Crews are still under way restoring Atlantic City's beaches and boardwalks after sections were washed away or damaged by Hurricane Sandy last year. Despite this, "America's Favority Playground," with its world-famous boardwalk and casinos, still remains a popular attraction for many area residents.

Years before Sandy, in early 2011, workers were in full swing replenishing some of Atlantic City's eroded beaches. The wrath of Sandy simply served as a second blow and delay to the project.Its casino were forced to close on Oct. 28 during the brunt of the storm. The infrastructure of Atlantic City's tourist district, mostly protected by sand dunes, was barely affected.Hurricane Sandy, recognized as the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of 2012, as well as the second-costliest hurricane in United States history, flooded many Atlantic City homes and temporarily washed away portions of its beaches and small section of its famous Boardwalk.The hurricane resulted in a 28 percent drop in gaming revenue, the largest monthly drop in 34 years, according to a study via Tourism Economics research firm. In addition, bookings for conferences, conventions and trade shows mostly disappeared in the following months, although resort officials reported that those numbers stabilized by January. According to Kayak.com (a travel booking website), Atlantic City has seen a 50 percent decrease in Memorial Day hotel inquiries and a 45 percent drop in travel searches for the period from May 27 and Sept. 2.Atlantic City Alliance, a tourism promotion group to the city, is reportedly spending $20 million to relaunch the "Do AC" advertising campaign. The ad campaign will showcase not just Atlantic City's gaming scene, but also its entertainment, shopping, dining and relaxing spa scenes.Currently, workers are still replenishing the beaches using a dredge barge to pump new sand onto beaches through large diameter metal pipes stretched along the beaches.During the project, large metal pipes stretch along the Casino's beaches and large sections of the shoreline can be closed for days at a time. This doesn't seem to cause an inconvenience for most beachgoers, as hundreds of people gather daily on the freshly laid beaches.As of now, work is focused on the beach in front of the new state-of-the-art Revel Casino, which opened to the public last April.