ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) — Atlantic City tourism officials want you to know that the tourist area of the city is open for business following Hurricane Sandy.

Don Marrandino, president of Caesar’s AC and chairman of the Atlantic City Alliance, says the five-mile stretch of Atlantic City boardwalk is fully intact despite the impression people got from photos that were broadcast during Hurricane Sandy.

“There was a section in the inlet that was slated to be taken down anyway that got knocked off,” he tells KYW Newsradio.  “It was in disrepair, and it was in the water to begin with.  So the boardwalk is unscathed, the shopping is unscathed, the 12 casinos are in perfect shape.”

And he says that while nearby residential communities are slowly recovering, Atlantic City is open for business.

“I think the dune replenishment that they’ve done over the last several years saved a lot of lives and saved a lot of businesses and homes,” Marrandino says.

And he reminds potential visitors that those horrific photos of the Seaside Heights rollercoaster underwater — that’s NOT Atlantic City.

“The Steel Pier — it’s still there! They invested about $16 million in it, and that was one of the first things I looked at in the morning to say, ‘Is it there?’  And it was!”

Listen to Hadas Kuznits’ entire interview with Don Marrandino in this CBS Philly podcast (runs 6:48)…