Tropicana Casino and Resort Atlantic City
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| Tropicana Casino and Resort Atlantic City | |
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| Facts and statistics | |
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| Address | S. Brighton and Boardwalk Atlantic City, NJ 08401 |
| Opening date | November 23, 1981 |
| Previous names | Tropworld |
| Casino type | Land-based |
| Theme | Old Havana |
| Owner | TBD - Currently operating under a conservatorship/trustee |
| No. of rooms | 2,125 |
| Total gaming space | 148,000ft² (14,000 m²) |
| Signature attractions | The Quarter |
| Notable restaurants | Carmine's The Palm |
| Years renovated | 1996, 2003 |
| Website | The Tropicana Atlantic City |
The Tropicana Casino and Resort Atlantic City is a casino and hotel located at Brighton Avenue and the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was owned by Adamar of New Jersey a subsidiary of Columbia Sussex Corporation. On December 12, 2007, control of hotel and casino operations were handed over to a trustee after the Casino Control Commission denied the Tropicana's gaming license renewal. The Tropicana is, in part, the largest hotel in New Jersey, featuring 2,125 rooms, and is in part a 148,000 ft² (14,000 m²) casino.
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[edit] History
The Tropicana was the concept of the Ramada Inns Corporation in the 1980s. It was built on the former site of the Ambassador Hotel. After paying $20 million for the old Ambassador Hotel in Atlantic City, the company released plans to renovate the property and convert it into a 546 room hotel and 60,000 square foot casino with amenities including a 1,200 seat dinner theater, 1,000 seat ballroom and other public facilities.
Executives at Ramada were forced to alter their plans when their design was denied approval by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission and Governor Brendan Byrne, both of whom had become tired of casino operators doing "patch and paint" jobs instead of building totally new properties, a main reason for the legalization of casinos in Atlantic City. Ramada was ordered to demolish the old building and start from the ground up, and the company threatened to appeal the decision in court. An agreement was finally reached between Ramada and the New Jersey Casino Control Commission to only use the steel framework of the Ambassador while changing the exterior appearance of the hotel. The ultimate result of these design changes was a two-year delay in the resorts opening as well as millions of dollars in cost overruns that pushed the final price tag of the resort to almost $400 million.
In order to take advantage of its recent purchase of the original Tropicana Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Ramada officials decided to call their new property the Tropicana Atlantic City in order to capitalize on the recognizable name. The Tropicana Atlantic City officially opened on November 23, 1981 with 521 guest rooms and casino space. Shortly after opening a unique indoor amusement area called Tivoli Pier was built and within a year the name of the resort was changed to TropWorld Casino and Entertainment Resort.
In 1989, Ramada hotels spun off their gaming properties into the new Aztar Corporation.
Aztar has focused much of its capital investment projects on the Atlantic City Tropicana. In 1995 Aztar commenced construction of a new 604 room hotel tower as well as renovations to the existing rooms and casino space. Tivoli Pier was closed to make way for a new poker, keno and horse racing simulcast area, and the property reverted back to the old Tropicana name.
The company followed this expansion with another project completed in 2004 that added the 502 room Havana Tower, a new 2,400 space parking garage, 20,000 square feet of meeting and convention space and a new retail and restaurant venue. This project is called The Quarter at Tropicana and is designed in an old Havana theme meant to evoke images of that city. The goal of this project was to turn the Tropicana into an integrated casino resort reminiscent of the megaresorts built in Las Vegas during the 1990s. Aztar also timed this expansion to take advantage of the new interest in the Atlantic City casino market caused by the opening of the Borgata Resort in 2003
In May of 2005 Aztar Corporation agreed to be acquired by the Columbia Sussex Corporation for $2.75 billion. The New Jersey Casino Control Commission granted Columbia Sussex an Interim Authorization to operate the resort on November 3, 2006. The acquisition concluded in January 2007 with the Aztar properties being merged into Columbia Sussex's gaming subsidiary, which was renamed Tropicana Casinos & Resorts. In the first four months after the acquisition, Columbia Sussex reduced the number of employees at the Tropicana by 15 percent. [1]
[edit] Collapse of the parking garage
On October 30, 2003, a portion of a parking garage under construction as part of The Quarter project collapsed, killing 4 people and seriously injuring 20 people, all of whom were construction workers.
[edit] The Quarter at Tropicana
The Quarter at Tropicana is an enclosed shopping mall located in the resort.
[edit] Expansion
The current owner of Tropicana, Columbia Sussex, has announced plans to construct an additional 1,000 hotel rooms in a new tower to be designed as a "hotel-within-a-hotel", with a boutique feeling. This expansion would keep the Tropicana New Jersey's largest hotel at over 3,000 rooms.[citation needed]
[edit] 2007 casino license renewal
On November 20, 2007 the New Jersey Casino Control Commission started its investigation into the renewal of the license of the casino and whether its parent companies Adamar of New Jersey and Columbia Sussex are suitable to hold a casino license. Critics including Fred Burro the Tropicana's former General Manager testified before the Casino Control Commission on November 28, 2007 that Columbia Sussex CEO William Yung III had ordered him to make $40 million in payroll cuts and when he opposed the layoffs Yung became irate and fired him.[1] In another incident the National Environmental Health Association has refused to pay the Tropicana a portion of its $97,000.00 bill for a convention held at the resort because of reported bedbugs, roaches, rude employees, poor quality food and other unsanitary conditions.[2] The UNITE HERE Local 54 Union which opposes the licensing has been given permission by the Casino Control Commission to participate in the hearing, It is expected that the Union will present its own evidence and witnesses.[3][4]
On December 4, 2007, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement recommended to the Casino Control Commission that it approve the relicensing of the Tropicana and find Columbia Sussex suitable as an owner with a few provisos. Under the recommendation, the casino license would be for only one year instead of the customary five years, and the Tropicana would have to provide New Jersey regulators with advance notice of proposed layoffs, disclose any of the company's gaming violations in other states, report details of its debt agreements, and maintain an independent audit committee. On December 12, 2007, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission rejected this recommendation by a 4 to 1 vote and denied the application of renewal for the Tropicana casino. The commission cited the management's "abysmal" regulatory compliance as well as a "lack of business ability...financial responsibility...and a lack of good character, honesty, and integrity." The property was immediately placed in control of a trustee - New Jersey State Supreme Court Justice Gary Stein - until the property can be sold. This is only the second time in 29 years that the commission has denied a license renewal.[5] Lawyers are expected to appeal.[6] The casino will continue to operate, but it will be under the supervision of a trustee.[7]
The hotel and casino remain open and operations will not be affected.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Fired Trop Exec Says He Opposed Layoffs (Houston Chronicle retrived November 28, 2007)
- ^ Conventioneers complain of bedbugs, roaches at Tropicana (Press of Atlantic City retrived November 30, 2007.
- ^ Local 54 files to be part of Tropicana re-licensing hearing (Press of Atlantic City Retrieved November 8, 2007.
- ^ Judge says no to Trop request for restraining order against Local 54 (Press of Atlantic City Retrieved November 17, 2007.
- ^ a b Commission rejects Tropicana Renewal License (Casino Control Commission Retrived December 12, 2007.
- ^ "Casino agency recommends renewing Tropicana license for only one year", Press of Atlantic City, 2007-12-04. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
- ^ "LICENSE REVOKED: Tropicana denied by N.J. panel", Las Vegas Review-Journal, 2007-12-13. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
- Gaming in Atlantic City article
- New Jersey Casino Control Commission approval of Aztar buyout
- Aztar Gaming Sale
[edit] External links
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