AVALON, N.J - A look of horror and dismay flashed in Donna Lahron's eyes as the flight attendant from Steubenville, Ohio, watched her Playboy Bunny ears land gently in the water below the expansive deck of the multimillion-dollar house.
"Those were my original ears," lamented Lahron. "Over the years, I [lost] the other two pairs. These are the only ones I have left!"
But tragedy soon turned to relief, as a male guest at the lavish soiree she was attending saved Lahron's precious red-satin keepsakes with some quick thinking and a long-handled swimming-pool cleaner.
Even Lahron's near loss couldn't dampen the joy that filled the bayside mini-palace Saturday night, as dozens of former employees of the old Playboy Hotel & Casino, in Atlantic City, gathered to remember the good times they shared during the early 1980s. The party was the centerpiece of a four-day stretch of events commemorating the Playboy's brief AyCee existence.
The spectacular manse was festively decorated with black and white balloons, but the most interesting visual touches were the homemade displays boasting a wide variety of vintage pictures and memorabilia. Several photo collages were mounted on large easels arrayed throughout the house. On the third floor was a collection of Playboy table-game chips and slot tokens.
While the revelers represented a cross-section of the gaming hall's departments, there was no debating that the belles of the ball were the platoon of former bunnies in attendance.
Only a few donned full bunny garb - scarlet, cleavage-emphasizing bustiers, dark tights and high heels - while others sported the outfit's sartorial signatures: ears and white, powder-puff tails.
One of those who bunnied out to the max was Renay Rogers, a property manager and special-events planner from Sicklerville, Camden County. She put together the $125-a-pop fundraiser, which benefited the Atlantic City-based South Jersey AIDS Alliance.
According to the 51-year-old Rogers, the casino, which stood on the western side of Convention (now Boardwalk) Hall, was a special place to work. The uniqueness, she explained, began with the training process.
"The training we had was intensive," recalled Rogers, who was a bunny from the Playboy's April 1981 opening through 1983. "We had four weeks of training to learn everything from the 'bunny dip' [a cocktail-serving method that accentuated a waitress' attributes] to how to walk to how to [maintain] our makeup and hair.
"And, of course, we had to know what went in every drink, from a Manhattan to a Rob Roy."
Rogers, who used the nom-de-hutch "Bunny Rena" (most bunnies went by pseudonyms) acknowledged that she and her colleagues were propositioned "a lot" by male patrons. But she was quick to add that Playboy had a no-fraternization policy for its female employees that was enforced by a "bunny mother" who kept a keen eye out for unauthorized shenanigans.
"We were allowed to talk; we talked a lot," she said. "But we weren't allowed to date the customers."
Although by job description the women were primarily cocktail servers and table-games dealers, another former bunny said that they were far more than that.
"We would go on promotions," remembered Judi Hall, now an executive with a Shore-based alternative-energy company. "I would travel to Baltimore to do a charity event with [Hall of Fame former Orioles pitcher] Jim Palmer. We'd play 'bunnyball' games at [Veterans Stadium]. We were celebrities."
But in 1984, legal problems forced Hugh Hefner's publishing and entertainment empire to forfeit its New Jersey gaming license. Playboy's partner, Elsinore Corp., assumed full control of the property and turned it into the Atlantis.
"All of a sudden," said Hall, "we became cocktail servers. It wasn't the same. Now, it was 'I'll have a gin and tonic!' "
The bunnies went on to whatever the fates had in store for them. Many remained in the casino industry, finding cocktail-lounge jobs at other Atlantic City gambling dens. The rest entered other fields, got married, raised families. But the bonds forged during their time at Playboy could never be dissolved.
"My closest ten girlfriends today come from Playboy," said Hall. "Some girls have changed a lot, and some girls haven't changed at all. But the spirit and attitude are still there."
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