I was recently invited out as part of a blogger event by the folks at Greyhound who wanted us to experience first-hand their new Lucky Streak busses going directly from the Port Authority Bus Terminal to Atlantic City. While most of us have taken a Greyhound, that initial fear of being stuck in my seat for over two hours, on top of being unable to check my email or plug in my iPod and phone was overwhelming. But quickly my perception of the bus experience was drastically changed. Greyhound’s new Lucky Streak busses offer free Wi-Fi, power outlets, comfy all leather chairs, extra legroom, and priority boarding. But why all of a sudden the drastic change and upgrades you might ask? According to Greyhound’s COO Bill Blankenship, who happened to be riding with us, “We learned a lot from our BoltBus, which was kind of our test for modernizing and changing the perception of the inner city bus and what you’re going to be seeing on these Greyhound’s is all of what we learned from the BoltBus, and it really resonates with consumers. It’s a quality bus and while a very simple concept, pretty tough to deliver for most. Clean and well equipped, this motor coach arrives on time, is safe and environmentally friendly. That’s what you can expect and it’s that simple. This is the future of inner city bus travel.” Even better, the addition of 102 environmentally friendly Lucky Streak busses Greyhound built are environmentally friendly with fuel-efficient engines that see the reduction of approximately 40 cars off the road each day and generate nearly three times less carbon dioxide per passenger, per mile than a hybrid vehicle.

The Lucky Streak bus runs door to door from New York City to select Atlantic City Boardwalk Casinos with an open return ticket that allows riders to return within 30 days from any of the eight casinos they serve, which can come in handy if you find yourself broke at 3 AM and need to leave. Passengers also receive discounts and special deals from partner Atlantic City casinos like free money to gamble with offers changing depending on the destination and time of year.

For those who want to hit the casinos, there’s a wide variety of choices including the fabulous Tropicana, the Trump Taj Mahal, Showboat, Caesar’s, the Borgata, the Hilton, and Bally’s among several others. For those not interested in gambling, there’s much to see and do. There’s always a show in most of the casinos, over 25 golf courses, the beach & boardwalk, restaurants owned by Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck, high end stores like Gucci and Coach as well as the Atlantic City Outlets featuring H&M, Guess, and more. Plus there’s no sales tax on clothing. It’s a great little getaway for all of us New Yorkers out there in need of a quick vacation, which is pretty much all of us!

For this week and the next, Greyhound is offering a round trip ticket on its Lucky Streak busses to Atlantic City for a dollar and it includes $25 to gamble at Bally’s Casino, meaning they are practically paying you to go. Not sure if the people at Greyhound heard of the old saying “Nothing is free,” but thankfully, rules were meant to be broken!

For more information on Greyhound’s Lucky Streak go to their website www.luckystreakbus.com

DaVe Lipp