18 replies to this topic

[Jim856796]

Atlantic City is a town in southeastern New Jersey best known for its Boardwalk and casino gaming. It is located on abesco Island on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It has about 11 casino resorts, and has lots of highrise hotels built before 1940, some of which are not with us today.

Some important issues going on in Atlantic City are the upcoming implosion of the Sands Hotel and the adjacent Madison House Hotel. the expansions of Trump Taj Mahal, Harrah's and the Borgata, and some upcoming new casinos including CityCenter East.

[tombarnes]

So they are destroying the Madison House as well?  I had thought they might be keeping it.  Soon, there will be nothing left of the old hotels of Atlantic City.  The Sands' main building will not be a loss at all- if anything, that will be an improvement.  As for the other expansions you mention, there have been lots of rumors, but relatively little has been set in stone as far as plans are concerned.  Please keep us up-to-date on developments there.

[Jim856796]

I don't know what other buildings will be imploded along with the 21-story hotel tower. The Madison House hotel is part of this complex, too. Is the Sands gonna be imploded by itself or will several other structures go along with it?

[tombarnes]

The website does not make this quite clear....Those few people I asked in Atlantic City a couple of weeks ago suggested that the Madison House would not be destroyed, but I doubt they were in a position to really know.  

             Pinnacle Atlantic City

[tombarnes]

Atlantic City's Mayor Disappears?

The mayor of Atlantic City, Robert Levy, has aparrently disappeared, ostensibly for medical reasons, but more likely as a result of the growing scandal and possible charges over falsifying his Army service record. This can hardly be good news for AC.  It saams that the past five mayors or so have had similar problems- or worse.

Yahoo News

Edited by tombarnes, 05 October 2007 - 07:17 PM.

[mod134]

Does anyone have an update about the rumored purchase and demolition of Boardwalk Hall? I haven't heard anything in awhile about it.

[tombarnes]

In reply to your question about Boardwalk Hall, I haven't been able to find anything current.  It appears as though Trump is in talks to sell his Atlantic City properties anyway, so the rumors about Trump's involvement may be untrue.  As for the Madison House, it is not going to be destroyed.  It's even owned separately.  This was confirmed today by Pinnacle Entertainment.  The Mayor is still out of sight and an announcement of his resignation is expected either today or tomorrow.

[Lowerdeck]

Resignation came.

He's apparently in some hospital.

[Jim856796]

I may need a history of the former Sands Hotel Atlantic City soon. all I know is that the Hotel tower was built in 1979 and was formerly known as the Brighton Hotel.

[tombarnes]

Precisely.  The Brighton was later changed to the Sands, though I do not think there has been a connection with the Adelson organization in Las Vegas for many years.  The Sands in Las Vegas was imploded in 1996.

[tombarnes]

Pinnacle Has Big Plans for Sands Site

Pinnacle Entertainment isn't revealing much about its plans for the site of the Sands and the adjacent site once occupied by Bruce Price's remarkable Traymore Hotel.  Supposedly, it will "take your breath away", but I'm weary of hyperbole from casino executives.  It is likely, however, that it may be something impressive, if only to compete with the Borgata and the other new developments now in the pipeline for Atlantic City.  The article also has quite a bit of detail about how the building will be brought down.  Interesting photos and bits about the Marlborough-Blenheim and the Traymore too.  This is, incidentally, the first casino implosion on the east coast and its first nighttime implosion.  

                Atlantic City Weekly

[tombarnes]

Bye, Bye, Baby....The Sands Fades Into History...

The successful implosion of the Sands Hotel & Casino took place this evening to the tune of Frank Sinatra crooning "Bye, Bye, Baby" and a huge fireworks display by the Grucci Co..  This is the first casino implosion on the east coast, but far from Atlantic City's first implosion.  Unfortunately, most of the old grande dames who went before the Sands were real ladies, not a TraveLodge in sequins.  Most of the old ones are missed, though this one won't be0- at least not for its architecture.  What praise there was for the place came for its relative size- modest by today's standards for mega-hotels.  I never stayed there myself, but I had a colleague at work who wouldn't stay anywhere else in town.  We'll just have to see what these "spectacular" plans are that Pinnacle is holding up its sleeve.  

              WPVI Channel 6 News--  Philadelphia

[Jim856796]

The Madison House Hotel didn't die, but are its parking garages (as well as the 9-story building next to it) going to be demolished somehow? This question makes it unclear whether the Madison House Hotel should still exist when the unnamed new resort opens.

[Lowerdeck]

I find it a bit ridiculous/wasteful that a building put up just 27 years ago is knocked down.  I understand the whole business concept, trying to stay fresh.  But seriously... 27 year lifespan?   Anyone else find that a bit nuts?

[tombarnes]

Well, Harrah's imploded the Grand Casino in Biloxi after Katrina.  At just 11 years old, the building was far from being totally destroyed by the storm.  The casino company simply thought it would be easier to start with a claen slate- which is exactly what they are doing here .  This is the same principle, though without the excuse of a major hurricane- just the modern-day casino business at work.  The pressure to stay current is such that the lifespan of a casino hotel is considerably shorter than that of most of its peers.  Unless it's designated as historic, it's usually far less expensive to demolish and rebuild than to renovate- especially with a 27 year old building.  Not old enough to be historic, but just old enough to have gone out of style.

[xavier]

This will be the first of possibly three new casinos to be completed, including Pinnacle.

http://www.pressofat...p-7414238c.html

[Jim856796]

Did you know that the shorter tower of the Trump Plaza Hotel was built in 1965, 11 years before gambling was legalised in atlantic city, and 19 years before the Trump Plaza and its 32-story tower opened? Also, the Trump Plaza's taller tower is listed on various websites as 39 floors, but I checked out the bird's eye maps on Windows Live and the tower actually has 32 floors (That includes the podium floors).

And about that new ocean-themed resort, they need to reduce the height of the hotel towers, because i think a 710-foot tower will be very imposing to the nearby casinos. I think they need to demolish the parking garages of the late Sands Hotel.

Edited by Jim856796, 16 November 2007 - 08:20 PM.

[Jim856796]

Those 70-story towers are part of the upcoming Revel Entertainment Resort just east of the Showboat Hotel and casino.

[tombarnes]

A somewhat blurry view of Harrah's from my room at the Water Club.  Building as billboard.