Atlantic City is right up there on the list of “must visit” places when you take a trip to the east coast of the United States of America. A resort city found in the Greater Atlantic City region of the state of New Jersey, this holiday hotspot is a massive hit with both domestic visitors who are stopping off the weekend and international tourists who have come to the country specifically to see “America’s Playground” in all of its glory.

The location is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States, according to the official website of the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism. It draws in 27 million tourists each year, in fact.

But if you’re visiting Atlantic City soon you may be surprised at what you find. It offers so much more than what you’ve heard. Below, you will discover five surprising things that you didn’t know about the place so many people visit each year.

Atlantic City Offers Some of the Best Entertainment on the East Coast

Although the area is typically frequented by vacationers looking to have fun and relax, plenty of people also take a trip to the city specifically just to watch a show. Atlantic City is often a tour date for some of the world’s most well-known performers including stand-up comics and internationally famous musicians and singers.

Just recently, for instance, Canadian rapping sensation Drake performed at the DAER Nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, wowing the crowd with hits like God’s Plan and In My Feelings. Others stars who have either visiting (or are planning to visit) Atlantic City venues include Wanda Sykes, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, J. Cole, and Bob Dylan. If you plan your trip right, you may just be able to see these performers for yourself!

Atlantic City Has its Own Card Game

Speaking of entertainment, Atlantic City is perhaps best-known for its many casinos and opportunities for gambling it offers. In fact, it’s so important to the city’s economy that nine casinos in the area employ 30,000+ people. But what you may not know is that its gaming is so popular that it has actually led to a new way to play. Specifically, Betway notes that Atlantic City has its own blackjack variant. Called Atlantic City Blackjack, the form dates back to the time of speakeasies and jazz music and it uses eight full decks of standard cards. In addition to this, Atlantic City blackjack allows you to split aces and double down as many time as a player chooses.

This adds an additional element of risk and reward to the game and gives blackjack players a few more tactics to come up with and figure out. The variant also highlights just how many people visit the location to gamble and the creativity that it has led to.

Atlantic City is Home to the First Boardwalk in the United States

In addition to the glitz, glamor and uproarious good times, Atlantic City is also a place that’s steeped in history. There are few examples of this as good as the Atlantic City Boardwalk. These days, plenty of coastal cities in the United States have their own boardwalk(s), with Los Angeles being home to the famous Venice Boardwalk, for instance. But Atlantic City is where it all started. The first section was opened on June 26, 1870, though it had been in development since 1850.

Boardwalks were initially devised by a railroad conductor named Alexander Boardman who suggested that they could be used to keep sand out of railway cars and hotels. But the area in Atlantic City soon became a tourism hotspot instead as during the summer months, visitors flocked from all over to enjoy its beaches, the dazzling blue sea, and its many stores. There are also plenty of restaurants to catch a bite to eat; Atlantic City dining is to the east coast what Los Angeles’ many restaurants are to the east.

Atlantic City Was the Inspiration for the Monopoly Board

The Atlantic City Boardwalk isn’t the only place in town that’s worthy of a shoutout, however. When the Parker Brothers released the first Monopoly board in 1935, they took inspiration from Atlantic City’s real-life streets, using these as game squares that players could land on in the game. Who needs video games inspired by post-apocalyptic settings when you have a board game based on a real-life (and mostly intact) location instead?

Some spots you can see on the board include St. Charles Place, Atlantic Avenue, Park Place, and Baltic Avenue which is home to a thriving retail section with stores including clothing retailer J.Crew and an outlet for mobile network carrier T-Mobile. Although some of the real-life locations on the board have since lost their sheen and are actually abandoned, the fact that they inspired the Monopoly squares in the first place is pretty impressive by itself.

There’s no need to completely forget what you’ve heard about Atlantic City – the good bits are (mostly) true. It’s a place of wild and sometimes raucous entertainment, it’s great for a sun-soaked weekend or a few incredibly evenings out on the town and you’ll have plenty of stories to tell when you return home. But it’s also clear that the city is so much more than that and has so much more to offer than just over the top excitement. So whether you’re looking for a good time or a chance to marvel at history, Atlantic City will suit you.