Numerous casinos have been planned for Atlantic City, New Jersey but never opened.
In November 1976, New Jersey voters approved a referendum that legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City, and when the Casino Control Act of New Jersey was signed by the governor on June 2, 1977, Atlantic City became the first place in the U.S., outside of Nevada, with legalized casino gambling. A rush of investors announced plans to build hotel-casinos. However, a lack of available financing, along with legal issues such as zoning, licensing, and environmental regulations, ended most of these plans. Most of them stopped in the planning stage; only a few, such as the Dunes and the Penthouse, entered construction. Many of the proposed projects were announced with major publicity efforts but died quietly.
American Land Company
In July 1978, American Land Company, headed by Steven Silverberg, announced plans to build a hotel-casino in the marina area, named The Marina Casino. However, later that year, he faced charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission for misleading investors in the project. He later sold an option on the land for the project to MGM Grand Hotels.
American Motor Inns and Great American Industries
In June 1979, a joint venture to construct a hotel-casino in the marina area was announced by American Motor Inns, Inc. and Great American Industries.
Atlantic Beach Resort & Casino
In 2006, AC Gateway LLC, headed by Wally Barr and Curtis Bashaw, purchased a number of properties near Albany Avenue and the Boardwalk in order to build a hotel-casino. These properties included the former Dunes and Sahara projects, along with the former Atlantic City High School site. A plan for a $1.5-billion mega-casino called the Atlantic Beach Resort & Casino was unveiled in 2008. The project was suspended in 2009 due to the economic downturn. The project was later revived in 2011 as the proposed Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
Atlantic Land Limited
Atlantic Land Limited opened an office near New York Avenue in 1979, proposing to build a 31-story hotel-casino. However, by the next year, the office was closed.
Atlantis
In May 1977, Edward Sims announced that his investor group would develop a hotel-casino, called the Atlantis, in the marina area. (This was no relation to the Atlantis Hotel and Casino, which was renamed from the Playboy Hotel and Casino in 1984.) In 1978, a portion of the land they owned was sold to Harrahs, contingent on getting it rezoned. However, the rezoning was refused and the sale was cancelled. In 1980 the investor group announced that the property was to be sold to American Motor Inns.
Benihana Hotel-Casino / Carnival (or Carousel) Club Hotel Casino
The Shelburne Hotel (Atlantic City) was leased to Japanese investors Rocky Aoki, owner of the Benihana restaurant chain, and Takashi Sasakawa, who planned to keep the existing hotel as well as add a 31-story tower and casino calling it the Benihana Hotel-Casino. In 1983 work crews began to renovate the hotel, however, disagreements between the Malmut family (owners of the hotel), the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, and outside investors led Akoi and Sasakawa to abandon the project after investing over $25 million in construction and renovations. Sasakawa was the son of noted Japanese fascist and philanthropist Ryoichi Sasakawa, who had links with the Yakuza. Aoki and Sasakawa had also faced charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission for insider trading in the stock of Hardwicke Companies, which had planned to manage the hotel/casino.
After the Benihana Hotel-Casino project stopped, the Shelburne Hotel (Atlantic City) was acquired in 1984 by Blumenfeld Development Corp. and the hotel was demolished. The company applied for a casino license on July 23, 1985. In 1986 a groundbreaking was held for the intended construction of the Carousel Club Hotel Casino. (It was originally called the Carnival Club Hotel Casino, but the name was changed after Carnival Cruise Lines sued them.) However, the company did not obtain sufficient financing and after foreclosure the property was sold to Bally's Manufacturing Corp., which built Bally's Wild Wild West Casino in 1997.