The finals chapter in the Atlantic Club Casino was written on Monday morning shortly after midnight when the casino closed its doors for the final time.
Following years of declining customer numbers and stiff competition from the other 11 casinos in Atlantic City, the Atlantic Club was a victim of too many casinos with not enough demand.
The club had been looking for a buyer for many years and when a deal was thought to have happened with PokerStars early in 2013 to buy the Atlantic Club employees had hoped for the best. However that deal fell through with many blaming greedy management on the part of the Atlantic Club thinking they could get more value from the introduction on online gambling.
Sadly for the 1,600 employees no other white knight came along and eventually after falling into bankruptcy the Atlantic was auctioned off to the Trpicana and Caesars for $23.4 million who share the casino equipment and Caesars get the 801 room hotel, which Caesars say will be moth balled until a future date.
Cocktail server Ursula Moralski, who had worked at the casino since the day it opened, said its struggles were evident.
“We’ve seen it coming, but we’re still shocked it’s actually happening,” she said. “It’s sad. I’ve been here half my life.”
The Atlantic Club opened in December 1980 as the Golden Nugget, owned by Steve Wynn. It soon became Atlantic City’s top-earning casino, and its TV commercials featured Wynn bringing fresh towels to Frank Sinatra, who often performed there.
But over the years, as the Atlantic City casino market expanded, the casino changed hands several times and went through a handful of names: The Grand, Bally’s Grand, the Atlantic City Hilton, ACH, and finally the Atlantic Club.
Now there are 11 casinos in Atlantic City and many observers believe that the fate of the Atlantic Club will not be the last in a market that is over saturated.
