Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casino

Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casino was a proposed hotel-and-casino development for Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the city’s major casino expansion era in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The project was associated with the Del E. Webb Corporation, a real-estate development and casino company that also operated the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Despite the Sahara name and an ambitious initial design, the Atlantic City project never opened and did not progress beyond demolition of the existing building on the site. The proposed property was planned for a prominent Boardwalk location at Albany Avenue, between the original Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino and the proposed Dunes Hotel and Casino project. Early plans called for a 30-story hotel tower containing 506 rooms and a casino measuring approximately 43,400 square feet. The site contained the President Towers Apartment Hotel, a 13-story building that had originally opened as the President Hotel in 1926. It had been converted into an apartment property with 212 units in 1968. The building was demolished in August 1979 to prepare the site for redevelopment. The project’s prospects deteriorated as Del Webb encountered regulatory, legal, and financial problems. The company had acquired the site in September 1978 and also purchased an interest in Atlantic City’s Claridge Hotel and Casino in 1979. Its efforts to obtain New Jersey gaming approvals were complicated by scrutiny from state regulators. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement opposed a temporary license for the Claridge, while Del Webb was involved in legal proceedings relating to alleged illegal kickbacks connected with construction work at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The company also faced allegations involving improper political contributions, beer-purchasing rebates, the provision of prostitutes to high-value customers, and inadequate financial and credit controls. These matters affected the company’s ability to establish regulatory credibility in New Jersey. Although Del Webb was eventually acquitted in the kickback case and obtained a casino license for the Claridge after changes in management, the company was experiencing broader financial difficulties. It abandoned the Sahara project, and the land was sold in 1982 to the original Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino. A subsequent option granted to the Dunes project in 1983 was caught up in that project’s bankruptcy and litigation, after which control of the land reverted to the Golden Nugget. Later redevelopment proposals also failed. By 2014, the location was reported to remain vacant and to be used as a parking lot, with AC Gateway LLC identified as the latest owner or development entity associated with the site. Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casino therefore exists as an uncompleted development concept rather than an operating casino brand.

The Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casino was conceived during Atlantic City’s late-1970s redevelopment boom, when the legalization and expansion of casino gaming encouraged major hotel and entertainment companies to pursue Boardwalk projects. The proposed property was not the Las Vegas Sahara itself, but an Atlantic City project promoted by its corporate owner, the Del E. Webb Corporation. Del Webb was a real-estate development company with casino interests in Nevada and sought to participate in Atlantic City’s new gaming economy. Del Webb acquired the proposed development site in September 1978. It stood at Albany Avenue and the Boardwalk, in a highly visible area between the original Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino and the planned Dunes Hotel and Casino development. At the time, the property contained the President Towers Apartment Hotel. The building had opened in 1926 as the President Hotel and was later converted into an apartment complex with 212 units. Some historical accounts also associated the site with the 1929 Atlantic City Conference, although the project’s development history centered on the redevelopment opportunity rather than on that earlier event. The initial Sahara plans were substantial. Del Webb proposed a 30-story hotel containing 506 rooms, together with a casino of approximately 43,400 square feet. The project was intended to be a full-scale casino resort rather than a small gaming venue. To clear the site, the 13-story President Towers building was demolished in August 1979. However, after demolition, construction of the proposed Sahara tower and casino did not proceed. The project faced difficulties at both the corporate and regulatory levels. Del Webb had acquired an interest in Atlantic City’s Claridge Hotel and Casino in 1979, creating a second New Jersey casino-related commitment. The company’s licensing prospects were weakened by scrutiny from the New Jersey Casino Control Commission and opposition from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to a temporary license for the Claridge. Del Webb was also awaiting trial in a case concerning alleged illegal kickbacks connected with construction of an addition at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Additional accusations included supplying prostitutes to high rollers, receiving improper rebates on beer purchases, making illegal political contributions, and maintaining insufficient credit and financial controls. These allegations and proceedings were significant because New Jersey’s casino licensing system subjected applicants and their business relationships to extensive suitability review. Del Webb was ultimately acquitted in the kickback trial. Following changes in management, the company received a casino license for the Claridge in 1982. That development did not revive the Sahara Boardwalk proposal. Del Webb was experiencing financial problems in the early 1980s and abandoned the project. The land was sold in 1982 to the original Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino. The site continued to be linked to other unrealized Atlantic City plans. In 1983, the adjacent Dunes Hotel and Casino project obtained an option to purchase the land with the intention of expanding its own proposed resort. The Dunes development subsequently became involved in bankruptcy and litigation, and the property returned to the Golden Nugget. Over time, the site passed among different companies. AC Gateway LLC was later identified as the most recent owner or development entity in accounts covering the location. A 2011 proposal associated with AC Gateway LLC envisioned a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, but that plan was abandoned as well. By 2014, the former Sahara site remained undeveloped and was being used as a parking lot. Because no hotel tower or casino was completed, Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casino never became an operating hospitality or gaming business. Its historical importance lies in illustrating the speculative development cycle of Atlantic City’s casino era, the regulatory barriers facing casino applicants, and the financial risks that caused multiple proposed resort projects to fail.

• 2014

  Site remained vacant

  [1]Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casinoen.wikipedia.org

  The former project site was reported as undeveloped and used as a parking lot.

• 2011

  Later Hard Rock redevelopment proposal abandoned

  [1]Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casinoen.wikipedia.org

  AC Gateway LLC was associated with a proposed Hard Rock Hotel and Casino redevelopment for the site; the plan was later abandoned.

• 1983

  Dunes expansion option

  [1]Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casinoen.wikipedia.org

  The Dunes Hotel and Casino project obtained an option to acquire the site for expansion, but bankruptcy and litigation prevented the plan from being completed.

• 1982

  Project abandoned and land sold

  [1]Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casinoen.wikipedia.org

  Del Webb abandoned the Sahara project amid financial and legal difficulties, and the property was sold to the original Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino.

• 1979

  Plans announced for a major casino resort

  [1]Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casinoen.wikipedia.org

  Initial plans called for a 30-story, 506-room hotel with a casino of approximately 43,400 square feet.

• 1979

  President Towers demolished

  [1]Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casinoen.wikipedia.org

  The existing 13-story President Towers Apartment Hotel was demolished in August to clear the site, but the planned Sahara construction did not follow.

• 1978

  Development site acquired

  [1]Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casinoen.wikipedia.org

  Del E. Webb Corporation acquired the Atlantic City site in September for a proposed Sahara-branded hotel and casino.

A large-scale casino-resort development intended to extend the Del E. Webb and Sahara name into Atlantic City’s emerging gaming market.

• Hotel

  Sahara Boardwalk Hotel

  The planned hotel component was designed as a 30-story tower with 506 rooms. It was intended to form the accommodation core of a large Atlantic City casino resort, but the tower was never built.

• Casino

  Sahara Boardwalk Casino

  The proposed gaming facility was planned to contain approximately 43,400 square feet of casino space. No gaming operation opened because the development was abandoned before construction was completed.

• 1982

  Del Webb licensing and business-conduct scrutiny

  Del Webb’s Atlantic City plans were affected by regulatory and legal scrutiny. The company faced proceedings concerning alleged construction kickbacks and accusations involving improper political contributions, beer rebates, the provision of prostitutes to high rollers, and weak financial controls. Although Del Webb was acquitted in the kickback case and later obtained a Claridge casino license after management changes, the Sahara project was abandoned.

  Source

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• 1983

  Consider transferring the site to the Dunes projectStrategy

  Background

  The adjacent Dunes Hotel and Casino project sought additional land for an intended Atlantic City expansion.

  Action taken

  An option to purchase the former Sahara site was arranged for the Dunes project.

  Aftermath

  Bankruptcy and litigation involving the Dunes project prevented the expansion, and the property reverted to the Golden Nugget.

  Source

• 1982

  Abandon the Sahara project and sell the siteOther

  Background

  Del Webb was experiencing financial difficulties while also dealing with licensing, legal, and management problems related to its casino operations.

  Action taken

  The company abandoned the proposed Sahara development and sold the land to the original Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino.

  Aftermath

  The Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casino ceased to be an active development, and later redevelopment efforts by other parties also failed.

  Source

• 1979

  Pursue an Atlantic City casino-resort developmentStrategy

  Background

  Del E. Webb sought to expand its casino and hospitality interests beyond Nevada during Atlantic City’s casino-development boom.

  Action taken

  The company acquired the site and planned a 30-story, 506-room hotel with a 43,400-square-foot casino.

  Aftermath

  The existing building was demolished, but the planned resort was never constructed.

  Source

1. 1Sahara Boardwalk Hotel and Casinoen.wikipedia.org