friendlier."
"Short term and long term, we view it as a positive," said spokesman Glenn Lillie. "Obviously, it's the next step toward (Atlantic City) becoming a more diverse product. If there's a short-term blip, a marketing nervousness, then so be it."
Next door at the Sands Hotel Casino, officials hope new slot machine promotions, show ticket giveaways, a car giveaway and the promise of free parking will help keep loyal customers loyal.
Robert DeSalvio, executive vice president for marketing, said the Wild, Wild West is increasing traffic in the Brighton Park area of the Boardwalk - home to Bally's Park Place, the Sands and the Claridge.
"Everyone's going to go see it. You'd be crazy not to. But we have a good cash-back program for our slots. And we have people with a lot of loyalty built up and you don't give that up easily," DeSalvio said.
Not everyone is worried about losing customers.
"The majority of the impact will be felt by the Boardwalk properties," said Michael DiLeva, a spokesman for Harrah's Casino Hotel, a marina district property that has no special promotions planned.
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