ATLANTIC CITY--- Crime, cleanliness, jobs and the future of the casino industry itself were some of the topics covered during a closed door summit in the mayors office Tuesday afternoon.

For just over an hour, Mayor Lorenzo Langford hosted the meeting that included local, county and state officials along with casino executives and civic leaders, "...Its important to get all those who have a vested interest in Atlantic City together, first of all, to determine that we can work together," said Langford, "....we have to talk about how to make Atlantic City livable for our residents, for our commuters and make Atlantic City a safe, fun and enjoyable place for our tourists."

Langford compiled and posted a list of 12 primary issues that those present were asked to weigh-in on: Cleanliness, Coordinated advertising efforts, Crime, Customer courtesy, Demolition of derelict properties, Employment, Events, Intergovernmental agency cooperation, Non-gaming attractions, Property taxes, Regulatory relaxation, Traffic synchronization.

One of those present at the meeting was Jeff Vasser, Pres. of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority, "....if we can't do what needs to be done for Atlantic City with this group of people, nothing can get done."

According to Vasser, everyone at the meeting walked away with an excitement and enthusiasm about what needs to be done in the near future and for the long term, "....we think and know that Atlantic City's best days are ahead of it and taking this down-turn in the economy and the competition, to force us to look at what we need to do to improve, I think is going to benefit everybody."

A follow-up meeting is planned in two to three weeks, at which time the many ideas on how to improve the city will be refined and narrowed-down.