In this Nov. 14, 2013 photo, a jogger runs past The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel in Atlantic City N.J. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Wayne Parry
December 20, 2013 - 10:55 AM
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel in Atlantic City says it will close on Jan. 13, reducing the number of casinos in the struggling gambling resort to 11.
It will be the first Atlantic City casino to close since the Sands shut down in 2006 to make way for a new casino project that never got built.
The casino said Friday it reached two sale agreements that will be submitted to a judge Monday for approval. It did not list either buyer, but a bankruptcy court filing identified one as Caesars Entertainment.
The document filed Friday afternoon lists the purchase price as $15 million.
"First and foremost I would like to express my profound admiration and respect for the employees of this company," said Michael Frawley, chief operating officer of the Atlantic Club. "The events of the last few months have evoked an array of emotions, and through it all, the employees of the Atlantic Club have remained consummate professionals. It is because of these outstanding individuals that we were able to build considerable momentum over the last year. Unfortunately our pace was unsustainable in the extremely challenging Atlantic City gaming market."
He said the casino will operate normally until the Jan. 13 closing date.
Word of the shutdown came on the fourth day of a bankruptcy court auction.
The Atlantic Club thus became the first Atlantic City casino to fall victim to the insidious downward spiral the resort has found itself in since the advent of casinos in neighbouring Pennsylvania that began in late 2006.
Atlantic City's casino revenues reached a high of $5.2 billion that year, and will likely fall below $3 billion this year.
Analysts have long said Atlantic City has more casinos than the now-diminished market can bear.
Another struggling casino, Revel Casino Hotel, could be headed for a second bankruptcy filing, or could be sold to new owners soon.
Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC
News from © The Associated Press, 2013