"We were told we'd have to wait until Atlantic City becomes a resort town again, rather than just a casino town," Mr. Faldetta said.

"What we are trying to do is change the perception of Atlantic City as being just a casino town."

"You can't just throw it at another casino town, like the Mohegan Sun," Mr. Sanders said.

"Las Vegas showed us that even in a casino town, people want to do more than just gamble," she said.

But if we get rid of Miss America, we will just be another casino town.

Still, it remains a casino town and the MGM project amounts to the boldest statement yet that gambling and children really can go together.

This is clearly not your grandfather's let's-go-see-Jerry-Vale casino town anymore.

The big casino towns of Las Vegas and Reno have worked to expand their tourism base by attracting families to the hotels and casinos.

What is really at issue, some people here say, is a desire to keep out the sometimes seedy elements who tend to congregate in casino towns.

Reno for a while, a few smaller casino towns, then further afield.