[toc]The plan to turn the former Atlantic Club in Atlantic City into a water park had some cold water thrown on it.
Atlantic Club deal is off
According to the Associated Press, a deal to turn the shuttered resort into a hotel and water park — sans gambling — is no longer happening:
Florida-based TJM Properties said Thursday a deal to sell former Atlantic Club casino to a group of local investors is off. The company says the group, led by investor Ronald Young, failed to meet a Monday deadline to have its financing secured. …
“We were a little annoyed they would make an announcement like that without making sure they had their financing,” said Dale Schooley, TJM’s director of acquisitions.
That’s the second time in two years that a plan into turn the Atlantic Club into a water park fell through.
In March, a company called R&R Development Group indicated it would be purchasing the former casino and turning it into a “non-gambling family resort” called Dolphin Village at Atlantic Club. A similar deal announced in 2015 also slid off the rails.
Hope not lost for another deal
That’s not it for Atlantic Club, however. The AP reported that TJM had other possible buyers. The party trying to purchase it originally will also make another run at securing financing.
In any event, bad news had been piling up in AC this week. Tropicana owner Carl Icahn (who also recently sold the Trump Taj Mahal) is at odds with AC over taxes. There’s also the matter of likely layoffs for the police force looming over the city.
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AC’s non-gaming attractions
If and when the water park comes to fruition, it will add to a series of new non-casino attractions in AC:
- The Polercoaster
- The observation wheel
- Showboat’s summer-long ‘Fan Expo’
It’s all more evidence that AC is trying to reinvent itself as more than a casino town.