Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City is making fans of the gangster genre an offer they can’t refuse: The opportunity to revel in all things film and television mobsters.
MobMovieCon/SopranosCon, which is set for Saturday and Sunday at the bayside gaming hall, is a celebration of bad guys and the movies and TV shows that made them show business icons.
The first such event was SopranosCon, a celebration of the iconic HBO series that was staged at the Meadowlands complex in North Jersey two years ago (last year’s event was whacked by the COVID-19 pandemic). Its success—more than 15,000 people attended according to its producers—apparently led them to expand the event’s parameters beyond The Sopranos.
Described as a mob-focused version of ComicCon and similar celebrations of the superhero realm, MobMovieCon will follow that blueprint, offering attendees the opportunity to “cosplay” as their favorite Hollywood goodfellas and to get up-close and personal with actors from their favorite flicks and TV series. Among those scheduled to appear are Lorraine Bracco (whose work in both The Sopranos and Goodfellas makes her genre royalty), Paul Sorvino (mob chieftan Paulie Cicero in Goodfellas) and a slew of Sopranos cast members including Federico Castelluccio, who played Italian hit man Furio Giunta .
There will also be panel discussions, vendors hawking souvenirs including artwork by celebrities and even stations where guests can get tattoos of their favorite Hollywood wise guys.
Interestingly, it is an actor who portrays a cop, not a gangster, who will host Saturday night’s keystone event. Ice-T of Law & Order: SUV is scheduled to preside over the Mob Movie Awards; categories include Favorite Mob Wife and Favorite Depiction of A Real-Life Gangster.
And while not officially part of the weekend festivities, Friday night will see a screening of the John Gotti biopic Gotti, for which co-star Armand Assante will be on hand.
Local pizza fave comes to Bally’s
The latest addition to the culinary lineup at Bally’s Atlantic City is Carluccio’s, the Northfield, N.J.-based pizzeria that has been widely acknowledged as one of New Jersey’s best.
Famed for its pies that are cooked in 1,000-plus-degree, coal-fired ovens, The Bally’s outpost of Carluccio’s, which is open seven days a week, also offers a variety of other munchies including salads, wings and calzones.
A legendary booking at Hard Rock
Brian Wilson, the founding genius of the Beach Boys who gave the world such pop-rock standards as “Good Vibrations,” “God Only Knows” (once described by Paul McCartney as “the greatest song ever written”) and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” has booked a date at Hard Rock Hotel Casino Atlantic City. The “Mozart of Rock” is bringing his Beach Boys Greatest Hits Tour to Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena Oct. 16. Tix go on sale 10 a.m Friday; you can find ‘em here.
Live! Philly goes all-in on poker tourneys
Daily poker tournaments are now a thing at Live! Philadelphia Casino Hotel. The contests are being staged in the gaming hall’s state-of-the-art, 29-table card parlor. The schedule for the remainder of July is as follows:
*July 22: 11:15 a.m., $120 NHL
*July 23: 11:15 a.m., $160 Double Green Chip w/ $50 Bounty
*July 24: 11:15 a.m., $220 Deep Stacks
*July 25: 11:15 a.m., $150 NHL
*July 25: 6:15 p.m., $130 Triple Stacks Turbo
*July 26: 11:15 a.m., $120 Fat Stacks w/ $25 Bounty
*July 26: 7:15 p.m., $100 NHL Bankroll Builder
*July 27: 11:15 a.m., $120 NHL
*July 27: 7:15 p.m., $130 Triple Stacks
*July 28: 11:15 a.m., $140 Quad Stacks
*July 28: 7:15 p.m., $160 Double Green Chip w/ $50 Bounty
*July 29: 11:15 a.m., $120 NHL
*July 30: 11:15 a.m., $160 Double Green Chip w/ $50 Bounty
*July 31: 11:15 a.m., $220 Deep Stacks