ATLANTIC CITY - To herald the September premier of HBO's highly anticipated new series, Boardwalk Empire, the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority (ACCVA) has teamed up with its partners to showcase a taste of the city's storied Prohibition-era past. From Martin Scorsese and Terence Winter ("The Sopranos"), Boardwalk Empire is set at the dawn of Prohibition in Atlantic City and traces Atlantic City's political history throughout the 1920s. It is loosely based on the book of the same name by Nelson Johnson.

Guests of the iconic seaside destination will have the opportunity to experience new city-wide promotions in the spirit of Boardwalk Empire and in the "throwback" style of the Roaring 20s. For a limited time, 28 Atlantic City-area restaurants are offering "Prohibition Priced Menus" of two- or three-course meals for $19.20, and Boardwalk Empire-themed cocktails featuring Canadian Club Whisky. Dates and features vary for each restaurant. The list of restaurants and details of each will be on the ACCVA website at www.atlanticcitynj.com.

A community panel discussion just prior to the premiere episode on Sunday, September 19 will include historians and Atlantic City experts discussing the past, present and future of Atlantic City. It is presented by the ACCVA in association with Caesars Atlantic City (www.caesarsac.com), Atlantic City Weekly (www.acweekly.com) and the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute for Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (www.stockton.edu). Additional details will be available at www.atlanticcitynj.com.

The ACCVA is also redesigning the official destination Web site (www.atlanticcitynj.com) to reflect the era in which the new series is set. Additionally, a Boardwalk Empire-themed landing page will be promoted throughout the site and will include historical information, background about the HBO series and news of the destination's new city-wide promotions developed in conjunction with ACCVA's marketing partners.

Visitors will also notice signage throughout Atlantic City including banners at Boardwalk Hall, light pole banners near the Atlantic City Expressway and messages on video marquees promoting the premiere of HBO's Boardwalk Empire.

Also playing up the 1920s theme, Caesars Atlantic City is offering 1,920 rooms at the rate of $19.20 per night. Caesars and HBO are promoting the Boardwalk Empire Sweepstakes (www.boardwalkempireac.com), where one lucky grand prize winner will have the opportunity to "live like the king of the Boardwalk," with access to a personalized suite at Caesars Atlantic City for a full year. Five first-place prize winners will receive Boardwalk Empire weekends at Caesars Atlantic City including airfare, limo transportation to/from New York to Atlantic City, suite accommodations, a stocked bar, a Bloomingdale's shopping spree and dinner at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant.

The Atlantic City Free Public Library (www.acfpl.org) will feature a photograph and costume exhibit with photos of Atlantic City and its key movers and shakers of the era, along with the most popular clothing styles of the time. The Library is also presenting a series of four adult programs:

· Wednesday, September 15, 6:00 p.m.: Meet the Author: Karen Schnitzpahn, "The Roaring 20s at the Jersey Shore" and dance teacher Melanie Brough performing a flapper dancing demo;
· Saturday, September 18, 2:00 p.m.: Meet the Author: Nelson Johnson, "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City," on which the HBO series is based;
· Saturday, October 9, 2:00 p.m.: local historian Allen "Boo" Pergament presents an interactive seminar about the 1920s in Atlatnic City;
· Saturday, October 23, 2:00 p.m.: a 1920s jazz concert with the Shenole Latimer Quartet.