Hi there, thanks for looking at my question!

I have just recently become an avid gamer and I am looking for (1)
clubs to join, (2) stores to play at, and (3) conventions to attend.

So, if you could, please provide options in category (1) and (2)
within 1 hour and 30 minutes of NJ zip 08092. For (3), conventions,
any major gaming conventions in the country (such as gen con, and
other gaming conventions), and any minor conventions in NJ, any
bordering state, or MD.

That pretty much sums up my question, but here are some details to
clarify if you would like clarifications:
Basically I'm looking for people to play the serious gamer board games
I have, such as Duel of the Ages, Puerto Rico, Carcasonne, Risk 2210
A.D., Dvonn, Zertz, Settlers of Cata, Hera and Zeus, and other board
and/or card games. I'm not so much into role playing like D&D, but
places that host such probably have people that do both. For
information about what these games are, you can reference
www.funagain.com (games store) and just search for the name.

Thanks for you help! And please do let me know if you would like any
clarifications, I will check up on this question frequently for such
requests. Thanks again!

Just in case you never found anything, there appear to be a couple at
the edge of the range you specified:
http://www.epgs.org/
http://www.jerseygamers.com/meetings.html

And another farther away:
http://berksboardgamers.com/

If they're too far and you aren't able to finnd other groups that work
better, I would at least see what sorts of communication they have and
try to find groups nearer you.  Failing that, I would recommend
posting to:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/spielfrieks/
(which you're likely to find interesting anyway, if you haven't found it already)

meetup.com is also a possible resource, but it's never worked for me
to find other gamers (or anything, for that matter).

Lastly, if you haven't found it yet, be sure to check out
boardgamegeek.com even though it doesn't have group information.  The
single best boardgaming resource in existence.

-Kevin