Sands of time
Sands of time
Atlantic City's smallest casino permanently shuts its doors after 26-year run
The Sands Casino Hotel in Atlantic City shut down for good Nov. 11, leaving behind disappointed, but loyal customers, 2,100 employees and a 26-year history of operations.
Opening Aug. 13, 1980 as the Brighton Hotel & Casino, the Sands changed in name in 1981 with a change in ownership. Boasting primo performers like Frank Sinatra at its Copa Room, the Sands catered to high rollers. The property's heyday ran through the 1980s and early 1990s, fading with the arrival of rival casinos' grand expansion projects and new upscale amenities.
Atlantic City's smallest casino still saw loyal customers who praised the reasonable prices and personalized service of the property-a change of pace from the typical megaresort. "We can go to Vegas and have 100 of those," Andrew Seigel of Rockville, Md. told the Press of Atlantic City on the casino's closing morning. "You can't have another one like this."
Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. purchased the privately owned property for about $250 million, with plans to demolish the site. Construction on a new casino is set to start in 2008, with a grand opening planned for early 2011.
The Sands is only the second casino to go out of business in Atlantic City's gambling history. The other case was in 1989, when Elsinore's Atlantis Casino Hotel was closed following state regulators' refusal to renew its license.
The final hours for Sands were packed with last minute gamblers. Sands President George Toth said the casino saw about $940,000 in slot revenue during its last night open-more than double the usual November Friday night take.
"It was packed. I couldn't believe it," Toth told the Press of Atlantic City. "Even though we were closing, the people were rocking all night long."
-Darby Harris
Atlantic City's smallest casino permanently shuts its doors after 26-year run
The Sands Casino Hotel in Atlantic City shut down for good Nov. 11, leaving behind disappointed, but loyal customers, 2,100 employees and a 26-year history of operations.
Opening Aug. 13, 1980 as the Brighton Hotel & Casino, the Sands changed in name in 1981 with a change in ownership. Boasting primo performers like Frank Sinatra at its Copa Room, the Sands catered to high rollers. The property's heyday ran through the 1980s and early 1990s, fading with the arrival of rival casinos' grand expansion projects and new upscale amenities.
Atlantic City's smallest casino still saw loyal customers who praised the reasonable prices and personalized service of the property-a change of pace from the typical megaresort. "We can go to Vegas and have 100 of those," Andrew Seigel of Rockville, Md. told the Press of Atlantic City on the casino's closing morning. "You can't have another one like this."
Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. purchased the privately owned property for about $250 million, with plans to demolish the site. Construction on a new casino is set to start in 2008, with a grand opening planned for early 2011.
The Sands is only the second casino to go out of business in Atlantic City's gambling history. The other case was in 1989, when Elsinore's Atlantis Casino Hotel was closed following state regulators' refusal to renew its license.
The final hours for Sands were packed with last minute gamblers. Sands President George Toth said the casino saw about $940,000 in slot revenue during its last night open-more than double the usual November Friday night take.
"It was packed. I couldn't believe it," Toth told the Press of Atlantic City. "Even though we were closing, the people were rocking all night long."
-Darby Harris
