New Jersey

Casino Ad Erroneously Sends Waze Users to NJ Nature Park

Rather than sending drivers to Atlantic City's Borgata resort, a targeted Waze ad was sending users onto unpaved roads in a Jackson Township nature area

NBCUniversal, Inc.

What to Know

  • Jackson Township Police are warning Waze users of an ad that had the Atlantic City resort pinned in a wildlife area.
  • Police reported a "tremendous increase" in disabled motorists in the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area. The drivers were following Waze from North Jersey or New York, police say.
  • Drivers are urged to use cation when following a location listed in an ad.

No, the luxurious Borgata Hotel, Casino and Spa isn’t located in a central New Jersey wildlife preserve.

The Jackson Township Police Department, however, has recently seen a spike of drivers headed for the Atlantic City resort winding up stranded in a wildlife area in the shadow of Six Flags Great Adventure.

In a Facebook post, police explain how all these drivers from New York and North Jersey are ending up stuck on unpaved roads in the wildlife area. Police say a targeted advertisement for the Borgata in the Waze navigation app was posted with the correct address for the casino but pinned to the middle of the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area, near Lake Success.

The 12,000-plus-acre wildlife area is almost 70 miles north of the Borgata and mostly undeveloped, a far cry from the pampering and gambling of the Atlantic City resort.

The distance between Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area and the Borgata resort.

Jackson police say they reached out to Waze about the mistake. NBC10 Philadelphia has done the same but has yet to receive a response.

A spokesperson for the Borgata was unaware of the incidents when asked by NBC10 for comment. The spokesperson said the resort was looking into it and has been in contact with Waze. Borgata's location has also been corrected in the ad.

Police offered advice to drivers before they hit the road blindly following a Waze ad location. “Please take extra care when selecting locations listed with the orange ‘Ad’ logo in the corner or places which have multiple names with the same address" but "are considerable distances apart.”

Contact Us