First, I just decided to watch people gamble. What a sight it was---people were busy gambling, gambling, and gambling. After a while, I decide to try my hand at it as well. Initially, I lost, and after a while, I won back all that I lost and much more. That’s it - I stopped playing! I just gathered all the coins and put them in the safety of my bag.

I would guess my feelings are based on the self-promotion of the place. You are in Trump's world and he never lets you forget it. Now, I'm not a Trump hater, and like the guy for the most part, but seeing all the Trump things is still excessive. My casino card nowhere says "Taj Mahal" on it, but instead is an advertisement for the show "The Apprentice." Posters throughout the place focus on such upcoming events as the Trump birthday bash.

Speaking of my casino card, I have no idea what it is good for. In other casinos, you accumulate points for cash back or prizes or discounts. When you put your card in a slot machine in most casinos, the machine tells you your point total. The machines in the Taj left me hanging as to just what bonus I was working for.

The gaming areas were nice enough. The slot rooms were somewhat airy and spacious and well-lit. Next to the customer service desks was what seemed to be one of the better poker pits I've seen.

One thing that attracted me to the Taj in the first place was the Hard Rock Cafe. I'm a sucker for HRCs, and collect glasses and/or pins from all the franchises I've been to. This Hard Rock offers one of the better views of the various Hard Rocks I've been to. Perhaps only the Skydome HRC in Toronto (looking over the baseball field) and maybe the Amsterdam location (with large window-walls looking right on a canal and across to Vondelpark) rival the view of the Atlantic Ocean which the AC Hard Rock offers.

The Casbah looks like a raucous nightclub. This place could be fun for younger people, but as of yet I have not had the chance to experience it. The videos playing in the lobby of the Casbah make it look like a good time for people into the nightclub dance scene. The entrance to Casbah also leads to an indoor walkway to the Showboat.

The existence of the HRC and Casbah lead me to believe the Taj is better for younger patrons. In one trip I saw advertisements for one of the former *NSYNCers playing the Taj. Younger patrons? You bet.

One restaurant however a casino does not make. Yeah, if you're here as a party person, you may enjoy the nightlife but otherwise I'd say enjoy your time elsewhere.

Taj Mahal is just engulfing. There is so much going on and so much to do you need to plan out what you want to do first. You can either shop in one of their fine shops or dine in one of their many restaurants (Schecherzade, Mark Anthony's, Safari Steakhouse, Dynasty, Bombay Cafe, Sbarro and Casbah Cafe). Their is also a Hard Rock Cafe located in the hotel on the first floor by one of the many boardwalk entrances.

The casino also houses a 5000 seat Arena and the Xanadu showroom which contains 1,400 seats. There is always a famous star performing in their theatres. If you are in the mood to dance then you need to visit the Casbah Night Club. It is open Friday and saturday at 10:30 P.M. Be ready to wait on long lines if you show up around 11:30 or sometimes even earlier especially if someone is performing. You need to be 21 years of age to enter the club and they do check to see that each person is of legal age. The only dislike I have is when it is really crowded -- and it does happen.

The gaming is fun and you have plenty of options between playing tables of poker, roulette or craps. There is also a Baccarat Pit as well as a smoke free poker room. If you are more of a slot machine person then you have just hit the jackpot. With over 5,000 slot machines there has to be something that you will like to play. We had troubling deciding because there were so many choices. We didn't leave too much behind, but we did have fun.