Well that's true, Pacific Ave. proper is OK (except in that part down near the Showboat) but some of the sidestreets between the Boardwalk and Pacific are death. Remember AP's are walking with bankrolls, and a lot of people not from the NYC area don't recognize the warning signs of a dangerous situation as readily as you and I do. To put it in LV terms, I'd say the casino area of AC has a danger level comparable to Downtown, and the rest of AC is comparable to LV between the Stratosphere and Downtown.
Regarding weekend vs. weekday, one thing I've noticed recently is that it's not all that much better on the weekdays. AC loves to manage their tables full 7 days a week so on a Tuesday afternoon it can be crowded. And also the Oriental players prefer the weekdays and they tend to play very slowly. If I had to pick an 8-hour shift to play in, I'd say Saturday morning 5AM-1PM.