If you were in Atlantic City the past couple of days, you might have been tempted to wonder about all the lamentation and bitter weeping among casino industry types.

Thanks to the annual convention of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities--the annual gathering of Garden State politios, bureacrats, lobbyists and others who have a vested interest in the day-to-day business of local government--the town was partying like it was 2006. Monday night--before the annual confab officially began, The Quarter at Tropicana was humming with activity and traffic. According to Paul Sandler, general manager of The Palm outlet there, his pricey restaurant was totally sold-out Tuesday and Wednesday.

And Wednesday night at Borgata, Bobby Flay Steak, whose price points make The Palm look like a diner, was likewise jumping.

This, of course, amounts to little more than a Band-Aid on a tumor. But it still had to bring a little cheer to those in AyCee's gaming community. At the very least, this week's temporary uptick in business proved the town and its attractions are not to blame for the ongoing collapse of gambling revenues.

MOVING AHEAD: While Pinnacle Entertainment has made it known it won't put any shovels in the ground at the former Sands site until the current credit crunch abates, the company isn't standing pat. Demolition of other buildings on Pinnacle-owned property adjacent to the Sands parcel is continuing in preparation of the day when construction on a planned $1.5 billion mega-resort can commence.

Fans of ABC-TV's inexplicably popular "Dancing With the Stars" may want to watch tonight's installment at Borgata's Music Box.

That's because Joey Fatone, who is a former contestant on the dance-competition series, is hosting an exclusive viewing party. Doors open at 7. Several prizes will be raffled, including a Wii game system (complete with "Dancing With the Stars" DVD) and tickets to the "DWTS" performance scheduled for Philly in February. After the broadcast, Fatone will move on over to the mur.mur disco where he'll emcee for DJs Jay-E and Deception.

The bad news is that admission to the event is restricted to My Borgata card holders. The good news is that if you want to attend and don't have a card, you can apply for one at the My Borgata Center, then head on over to the box office to purchase your tickets.

For more info call (609) 317-1000.

It was fitting the skies over Atlantic City wept Thursday. It was bad--make that very bad--day.

Borgata—the gold standard of the town’s gambling and hospitality industry—got things off to a crummy start by announcing a five-percent workforce cut (400 jobs).  Then, just to make a lousy day even worse, Pinnacle Entertainment all but admitted it's plans to build a glittering palace on the site of the old Sands hotel-casino.

For the record, the company’s CEO, Daniel Lee, kept alive the possibility the project--now on "indefinite hold"--could one day come to fruition. He said it could be “years and years and years” before economic conditions are favorable to getting construction on track, and that his organization is willing to wait to ensure a successful endeavor.

But he also said Pinnacle is willing to entertain offers for the parcel of midtown land it purchased a couple of years ago. Which to more cynical ears, sounds like another way of saying, “Goodbye and good luck.”

While the decision appears to be just another result of the nation’s economic meltdown—which has made it almost impossible for casino companies to borrow construction money—Atlantic City’s recent decision to bid out Bader Field certainly had to play a role. Lee has long opposed the concept of allowing casino construction on the 150 Northside acres that for decades housed the town’s pioneering airport, claiming development there would lessen the value of Boardwalk properties, and make such facilities less desirable to visiting gamblers.

And it should be noted the announcement came less than 48 hours after voters in Maryland approved up to 15,000 slot machines for the state.

So, has Atlantic City’s future, which looked so bright as recently as a year or so ago, been snuffed out like a birthday cake candle? It would be easy to think so. But it probably would be premature to write the town’s obituary. Economic conditions are cyclical. The current recession can’t, and won’t, last forever. And Atlantic City has too much to offer people who are looking for more than a few hours at the slot machine. It is a unique, increasingly interesting place that remains a tank of gas away from some 50 million people.

It was raw, wet and windy Thursday down the Shore. But we all know the sun will come out eventually.

Bet on it.

A POSSIBLE BUYER?: On a related note, don’t be surprised if there actually is interest in the Pinnacle site in the days ahead. There is at least one major gaming company—Penn National of Wissinoming, Pa.—that has long made known its desire to be in AyCee. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to suggest Pinnacle would be happy to sell at a bargain price (e.g. a recoupment of money already invested), and Penn National apparently has the cash-on-hand to build on the site.

Stay tuned…

WITHER REVEL?: Also on the minds of many casino industry observers is the fate of Revel Entertainment's grand project adjacent to the Showboat. Unlike Pinnacle and MGM Grand (which recently canceled its plans for a $4 billion development in the Marina District), Revel actually has pillars in the ground. But it reportedly still needs to money to complete construction. Some insiders are speculating current conditions will soon put at least a temporary hold on things there. 

After more than 40 years, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey can still kick it out with the best of them.

The two rock gods--and remaining original members of The Who--turned in a typically killer show Friday night at Borgata's Event Center, mostly concentrating on the material that has made the British band one of the most revered and beloved of all time.

With the exception of a few songs from "Endless Wire," the band's most recent collection of new material (from 2006), the group stuck to a greatest-hits format--a strategy that certainly didn't disappoint anyone in the rabid, sold-out crowd.

Such signatures as the show-opening exacta of "I Can't Explain" and "The Seeker," "Behind Blue Eyes," "5:15" and "Pinball Wizard" were uniformly exciting, but the powerhouse versions of "Love Reign O'er Me," "Baba O'Relly" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" were simply the pinnacle of the rock concert experience.

Sure, the microphone-twirling Daltrey can't hit the high notes of his youth. But his vocals still have unlimited amounts of strength and drama. And Townshend remains one of rock's most compelling live performers, a bundle of kinetic energy whose "windmill" style of playing guitar is one of rock's iconic moves.

But the two legends couldn't have done it alone. They were backed by the same lineup that's been intact since the 2002 death of bassist John Entwistle: The melodically monickered Pino Palladino replacing Entwistle, keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick and guitarist Simon Townshend (Pete's brother).

And as he has been since he replaced Kenney Jones in the late 1990s, it was drummer Zak Starkey who was the revelation Friday night.

Starkey comes from one of the most royal bloodlines in rock (his dad is Richard Starkey, who, as Ringo Starr, kept time for a British "beat" band of some note back in the 1960s). He doesn't imitate the late, great Keith Moon, as much as he seems possessed by Moonie's spirit,creating perfect replicas of Moon's singular bashing style..

It all made for a glorious two-plus hours of the some of the best rock music of all time.