The Location – The Ridge is located where the old “gateway” games were between the Bally’s Casino and Claridge Casino. A wall was built to separate The Ridge (and the music) from the machines outside and it does a good job. More on that later. Also of note is that the rest of the Claridge casino has been closed and there is a large banner covering up where the Total Rewards desk used to operate.
The Casino – The Ridge is made up of about 24 blackjack table games, a couple roulette and craps tables and a small run of low limit slot machines. Table limits are the same low $10 limits that the gateway games used to be. Dealers dressed and acted very relaxed. They wore a kind of bowling shirt and were doling out fist pounds for almost every blackjack.
Decor - The decor is blue and gray based with a modern feel to it. Dealers were dressed in blue bowling type shirts. Very loose and comfortable looking.
Vibe - The vibe I got was somewhere between a wedding and normal pop music bar. One night there was just pretty loud new pop music. After going to the Bikini Bar, I think they just used the same mix that the DJ plays. When I went on Saturday it felt like dance time at a wedding. In between the table area is a dance floor. The DJ was playing a lot of wedding songs inclulding “Jump Around” by House of Pain and a couple of line dances. A lot of people danced, even a security guard on a segway.
There was a “hype man” for the DJ trying to get people involved with the party vibe The Ridge was going for. Special occurances got a bang on the gong which sat in the middle of the casino.
Cocktail Waitress - I don’t remember exactly what they were wearing, but the dress was different than the rest of Bally’s. Drinks flew fast and furious since there are so few tables to serve. Two waitresses covered the whole area and did a good job of never letting me go more than a few minutes between a nice cold Corona. Drinks came so quickly, that I needed to throw some water in the mix. 
(unfortunately, those aren’t my chips)
Overall - I had a great time at The Ridge. In my two sessions I played low limit blackjack and 3 card poker and ended up about even, but probably up a little.
I hate weddings and I’m surprised that I enjoyed my time at The Ridge on Saturday night. The awful “hype man” and bad music turned me off. The people that participated were having a blast and in turn that positive vibe really along with the drinks that were flying fast and furious helped me have a good time.
The Ridge has a much more positive feeling than Bally’s and Wild Wild West, which can give the feeling of gambling to gamble – not gambling to have fun. The other positive is that it didn’t feel very smokey like the rest of Bally’s. The only complaint I heard was from a couple older women who thought the music was too loud. While the music was very loud, I don’t think many people cared they just wanted to have fun.
I hope this gives a good picture. There was so much mystery for my first trip to The Ridge. It’s a fun little party type section at Bally’s casino. I think they did a good job mixing the feel to make young and old feel comfortable. I’d play here again, but only if I was staying at Bally’s or Caesars. I don’t think it’s worth a special trip.
One word of warning: Because the limits are low, expect novice play at the blackjack tables.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
nice shot of the felt that confirms that naturals pay 3:2. the previous ‘gateway area’ featured 6:5 on all tables.
wait, i think i got my 6:5s mixed up with my ‘hit on soft 17′. forget my previous post. looks like the ridge is hit on s17.
I never played at the old gateway but Claridge, when it was open, was hit on soft 17. The only 6:5 I’ve seen in Atlantic City are the double deck games.