Chris Rock Still Coming To Borgata Event Center Days After Oscars Shocking Moment

Written By Bill Gelman on March 31, 2024
Chris Rock 2024 Academy Awards

Nobody saw it coming, including comedian Chris Rock. If you don’t know what we’re talking about then you must have been hibernating for the past week.

He was on the receiving end of a Will Smith slap during Sunday night’s Academy Awards. Yes, we are talking about the same Will Smith who won the Oscar for Best Actor.

More on this later.

The bigger question is what does any of this have to do with New Jersey?

Well, Rock is performing in Atlantic City this weekend. His 10 p.m. show at the Borgata Event Center is sold out. There were still a limited number of tickets for the 7 p.m. show as of Thursday morning.

The appearances are part of Rock’s “Ego Death World Tour 2024.”

Chris Rock and Will Smith at the Oscars

Chris Rock cracking jokes on stage is well, routine. It’s what a comedian does to get laughs.

At this year’s Academy Awards, he presented the Best Documentary Feature award.

However, before announcing the winner, Rock made a joke regarding Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia. Will Smith reacted by storming the stage with a global television audience watching. And the Hollywood community is in no way supporting his actions.

And this incident unfolded nearly an hour before Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor. While nobody saw the slap coming, Smith winning an Oscar was expected.

He won for his portrayal of Richard Williams – father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams – in “King Richard.”

Heading into the event, both DraftKings and Caesars sportsbooks had Smith as a big favorite.

Laughing with Chris Rock at Borgata

From a Hollywood perspective, it doesn’t look like this Smith vs. Rock drama will be dying down anytime soon. The Associated Press is even reporting how Smith was asked to leave the Oscars following Sunday night’s incident.

Expect the aftermath to continue unfolding in the weeks and months ahead.

Here in New Jersey, the talk will be about Rock appearing at the Borgata Event Center Saturday night. Judging by the fact that both shows are nearly sold out, the Borgata will be hopping and the audience will be laughing come this weekend.

And this time around he will not have to worry about audience members storming the stage over a joke.

Photo by AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
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Bill Gelman

Bill Gelman has been reporting on the NJ gambling market since 2018, right around when the Garden State launched sports betting. Bill transitioned from lead writer for Play NJ and NJ Gambling Sites to his current role as managing editor in 2020. Besides offering in-depth analysis on NJ gambling market trends and news, Bill regularly sits down with Atlantic City casino industry executives to offer readers exclusive interviews and comprehensive coverage. Bill received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ithaca College. He has contributed to other Catena Media sites including The Lines, Legal Sports Report, PlayPennsylvania and PlayCanada.

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