The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, formerly known as Golden Nugget, Bally's Grand, The Grand, Atlantic City Hilton and ACH, is an abandoned hotel and casino located at the southern end of the boardwalk in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, owned and operated by

Colony Capital DigitalBridge Group, Inc. is a global digital infrastructure investment firm. The company owns, invests in and operates businesses such as cell towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Digita ...

. It was the city's first and only "

locals casino A locals casino is a casino designed primarily to attract residents of the area in which it was built rather than tourists or vacationers. The term is most commonly associated with casinos in Nevada, United States, to distinguish them from casinos ...

". The Atlantic Club permanently closed on January 13, 2014, at 12:01 AM, largely as a result of dwindling casino visitors to Atlantic City due to increased competition in neighboring states. A third of Atlantic City's boardwalk casinos closed the same year, the others being Revel, Trump Plaza, and

Showboat A showboat, or show boat, was a floating theater that traveled along the waterways of the United States, especially along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, to bring culture and entertainment to the inhabitants of river frontiers. Showboats were ...

. Redevelopment proposals include a

water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other bare ...

. On November 6, 2013, Atlantic Club owner

Resorts International Holdings Resorts International Holdings, LLC (RIH), also known as Colony Resorts Holdings (CRH) was an affiliate of Colony NorthStar based in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of 2005, they were the fifth largest gaming company in America under Nick Ribis. RIH was ...

, itself owned by

, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and a source revealed to the ''Wall Street Journal'' that a bankruptcy sale would occur. On December 23, 2013, Federal Bankruptcy Judge Gloria M. Burns approved the sale of Atlantic Club to

Caesars Entertainment Corporation Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven g ...

and

Tropicana Entertainment Tropicana Entertainment Inc. was a publicly traded gaming company that owned and operated casinos and resorts in Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Missouri, New Jersey and Aruba. Tropicana properties collectively had approximately 5,500 ro ...

. Tropicana acquired the gaming equipment and the data records of customers from Atlantic Club. Caesars acquired the real estate and non-gaming assets. This returned ownership of the property to Caesars Entertainment, which sold it nine years before to Colony Capital as part of its acquisition by Harrah's Entertainment.

History

Golden Nugget (1980–1987)

The Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino was built in 1980 by a partnership of Golden Nugget Companies and Michael R. Milken for $140 million.

Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn ('' né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...

bought the Strand Motel on Boston Avenue and the Boardwalk for $8.5 million and tore it down.

Joel Bergman Joel Bergman (August 20, 1936 – August 24, 2016) was an American architect who has designed several landmark casinos. Bergman was born in Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 1965. Projects Stern and Associa ...

, who designed Wynn's other resorts, designed the Golden Nugget, and Atlandia Design managed the design, construction and furnishing of the original facility. It was Atlantic City's sixth casino after legalized gambling was passed in 1976. It had 506 rooms and at the time was the second smallest casino in the city. By 1983 it was the city's top earning casino. Its entertainment in the 500-seat Opera House included

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

Sammy Davis, Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album ...

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

and

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include '' Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's '' Enter L ...

. Advertisements featured Wynn, including one where he delivered towels to Sinatra. It was Wynn's first major casino after establishing his reputation with resurrecting the

Golden Nugget Las Vegas The Golden Nugget Las Vegas is a luxury hotel and casino located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada on the Fremont Street Experience. The property is owned and operated by Landry's, Inc. It has 2,419 hotel rooms. History The Golden Nugget was orig ...

Bally's Grand (1987–1996)

Wynn had high-profile squabbles with state officials, and in 1987 he sold the casino for $440 million to

Bally Manufacturing Bally Manufacturing, later renamed Bally Entertainment, was an American company that began as a pinball and slot machine manufacturer, and later expanded into casinos, video games, health clubs, and theme parks. It was acquired by Hilton Hotel ...

, which changed the name to Bally's Grand Hotel and Casino. Frustrated with state gaming regulators, Wynn publicly vowed he would never return to Atlantic City, though he had hedged his rhetoric with the purchase of an area by the Atlantic City Marina. Wynn left Atlantic City to build

The Mirage The Mirage is a casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Hard Rock International. The 65-acre property includes a casino and 3,044 rooms. Golden Nugget, Inc., led ...

in Las Vegas that heralded the modern transformation of the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city ...

Hilton (1996–2011)

After the

Hilton Hotels Corporation Hilton Worldwide (legally Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.) is an American multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts. Founded by Conrad Hilton in May 1919, the corporation is now led by ...

acquired Bally Entertainment, the property was renamed the Atlantic City Hilton. In 1998, Hilton Corporation spun off its casino properties into a new company initially called

Park Place Entertainment Park Place Entertainment, later named Caesars Entertainment, Inc., was a casino company based in Paradise, Nevada. For a time it was the largest casino operator in the world. It was formed in 1998 as a corporate spin-off of the gaming division o ...

. In 2000 Nicholas L. Ribis, in partnership with Colony Capital, LLC bought the poorly-performing

Resorts Atlantic City Resorts Casino Hotel is a hotel and casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Resorts was the first casino hotel in Atlantic City, becoming the first legal casino outside of Nevada in the United States, when it opened on May 26, 1978. The resort comp ...

for $140 million and created

. Then, in 2005, they set out to buy four casino properties across the U.S., including the Atlantic City Hilton, for a combined total of $1.24 billion. Through December 2009, Resorts Atlantic City and the Atlantic City Hilton were managed as a single entity named "Atlantic City Hilton and Resorts Atlantic City", whose president was Anthony Rodio. On December 10, 2009, it was announced that Resorts International was unable to pay the mortgage for the

property and made a deal to have the loan canceled and surrender the property to RAC Atlantic City Holdings L.L.C.

ACH Casino Resort (2011–2012)

In June 2011, Hilton Hotels ended the licensing agreement with Colony Capital and the Hilton name was officially removed as the casino name, with the temporary name of the casino becoming ACH Casino Resort. The signage on the outside and inside of the casino was removed in the fall when the licensing agreement termination was approved. Its sister property, the

Las Vegas Hilton The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is a hotel, casino, and timeshare resort in Winchester, Nevada. Located near the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, it is owned by Westgate Resorts. It opened in 1969 as the International Hotel, and wa ...

also lost its agreement and changed its name to the LVH – Las Vegas Hotel & Casino in January 2012.

The Atlantic Club (2012–2014)

On February 7, 2012, the casino became a locals casino and re-branded as The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel. Renovations to the gaming floor and rooms began immediately in an effort to refresh and update the property. The new slogan also went into effect: "A casino for the rest of us." In December 2012, the Rational Group, parent company of online gaming site

PokerStars PokerStars is an online poker cardroom that was a part of The Stars Group until it was sold to Flutter Entertainment on May 5, 2020. It can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for the Windows, macOS, Android (operating system), Andro ...

, was reported to be in discussions to buy the Atlantic Club for less than $50 million, spurred on by a bill under debate in New Jersey to legalize online gaming operations by casino owners. A purchase agreement was announced in January 2013, but was terminated in April after Rational missed a deadline for securing a temporary gaming license. On December 20, 2013, it was announced that the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel would close on January 13, 2014.

Caesars Entertainment Caesars Entertainment, Inc., formerly Eldorado Resorts, Inc., is an American hotel and casino entertainment company founded and based in Reno, Nevada that operates more than 50 properties. Eldorado Resorts acquired Caesars Entertainment Corporat ...

bought the property while Tropicana bought all the slot machines, gaming tables, and player databases in a joint bankruptcy purchase for $23.4 million combined. On May 29, 2014, Caesars Entertainment sold the Atlantic Club to TJM Properties, a Florida development firm that purchased and reopened the former Claridge Casino Hotel in Atlantic City earlier in the year. The reported Atlantic Club purchase price was $13.5 million. The firm planned to either reopen it as a non-gaming property, such as a hotel, or sell it.

Future

In 2015, redevelopment plans for the shuttered resort were proposed by

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Mary ...

-based Endeavor Property Group, calling for a renovation of the existing buildings into a non-gaming resort featuring two indoor water parks. An 81,000-square-foot indoor water park would be built across the street from the Atlantic Club, on the block bordered by Pacific, Atlantic, Boston and Sovereign avenues, currently a surface parking lot used by the resort, as well as a smaller adult-oriented indoor water park fronting the boardwalk. The former casino space would be renovated convention space and a large arcade. The project was approved by the CRDA in July 2015; the CRDA is also planning a "Gateway Project" adjacent to the site, proposing office and academic redevelopment along Albany Avenue, including the site of the former

Atlantic City High School Atlantic City High School (ACHS) is a comprehensive public high school in Atlantic City, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. It is the lone secondary school of the Atlantic City School District. The current school building opened ...

. In March 2017, R & R Development Group agreed to purchase the property with the intention of converting it to a family entertainment center with a waterpark, but the deal fell through two months later because R & R could not obtain financing. In September 2018, Stockton University attempted to purchase the property to expand itself. It planned to keep the parking garage, but demolish the main structure. The deal fell through after TJM declined the sale. Later in the year in November 2018, a development group from New York was in talks to buy The Atlantic Club, but a deal never shaped up. In February 2019, a sale settlement was filed by the property's owner, TJM Properties, however they denied the sale of property. Most recently, in October 2019, the property was sold to Colesseo Atlantic City, Inc. On October 23, 2019, the owner hired a New Jersey-based broker.

Hotel

The Atlantic Club boasted 802 hotel rooms, all newly renovated in 2012. Guests at the Atlantic Club could choose from one of the various room styles.

Casino

The casino at the Atlantic Club featured a standard set of table games, slots, and video machines. Patrons could sign up for the Player's Club, which was the rewards program at the Atlantic Club.

Dining

There were eight restaurants at the Atlantic Club.

Restaurants

* Simon AC * Patsy's Trattoria * Ono Chinese Bistro * Cappuccino's * Dizzy Dolphin's Beachfront Bar * Cornucopia Buffet * BB'S * The Coffee Shop

Shows

There were many different shows held at the Atlantic Club, including shows by

Bobby Rydell Robert Louis Ridarelli (April 26, 1942 – April 5, 2022), known by the stage name Bobby Rydell, was an American singer and actor who mainly performed rock and roll and traditional pop music. In the early 1960s he was considered a teen idol. His ...

and

Rich Little Richard Caruthers Little (born November 26, 1938) is a Canadian-American impressionist and voice actor. Sometimes known as the "Man of a Thousand Voices", Little has recorded nine comedy albums and made numerous television appearances, including ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, The Defunct casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey Defunct hotels in New Jersey Unused buildings in New Jersey Skyscraper hotels in Atlantic City, New Jersey Hotels disestablished in 2014 1980 establishments in New Jersey 2014 disestablishments in New Jersey Casino hotels Hotels established in 1980 Hotel buildings completed in 1980