Men like to watch Sarah Pallante.

As she unbuttons a slick black raincoat to reveal a black lace bra and sequined black bikini bottom, the men at mixx nightclub inside Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa hoot and holler. The handful of young dancers on stage follow Pallante's lead, and pull each other close in a sort of dance orgy that oozes sexy.

The men watching, whether they realize it or not, are ogling a different type of woman. And chances are, they don't have a chance.

Pallante, 22, is single. She is a mixx dancer by night, but by day, a successful college student with plans for a career as a professional dancer. She is ambitious and articulate, and has no immediate plans for finding a boyfriend, let alone a husband.

She relishes the single life.

"I love it," Pallante said. "I've had so many bad relationships. I don't need a boyfriend."

That is a more common refrain from young singles, particularly women, than ever before. Pallante is one of 100 million Americans who are single or unmarried, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. Approximately 64 percent of those Americans have never been married and young people that do are deciding that tying the knot can wait.

"Most people still plan to get married, they just don't want to do it right now," said Tom Coleman, executive director of Unmarried America, an organization promoting acceptance of the single life. "They are focusing on careers and education. They feel by getting a good education, that will increase their earning potential."

Young singles, Coleman said, are in general more savvy, more educated, more financially stable and with more disposable income. With the advent of the Internet and online dating, there are more ways than ever to meet other singles, so people who are in no rush to marry really don't have to worry.

"It used to be your status came as a husband, a wife or as parents," Coleman said. "Now it's their profession, their income level."

The vibrant singles who fill mixx -- well known as a hot meeting place for the thoroughly unattached -- are typically proud to claim their unmarried status. The reasons they are so proud just depends on whom you're talking to.

Marriage is "good when you're over 30," said Pete Sirris, 27, a police officer from Bayside who was attending a friend's bachelor party at mixx. "You need to have your freedom before you get married."

"To sum it up in two words," he went on, "Freedom and options."

Mike Deo, 28, was visiting Atlantic City from New York City, and was watching women on the club floor from a VIP balcony. For now, he prefers being single, and said he finds it "very thrilling meeting a new chick."

"You come and go as you please," Deo said. "It's all about flexibility."

He coyly added: "And it's easier to get laid if you're single."

He may believe that, but the side of the room Deo was on didn't seem to hold anyone willing to take him up on his claim. The majority of the women were at a bar on the other end of the club, sipping cocktails together.

They weren't bragging about "getting laid." They were bragging about being independent.

"I'm getting myself set, it's all about me," said Lisa Anders, 22, a production assistant with Columbia Records. "If (romance) happens, it happens."

Karen Wilson, 23, a registered nurse from Staten Island, said she wants to get married "eventually." That is a departure from what she would have said a few years ago.

"When I was younger, it was 25," Wilson said of the age she hoped to marry. "But that has since changed. Now, it's 30. I'd rather wait and find someone I really love."