Angeline by Michael Symon
Casino floor hides a serious Italian cellar
Atlantic City · Atlantic City · Italian
Reviewed April 8, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
You're in a casino, so the bar is low — and then the wine list lands on the table and resets your expectations entirely. Three hundred to four hundred selections anchored by serious Piedmont and Italian producers is not what anyone expects a block from the slot machines. It's the kind of list that makes you want to cancel your plans for the evening and just drink.
Selection Deep Dive
The Piedmont section is the main event: Giacomo Conterno, Bruno Giacosa, and Gaja covering Barolo, with Produttori del Barbaresco and Angelo Gaja holding down Barbaresco. That's not filler — those are the names you build a serious Italian program around. Brunello gets its due with Biondi-Santi and Banfi, and the Super Tuscans are predictable but crowd-appropriate with Sassicaia and Ornellaia both present. California rounds things out with Caymus, Jordan, Opus One, Sonoma-Cutrer, and Rombauer — nothing groundbreaking there, but it keeps the room happy. The gap is anywhere outside Italy and California; this list doesn't wander far from its lane.
By the Glass
Twenty to thirty options by the glass is genuinely strong for a restaurant of this format, with pours running $14 to $22. We'd want to know more about rotation — there's no evidence of an active program changing things up regularly, which at this price point is a missed opportunity. Still, the sheer volume of glass options means you're not stuck choosing between two Chardonnays and a Malbec.
Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco — $60–$80 estimated bottle range
Produttori is a cooperative that punches well above its price class — genuine Barbaresco terroir at a fraction of what Gaja costs. In a list loaded with splurge options, this is the smart play for anyone who wants to drink Nebbiolo without flinching at the bill.
Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella
Everyone at this table is staring at the Barolo section, which means Allegrini's Amarone gets overlooked. It's a richer, more brooding expression that holds its own against anything in the Piedmont column — and tends to be priced slightly more accessibly in casino restaurant contexts where the famous names carry the biggest markups.
Opus One
Opus One is fine wine, but it's also the most marked-up bottle on virtually every resort restaurant list in America. You're paying for the name and the occasion, not for value — and in a list with Gaja and Conterno, there's simply a better story to tell for the same or less money.
Giacomo Conterno Barolo + Beef short rib pasta
Conterno's Barolo brings the kind of tannic structure and dried cherry depth that was essentially designed to cut through braised, fatty short rib. This is the pairing that justifies the whole trip.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Angeline is a genuine wine program hiding inside a celebrity chef casino concept — the Piedmont selections alone earn the Wine Spectator credential, even if the markups and no-sommelier situation keep it from being a true Rager. Come for the Barolo, order the short rib pasta, and try to forget you're in Atlantic City.
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