Print Date 7.22.2022
By Judy Brenna
Catering and Special Events Director, The Deauville Inn
Much like many women in their 30s and 40s, I am a true crime junkie. Yep. Nothing gets me going more than a serial killer or an unsolved mystery. I even do my own research, falling into deep sleuthing holes online late at night, in the confines of my bedroom, most likely causing my husband to kind of question my loyalty, convinced I alone can solve a crime ((even though professionals for years haven’t figured it out)). My commute to and from work ((shameless work plug… The Deauville Inn, located on Corson’s Inlet in Strathmere, NJ)) takes approximately 58 minutes, door to door, in the Fall, Winter, and Spring months. The summer is a very different story. It sometimes takes up to an hour and a half during the summer. I spend the majority of my commute listening to every true crime podcast I can sink my proverbial teeth into. Currently I’ve been binging on Morbid: A True Crime Podcast. I am OBSESSED. The ladies who run the podcast are quirky, fierce, and beyond entertaining, and I kind of feel like since I listen to them constantly, we’ve become extremely close friends, so much to the point where I have this incessant desire to send them homemade baked goods. Sure, they have zero clue I even exist, so if I actually sent them baked goods, they’d probably call the police and then I’d get arrested which is an entirely different fear of mine because I look absolutely awful in felony orange. My whole point is, I have a quasi-unhealthy obsession with true crime. So, what’s the point? It’s part of the human condition to ask questions, you know, the whole free will thing and what not. It’s also part of the human condition to be attracted to the macabre. Remember that time you were stuck on the highway and there was an accident ahead and when you approached the accident site you couldn’t help but look ((insert cartoon character rubbernecking))? It’s why we can’t get enough of documentaries about Ted Bundy or the Tinder Swindler… Or Tiger King. We. Just. Want. To. Know. Why.
Let’s see a raise of hands, who here has ever had a secret desire to solve a murder? ((people’s eyes dart around nervously, some hands slowly raise, while every 30–40-year-old women in the room shoot their hands to the sky like rockets)). I actually got to do this during my bachelorette weekend. My best-good ladies took me on a scavenger hunt through a neighborhood in Ewing, NJ, where we followed clues to determine who dunnit. We did by the way. Figured out who did it. It was glorious ((Mr. Boddy’s Bodacious Babes Lady Detective Agency!!)).
And now you too can slap on your Sherlock Holmes cap and solve a crime, right here in Atlantic City! Without A Cue's latest murder mystery experience is at Resorts Casino Hotel, now, through August. As you wander the rooms of the 13th Floor you will seek out and question the suspects, moving from one crime scene to the next. Here is a little recap on case plot:
Surf’s up on Beach Ball Beach where the kids are dancing the watusi all summer long. The kids aren’t even bothered by the string of luau murders that happened last summer, no matter how many times they are warned to avoid the sand once the sun goes down. Then a tsunami of murders takes the beach by storm, and everyone becomes a suspect. When this 1960’s hot girl summer gets murderous, it is up to you to interrogate the suspects, gather the clues, and solve the case.
Here's the run down on the actual experience: The Case of the Beach Ball Butcher: A Murder on the 13th Floor at Resorts Hotel and Casino is an interactive and totally immersive crime sleuthing experience during which the audience becomes part of the action. During this hour-long event, you will be set loose in a race to gather the clues and solve the case. The suspects will be hidden throughout the 13th floor, and you will be tasked with finding them and interrogating them. But be careful, as a killer is among them, and no one knows who the next victim will be! Your first stop will be in the screening room, a roaring 20's era theater original to the casino. There you will meet the characters, and perhaps even witness a murder. Once the crime has been committed, you will be tasked with wandering around the spaces of the 13th floor, enjoying a cocktail and chasing down the suspects. Once the timer starts you will only have 30 minutes to finish the hunt and submit your answer and then back to the screening room, where ((cue the gasps!)) the killer will be revealed!
This experience will cost you $34 per person, or $85 for VIP admission, and includes a free cocktail, front row seating, and an extra scene to investigate! Either ticket you decide, this experience is worth every penny, and something you will definitely want to try before they go bye-bye at the end of August. Check them out at https://www.withoutacue.com/13th-floor.
And don’t forget to stop by this Sunday (and every Sunday through Labor Day) at The Deauville Inn for our Apres Beach Event! Open to the public, from 3 pm to 6 pm, every Sunday, hosted by Aperol, an elevated beach bash with delicious summery cocktails and the tastiest beach fare around. It’s how we deau happy hour ((insert winky emoji)).
Until next week, folks… #stayjerseystrong!
