The Atlantic Club had several names over the years, including Steve Wynn’s Golden Nugget Atlantic City, Bally’s, and Hilton AC.
Stockton University received approval from its board of trustees to purchase the former Atlantic Club Casino Hotel and house classes in the former resort. The casino has sat empty since 2014, when Caesars Entertainment and Tropicana jointly bought the casino-resort, closed its doors, and divied up its assets.
These days, the Atlantic Club building is owned by TJM Properties Inc., a Florida property development company. TRM Properties paid $13.5 million in January 2015 to purchase the property.
The company wanted to open a water park on the resort’s 20-acre lot, which has 11 acres of beachfront property. TRM Properties also wanted to build a family entertainment center on the lot, but neither project ever received a start.
The current lease with Stockton University requires the ownership to demolish the building which contained the casino. TRM says it will leave the 9-story parking garage standing, which it plans to maintain for access to residential and academic facilities.
Stockton University Buys Atlantic Club
Stockton University has searched for Atlantic City campus space for several years. At one time, the postsecondary education institution sought a lease in the Showboat, another casino which Caesars Entertainment shut down in 2014.
The university’s enrollment has increased steadily over the past several years. Current enrollment for the Fall 2018 semester is 9,600. The plan is to open a residential campus in Atlantic City, which is designed to attract students from a nationwide pool.
Medical and Law Courses
Stockton University’s president, Harvey Kesselman, said his institution has discussed plans for buying the Atlantic Club over the past year. Kesselman plans to house law classes and medical classes in the facility.
Kesselman said urban colleges have special challenges when it comes to finding accessible campus space. The purchase of the Atlantic Club helps the university solve that problem for the time being.
Stockton’s president said, “One of the things that is difficult for urban institutions is many of them are landlocked. This is still, in my judgment, the most significant city in the state of New Jersey and it’s really important for the region and state that Atlantic City is successful. We are not the panacea for all ills but we are part of the solution.”
Atlantic Club the Right Size
Though he said the deal is not complete yet, Kesselman said the board of trustees is putting together the final details of an offer. While such a deal always can fall through at the last minute, Stockton’s president sounded confident the deal would happen.
He also expressed excitement over the campus space Stockton University will have. He added, “It’s not only what we want to do but it’s also how many students we want to recruit. We will do it in a strategic way. We are not rushed to do this.”
Golden Nugget Atlantic City
In 1980, Steve Wynn’s Golden Nugget Properties and Michael R. Milken jointly purchased the Strand Motel. They tore down the building and built the Golden Nugget Atlantic City on the grounds.
Throughout the early and middle parts of the 1980s, Golden Nugget AC topped Atlantic City in revenues. The resort’s Opera House featured top performaers like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Don Rickles, Lou Rawls, and Dolly Parton.
Steve Wynn appeared in commercials for the Golden Nugget AC at the time, including one where the joke was Steve Wynn personally delivered towels to Frank Sinatra.
Bally’s Grand Hotel and Casino
In 1987, Steve Wynn had conflict with New Jersey gaming regulators. He sold the Golden Nugget Atlantic City for $440 million to Bally Manufacturing, which renamed the casino Bally’s Grand Hotel and Casino.
Steve Wynn returned to Las Vegas to build The Mirage, which most gaming historians mark as the beginning of the modern Las Vegas Strip. Back in Atlantic City, the Bally’s Grand Hotel and Casino continued until 1996, when Bally was bought by the Hilton Worldwide.
Atlantic City Hilton
Barron Hilton renamed the resort the Atlantic City Hilton, a name it kept until 2011. By that time, the Hilton’s Atlantic City properties had been spun off to Park Place Entertainment.
In 2011 and 2012, the casino changed its name to ACH Casino Resort, due to a licensing dispute between the Hilton family and Colony Capital. In February 2012, with the slogan “a casino for the rest of us”, the ACH Casino Resort was renamed once again – this time to “The Atlantic Club”.
The name change did not help, and the casino closed its doors in January 2014. Tropicana and Caesars jointly purchased the casino out of bankruptcy. Tropicana collected the Atlantic Club’s gaming machines and gaming tables, while Caesars collected the operation’s player database.
