Property will join Claridge as non-casino Boardwalk hotel
The former Atlantic Club, which closed only four months ago, will reopen—but not as a casino.
Florida-based TJM Properties, Inc. bought the Atlantic Club last week for an undisclosed sum, and has indicated it plans to reopen it as a non-casino hotel. TJM did the same last year with another former Boardwalk casino-hotel when it purchased the Claridge from Caesars Entertainment for $12.5 million. The Claridge Hotel was reopened over Memorial Day weekend as a 500-room luxury non-gaming hotel.
TJM spokeswoman Sherry Amos indicated in an interview with the Associated Press that the operator is likely to repeat the business model that brought the Claridge back to life as an independent hotel, after serving for years as an adjunct tower to neighboring Bally’s Atlantic City.
“TJM is attracted to the Atlantic City market, and they believe that non-casino amenities have great value in the future of Atlantic City,” Amos said.
She said TJM is planning to redevelop the Atlantic Club after it completes the reopening of the Claridge. While the rooms were opened on Memorial Day, restaurants, lounges and other amenities at the Claridge have yet to open.
Amos said the company is considering other options for the property, but is definitely “not planning a casino.” Other options could include redeveloping the property for condos or apartments, or even reselling or demolishing the property. However, a new hotel or residential treatment are more likely, given TJM’s business model.
In addition to the Claridge, TJM owns 10 hotels in the Tampa, Florida area, and has managed or developed homes, senior-living communities and commercial buildings throughout the Southeast.
Other than its original incarnation as Golden Nugget Atlantic City—highly successful as mogul Steve Wynn’s first ground-up property after its 1980 opening—the property has struggled to overcome its remote location at the end of the Boardwalk, removed by several blocks from the next casino, the Tropicana. After Wynn sold the property in 1987 for $440 million to the company then known as Bally’s Entertainment, the property went through a succession of owners and names.
Under Bally—the operator spun off as Bally’s Entertainment and ultimately becoming part of what is now Caesars Entertainment—the property operated as Bally’s Grand, The Grand and the Atlantic City Hilton. California-based Colony Capital bought the Hilton in 2005 as part of a $1.24 billion for four casinos in three states. At that time it was valued at $513 million.
After the property’s struggles continued under Colony, Hilton Hotels Corporation refused to renew the license to use the Hilton name, prompting Colony to change the name to ACH, and then the Atlantic Club. As the Atlantic Club, the operator attempted to reposition itself as a value-oriented property offering inexpensive rooms and food and good odds for players.
The strategy appeared to be working, but it was too little, too late. Colony tried to sell the property for $15 million last year to online casino operator PokerStars, which wanted to use it as a hub to extend its iGaming operation into New Jersey.
However, that deal fell through after it became unclear whether PokerStars—a so-called “bad actor” indicted for continuing to accept U.S. bets after passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act of 2006—would be able to become licensed.
In a December bankruptcy sale, Caesars Entertainment and Tropicana Entertainment bought the property and assets of the Atlantic Club. Caesars paid $15 million for the land and buildings, while Tropicana paid $8.4 million for the casino’s slot machines and table games. The property shut down January 13, throwing 1,600 employees out of work.
Caesars Entertainment was reportedly seeking a deed restriction for the Atlantic Club sale similar to that it secured for the Claridge, which would have prohibited the property from ever being operated as a casino. It did not secure the restriction for the Atlantic Club.
