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Failed Atlantic City casino to become waterpark and resort
With Atlantic City’s failed casino ventures turning their eyes towards family entertainment, the developer of the recently-acquired Atlantic Club Casino has unveiled plans to invest more than US$135m (€125.8m, £109.3m) to turn the property into an indoor waterpark.
The R&R Development Group, headed by Ronald Young, will turn the casino into a non-gambling family resort, centred around the water park proposal.
Scheduled to open in May 2018, the soon to be renamed Dolphin Village will take around 14 months to complete, with the property also set to include a go-kart track on the casino’s floor, as well as a “world-class” videogame arcade and 300 hotel rooms.
Atlantic City’s casinos, many of which have shut down in recent years, have been enjoying a resurgence of late, with developers wanting to turn them into family-friendly attractions.
The latest venture is one of three major casinos to be brought back to life since 2014, with five closing over the period. The former Showboat casino has reopened as a non-gambling hotel, while Hard Rock is reopening the former Trump Taj Mahal as a new casino in 2018.
The waterpark plan is not the first to arise for the property. Developers the Endeavour Property Group reached a deal with owners TJM Properties in July 2015 to purchase and redevelop the casino, but those plans, which included an indoor-outdoor waterpark, fell through in January 2016.
In addition to the Atlantic Club Casino, Revel Casino was purchased by Florida developer Glenn Straub, who had similar waterpark plans, while developer Bart Blatstein purchased Showboat.
In the wake of the loss of five of 12 casinos since 2014, Atlantic City is continuing to push for new, non-gambling themed attractions in a complete rebranding of the city. Aside from the waterpark project, redevelopment plans include a beachfront giant Ferris wheel and zip line, restaurants, an extension of the Steel Pier and a reconstructed Boardwalk.
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