First Casino Ever Built by Steve Wynn Up for Sale Once Again in Atlantic City
Posted on: July 2, 2025, 12:11h.
Last updated on: July 2, 2025, 12:17h.
- The shuttered Atlantic Club in Atlantic City is for sale
- The Atlantic Club opened as the Golden Nugget on Dec. 12, 1980
- The casino has sat closed and vacant since January 2014
The first from-the-ground-up casino resort ever built by Steve Wynn is once again on the market.
Atlantic City’s top-earning casino in the mid-1980s, the Atlantic Club on the Boardwalk’s southern end, has been listed for sale. The Philadelphia Business Journal broke the news that New York-based Colosseo Development Group, led by President Rocco Sebastiani, has divided the two-acre property into two real estate listings.
Commercial real estate marketplace Crexi shows a listing for 3400 Pacific Ave. with an asking price of $55 million. Eddy Nevarez of Marcus and Millichap is the listing agent.
The $55 million listing is for the taller of the two hotel buildings. The tower has 330 guestrooms, with 160 ocean-facing, a 10K-square-foot lobby area that previously housed the casino, and direct beach access.
Nevarez says the property comes with “legendary provenance,” as it was originally designed by Wynn and therefore features “built-in prestige and cachet.”
No listing has been made public for the other hotel tower, which Sebastiani had planned to convert into 108 condominium units. A buyer of either property additionally has the option to buy the parking garage across Pacific Ave., Sebastiani said.
Colosseo acquired the shuttered Atlantic Club in 2019 for $25 million from Florida-based TJM Properties. The last closed Atlantic City casino to be sold was the Taj Mahal. Hard Rock bought the shuttered Boardwalk resort for $50 million in 2017.
Atlantic Club Backstory
Following success in Las Vegas with the Golden Nugget, Wynn in the late 1970s returned east to Atlantic City where his Golden Nugget Companies embarked on a $140 million casino resort. Wynn bought the Strand Motel for $8.5 million and leveled it to make way for what would become the Golden Nugget Atlantic City. The casino opened on Dec. 12, 1980.
With a focus on locals, Wynn’s Golden Nugget on the Boardwalk became the top gaming revenue casino in Atlantic City in 1983 despite being the second-smallest gaming room in town.
After a contentious relationship with state officials regarding other projects he hoped to build in Atlantic City, Wynn sold the property to Bally’s for $440 million in 1987. Wynn vowed to never return to Atlantic City, a pledge he upheld as he overhauled the Las Vegas Strip into a luxury destination and became among the US gaming industry’s wealthiest and most influential tycoons.
Golden Nugget AC became the Bally’s Grand and then the Atlantic City Hilton after Hilton Hotels acquired Bally’s. The resort became ACH Casino Resort in June 2011 after Hilton sold off the struggling property and terminated its licensing agreement.
The resort was again rebranded in February 2012 to the Atlantic Club. The property was shuttered on Jan. 13, 2014, the first of four casinos in Atlantic City to close that year.
Atlantic Club Future
Since its closing more than 11 years ago, the Atlantic City hotel has undergone numerous ownership changes and a slew of revitalization plans. None have come to fruition.
Colosseo and Sebastiani blamed the state and city for allegedly dragging their feet in issuing him permits to renovate the Atlantic Club hotel and convert some rooms into condos. A state official rejected that claim to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
In recent years, other plans for the Atlantic Club included an indoor water park, a convention space, an arcade, and student housing for Stockton University. The state university’s Atlantic City Campus is just two blocks south at Pacific and Atlantic Avenues.
Last Comments ( 7 )
Mr. Sabastiani, It is frustrating i am sure. But PLEASE persevere! There is still hope I am sure. Keep trying, find a way! It can be a success for You, the building, Atlantic City and all of the people. MG
If Atlantic City had gotten its act together, this development could have been a major win for the community, the city, and the entire state. At a time when gambling revenues are steadily declining—and with four new casino licenses opening soon just across the border in New York—this project represented a critical opportunity to diversify and revitalize Atlantic City’s economy. But now, with this sale, any momentum has been lost. How can Atlantic City be expected to compete regionally when its own leadership fails to act? I place the blame squarely on local politicians and those within the planning, permitting, and building departments. Someone should be held accountable. This type of negligence shouldn’t just go unnoticed—frankly, it should cost people their jobs. This was a chance to spark meaningful progress, and instead, the city dragged its feet, allowing bureaucracy and short-sighted decision-making to sabotage a transformative project. This misstep could very well set the real estate landscape in Atlantic City back by years. What a shame.
Neither Atlantic City nor the State of New Jersey will ever admit that they had anything to do with Mr. Sabastiani's decision to sell. His plans would have created a catalyst for other developers to come in and redevelop the City after having suffered from the loss of its nearly monopolistic control over casino gambling. During the period where a multitude of state referendums created casino gambling throughout the US, Atlantic City and the State of NJ kept their head in the sand. They squandered Casino tax revenue and CRDA never created the family resort and rehabilitation of the City that was contemplated. The City and State could have assisted, expedited and incentivised Mr. Sabastiani. Instead they emasculated him and by doing so discouraged others from attempting to follow. Where are our leaders?
Trump plaza was a dump in comparison. This property could be restored with the right owners.
BUT it is am absolutely stunningly gorgeous building. And really such an incredible part of Atlantic City history. I can't believe there is no one who can revive it. It would be a central focus of AC (and the East Coast) for sure. The building is a treasure. A gem. We should treat it as such. She could shine again. ✨️
What's the point in trying to keep this building? Implode it like they did with former Trump Plaza. Only problem for the former Atlantic Club is if one tower is kept, and the other gets imploded, it cannot be done since both towers are connected. As for the former Trump Plaza, the tower closest to Caesars (former Holiday Inn Hotel as well as what was supposed to been the Penthouse Casino Hotel) was kept while the main tower met it's maker as both were separated. It would just make sense to implode the former Atlantic Club.
No surprise here. Unfortunately, the most likely outcome for one of the better constructed hotel/casino in AC is demolition. Yet another vacant AC beachfront property. Why?