Casino Era and Current Status
In 1981 the Del Webb Corporation, owners of The Mint Hotel and Casino in Downtown Las Vegas, bought the Claridge and turned it into a casino. The hotel was expanded with 200 new guest rooms being built. The Claridge had the distinction of being the last of the pre-casino Atlantic City hotels to be refurbished into a casino. New Jersey then Governor Brendan Byrne had been dissatisfied with what he called “Patch and Paint” jobs of the city’s old resorts, this had been done with Resorts Atlantic City, and the Dennis Hotel, which is part of Bally's Atlantic City, and lobbied hard for the old structures to be torn down in favor of new resorts.
In July 1981 the new casino opened under the name Del Webb’s Claridge Hotel and Casino (the hotel eventually became known as Del Webb’s Claridge and eventually just The Claridge). The hotel saw success early on but as bigger casinos were built in the city, the Claridge had a hard time competing as a small casino in a large market. In the 1990s a parking garage was added.
In 2001, Park Place Entertainment purchased the property and a year later formally announced plans to merge operations with Bally's Atlantic City. As a result, the Claridge became a hotel tower for Bally's. In 2009 all of the Claridge's own restaurants ceased operation but a small cafe, "The Bagel & Doughnut Connection", that continues to operate in the Gateway area that connects the Claridge Tower with Bally's.
In 2009, the Claridge's casino floor was rebranded as theRIDGE, a dance club style casino. It features table games with a dance floor and DJ in the center. The Claridge went through a $3 million restoration of all its rooms and a facelift of the outside structure during the summer of 2010 through spring 2011. This also included the outside structure for a total amount of $20 million.
The Ridge closed its gambling and food amenities during the winter of 2012. Bally's is still using the 500 rooms for their guests.
Read more about this topic: Claridge Atlantic City
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