Institute History
Description
Once a grand and thriving resort, Atlantic City had problems so severe that by the 1960's the city was struggling for its very survival. In the early 1970's, a pro-casino campaign began, built around the need for casinos to spur the city's economy and revitalize its main industry: tourism. On Election Day, November 1976, the casino gambling referendum charter was declared a landslide win.
Atlantic City was reborn.
The Supreme Belief in Lady Luck tells the stories of several Atlantic City residents at a crossroads in their lives. Peggy Grueber, who started as a cocktail server at Resorts International the day it opened in 1978, is still there 23 years later. The casino business has been good to Peggy; a single mother, she's been able to provide a comfortable life for herself and her son Rick, now 25. Rick is also employed at Resorts International as a blackjack dealer. He recently returned home due to increasing financial problems.
Danielle, a five-month breast cancer survivor, is a visitor to the casino world. Newly divorced, she's experiencing an especially turbulent identity crisis. Her path crosses with that of Cieran, a native of Dublin. He's run away from responsibility, instead finding a home amongst the many drifters that have made Atlantic City their haven.
The Supreme Belief in Lady Luck captures the essence of life dominated by the atmosphere of gambling and the danger the casinos present when life, abruptly, turns inside out.