The controversy ignited after February 1, when Resorts rented an Atlantic City Expressway billboard over a NJ Transit train station. The advertisement shows a scantily clad showgirl's backside, with the word "moon" from "moonshine" highlighted just to the right of her rear-end.
According to NJ.com, the complaints from local residents to politicians ultimately reached NJ Transit, owner of the land under the billboard. Resorts owner Dennis Gomes accused the agency and its advertising company of threatening to remove the billboard, or to cover it with a different advertisement.
"Moonshine Follies" is Resorts' first extended show since veteran casino operator Gomes, and his partner Morris Bailey acquired the troubled property in December 2010 for $31.5 million.
Gomes has a solid history of rejuvenating casino venues throughout the U.S. He is staking Resorts' future by capitalizing on HBO television's successful new Boardwalk Empire series. The show is a takeoff of Judge Nelson's 2002 novel, Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City. The entire casino property has been rebranded with a Roaring '20s Prohibition theme.
The CourierPostOnline.com stated that Gomes calls the billboard harmless, compared to what is advertised in Las Vegas, and finds the commotion unfounded. He states his five children have "seen butts all their lives and they have turned out fine."
"We have this 1920s show being specially created for us with beautiful women with great bodies in it. It's all about the music and dancing of the '20s. There was a whole social revolution going on in the 1920s, particularly regarding women. They were dancing in public, which they had never been allowed to do before," Gomes said.
Johnson issued a show-cause order. It requires NJ Transit and its ad agency to plead their case against his issuing a restraining order that would prohibit them from altering the billboard until its rental period expires at the show's closing in mid-April.
According to NJ.com, NJ Transit spokeswoman Penny Bassett-Hackett acknowledged the agency's lawyers are reviewing the situation, but declined further comment.
The Press of Atlantic City reported that Gomes cheered Johnson's decision, saying, "Sometimes a very small minority of people can be the loudest. But you can't just go abridge someone's freedom of speech. NJ Transit overreacted because of a few loud voices."
