Sands Casino to Close After 26 Years

Posted 10 November 2006 @ 11:34 am EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

ATLANTIC CITY (AP) - Willie Samuels walked away from the Sands Hotel & Casino for the last time with the satisfaction that he was a winner, even if it was only $8. Sands is closing at 6 a.m. Saturday after 26 years.

In most worlds, that's not enough time to become a relic. But in Atlantic City casino history — neatly divided into a pre-Borgata period and its sexier modern era — it's ancient.

Mogul Carl Icahn, who bought the Sands six years ago, sold it in September to Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., which plans to raze the casino and hotel tower and rebuild a bigger, more luxurious casino.

To Samuels and other faithful at a casino where the likes of an aging Frank Sinatra made its Copa Room — closed down last weekend by entertainer Ben Vereen — an entertainment hot spot, there's nothing wrong with the old building.

"It's just a good atmosphere," said Samuels, who has been taking a bus to the casino from his East Orange home about once a month for the past two years, only rarely wandering into another gaming hall.

Kashief Abdullah, 25, of Atlantic City, said he was a Sands regular for the karaoke nights every Thursday, the good drinks and the friendly dealers. "They're not feisty like the other ones," he said.

The first casino opened in Atlantic City in 1978, and the venerable seashore resort immediately became a big destination for senior citizen day trippers.

The Sands opened as the Brighton Hotel & Casino in August 1980. Within a year, it was sold and renamed the Sands. In the 1980s it became a hub for by-then aging Rat Packers and in the early '90s was among the first Atlantic City casinos to offer poker. It was also an innovator in perks for VIP gamblers.

But the Sands and Atlantic City's other older casinos got a jolt in 2003 when the Borgata opened, bringing with it restaurants from big-name chefs, pulsing nightclubs and upscale shopping — and no drop-off zones for buses.

The Sands added a nightclub, more upscale dining and a hipper look featuring vintage photos from the more famous and older Sands in Las Vegas, but it was not enough to spare it as Atlantic City readies for a new wave of casino construction.

Morgan Stanley is planning a big new casino in the South Inlet area, MGM wants to build next to the Borgata, another group of investors is planning a new casino next to the Atlantic City Hilton. And casino giants Donald Trump and Steve Wynn are reportedly working on a deal to replace the Trump Plaza with a new casino so large that it might take over Boardwalk Hall.

For employees, it's a tough time, although Gov. Jon S. Corzine announced Thursday that he had helped broker a severance deal for the Sands' unionized workers.

One dealer, Joan St. Claire, started at the casino only earlier this year after working at others for eight years.

"We all believed that when Mr. Icahn bought this lot in front of us, we were going places," she said, pointing to a parking lot that's slated to become part of the new casino. "We didn't know we were going on unemployment."

She said it's a good chance for dealers to learn new games in hopes of landing new jobs in the spring, when casinos usually add staff.

The closure also means longtime gamblers will have to find a new place to play.

Joseph Grinalbi, 84, and his wife Connie, 80, have been taking a bus with a VFW group on Staten Island on the second Thursday of every month for about 10 years. Now, they said, they'll probably play at the Claridge Casino next door. "We're going to miss the Sands," Joseph Grinalbi said. "Unless we win at the Claridge."