Atlantic City is about to lose one of its casinos after it was sold for a bargain-basement price at auction.
The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel was sold after two days of bidding this week to Casears Entertainment and Tropicana Entertainment. Neither purchaser plans to operate the hotel and casino but will salvage its parts.
Caesars paid $15m for the land and some of its assets. Tropicana paid $8.4m for the slots and table games. The previous low price for a casino was $31.5m for Resorts Casino in 2010.
The Atlantic Club filed for bankruptcy last month as it faced a possible foreclosure. Earlier this year it had branded itself as a destination for lower-stakes gamblers, boasting of having “the loosest nickel, $5 and $25 slots in New Jersey.” Revenues increased by 13 per cent through the first 11 months of the year, but according to court documents, it still lost more than $7m.
Online gambiling firm PokerStars wanted to buy the 75,000sq.ft property earlier this year but couldn’t conclude the deal. The casino said it would close on January 13. “The events of the last few months have evoked an array of emotions,” chief operating officer Michael Frawley said in a statement. “Unfortunately our pace was unsustainable in the extremely challenging Atlantic City gaming market.”
The casino and hotel will operate as normal until the closing date, the company said. All employee wages and benefits will be paid until the closing date. Formerly known as the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort before changing its name in 2012, the casino is the first to close since the Sands seven years ago.
