My last column featured two special promotions at ResortsCasino.com, the weekly drawing for the Resorts Room Giveaway and the $2,000,000 Scratch Off, both of which are still ongoing. No one has won the $2,000,000 mega prize yet, so keep logging on for your three FREE scratch cards because you still have a chance!

By the way, in case you aren’t familiar with the layout of the eight remaining Atlantic City land-based casinos, the five Boardwalk casinos, starting from the north and proceeding south, are Trump Taj Mahal, Resorts, Bally’s, Caesars, and Tropicana. (The remaining land-based casinos, the Borgata, Harrah’s Resort, and the Golden Nugget, are located in the Marina District.)

All of the Boardwalk casinos are within walking distance of one another, so on your next visit to Atlantic City, consider taking a leisurely stroll to cover all of them while enjoying the delightful ocean breeze.

But for now, let’s take a much quicker virtual trip from the New Jersey online casino website affiliated with Resorts Casino Hotel situated in the northern part of the Boardwalk to the two gambling websites associated with the Boardwalk casino that is farthest south.

Let’s see what special promotions www.TropicanaCasino.com and www.VirginCasino.com, the two sites affiliated with the Tropicana Casino Resort, have to offer.

Tropicana Casino Resort

The games offered on the two websites are virtually identical, and many of the promotional offers are also the same. So which site you pick (or both) is simply a matter of personal preference.

Keep in mind that on either site, you earn loyalty points for all of your online activity, but your rewards from the two sites cannot be combined. Furthermore, TropicanaCasino.com players have the option to redeem their points for comps at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, while VirginCasino.com players can only redeem their points for online use.

On the other hand, along with the special promotions offered on both sites, a wider variety of exclusive online promotions appear on VirginCasino.com, making that site an especially good choice for those who play online frequently.

By the way, don’t let the name Virgin influence your decision. We have no idea why the casino chose to be called that, but all levels of players – from beginners to advanced – are welcome. Both sites have a VIP program, so if you prefer to play for high stakes, you can certainly do so on VirginCasino.com as well as on TropicanaCasino.com.

However, the loyalty rewards programs are different, so if your wagers will be on the small side, it might be more to your advantage to play on Virgin, the site which is well-known internationally for being especially popular with casual players.

In other words, if you are a small stakes player and/or plan on playing primarily online rather than at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, you will probably get more bang for your buck playing on VirginCasino.com.

If you are a frequent visitor to the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, and especially if you play for high enough stakes to receive free meals, rooms, and entertainment, TropicanaCasino.com is probably your best bet.

As a registered online player, here are some exciting promotions you can take advantage of on these two websites right now. First we list the promotional offers common to both sites, followed by a few additional promotions that are exclusive to one site or the other.

Special promotions from Tropicana and Virgin NJ online casinos

Daily Free Games

As any slot player knows, free spins can make a huge difference in your end of session winnings. Not only do you get extra play with no risk whatsoever, but each free spin has as much chance as being a winning one as any of your other spins.

Ordinarily, the only way you can get rewarded with free spins is by playing for real money, but now both TropicanaCasino.com and VirginCasino.com are offering all registered real money online players a chance to win free spins while playing for free.

You are given a choice of two special slot games, Tiki’s Catch of the Day and Search for the Phoenix, and each week, the first time you log on to take part in this promotion, you need to choose one of the two.

The following week you can switch games if you wish, but until then, each day you log in to play, you are locked into the game you selected earlier in the week.

If you choose Tiki’s Catch of the Day, you collect seashells for a chance to win free spins on Tiki Island. If you choose Search for the Phoenix, you collect eggs for a chance to win free spins on Secrets of the Phoenix.

You can play your selected free game every day, as indeed you should, because the more often you play, the more seashells or eggs you collect and the better your chances of winning.

But even if you don’t play every day, be sure to play the last day of the month because that is when you get to open your shells or crack your eggs to see what you have won. The last day of the month is also when you get an additional chance to play a monthly special game and be guaranteed free spins on Tiki Island or Search of the Phoenix.

Community Jackpots

This is another great ongoing promotion that you can take advantage of on either TropicanaCasino.com or VirginCasino.com. The offer is valid for any real money game any time.

If you happen to see a special key in the bar above the game, click the key immediately because it could unlock a big jackpot. However, even if it doesn’t (or if no key shows up during the course of your play at all), you have another chance at winning. You might get to share in a community jackpot!

If someone else has a winning key, as long as you have played online during the past hour (regardless of whether or not you are still online), you win a share of the community jackpot. Primary jackpot winners collect two jackpots – the big one plus their share of the community jackpot!

Special promotions exclusive to TropicanaCasino.com

Summer Getaway Sweepstakes

Every week all summer long, TropicanaCasino.com is giving away a vacation package to a different top American resort destination. Trips to Hawaii and Orlando were two of the prizes recently given out, but each week in August another exciting getaway is still waiting to be won.

If you are a registered player, one of those winners could be you! All you have to do is play your favorite casino and slot games.

Each time you log onto the site and wager $50 on slots or $100 on any other casino game during that week (Monday-Sunday), you earn one entry in the sweepstakes, up to a maximum of 5 entries per day.

Then on the following Monday, the casino will select one weekly winner to receive that week’s summer getaway package, valued up to $5,000.

The package includes:

• Round trip airfare for two people
• Hotel accommodations
• An American Express gift card

Special promotions exclusive to VirginCasino.com

Summer Sundays

Every Sunday all summer long, be sure to check the Promotions section of the website for exciting new promotions for that day only.

Refer a Friend

If you think some of your friends might enjoy playing on VirginCasino.com, too, be sure to take advantage of this special offer. You will receive a generous $50 bonus (not withdrawable, but the winnings are yours to keep) for each new friend you refer who signs up and deposits and plays at least $10. Your friend gets a $10 bonus for joining. Terms and conditions apply; see the website for details.

In addition to these promotions, both sites are continually offering other limited time only promotions. Keep checking the Promotions section every time you log on to play so you don’t miss out on these special “here today but gone tomorrow” offers.