Atlantic City lost four of its 12 casinos in 2014: the Atlantic Club, Showboat, Revel and Trump Plaza. Trump Taj Mahal followed in 2016. Some of those buildings came back (Revel is now Ocean Casino Resort, the Taj is Hard Rock), some reopened without gambling, and one was imploded. Here is each failure, why it happened and what stands on the site today.
Why Atlantic City casinos failed
Atlantic City’s gaming revenue fell for years after 2006, hit by the recession and by new casinos in just about every neighboring state. Pennsylvania added table games in July 2010 and passed New Jersey in 2012 to become the second-largest casino market in the country, behind Nevada. In 2011 Resorts World Casino opened in Queens, right next to New York City, one of Atlantic City’s most important feeder markets.
The city has since stabilized with nine casinos. New Jersey’s total gaming revenue reached a record of about $6.98 billion in 2025, but much of the growth now comes from online casinos, which outearned the nine land-based casinos for the first time that year.
Atlantic Club started the contraction
It started with the Atlantic Club. The former Atlantic City Hilton had set itself up as a locals casino for low rollers. PokerStars agreed to buy it in December 2012, but the deal fell apart in 2013 when PokerStars could not secure a New Jersey gaming license in time.
The owners hoped newly legalized online gaming in New Jersey would lift the property’s value. It did not. The Atlantic Club filed for bankruptcy in November 2013, could not find a buyer and closed on January 13, 2014. Caesars Entertainment bought the building and Tropicana bought the gaming equipment. Caesars then sold the property to TJM Properties with no casino planned.
What it is now: Colosseo Atlantic City bought the shuttered building in 2019 for $25 million and planned a non-casino condo and hotel project, but the plans stalled over permits and code compliance. The property was listed for sale at $55 million in July 2025 and the price was cut to $50 million in June 2026. It is still closed.
Showboat was the second to close
Showboat was next. This was unusual because it was a profitable resort under the Caesars Entertainment umbrella. Caesars closed it to push its customers toward its other Atlantic City casinos, Bally’s, Caesars and Harrah’s, and to cut overhead while the company fought to avoid bankruptcy. Showboat closed at the end of August 2014.
It was the second Caesars casino in the U.S. to close that year. Harrah’s in Tunica, Mississippi, shut its doors in June 2014.
What it is now: Developer Bart Blatstein bought Showboat from Stockton University for $22 million and reopened it in 2016 as a hotel without a casino. It still operates as a non-casino hotel, though its lender filed a foreclosure suit in 2026 over missed mortgage payments.
Revel was Atlantic City’s biggest failure
Revel was the biggest disaster in Atlantic City history. It cost $2.4 billion to build and opened on April 2, 2012, to plenty of fanfare. Revel tried to bring Las Vegas to Atlantic City by putting dining, nightlife and luxury rooms ahead of gambling, and it opened as a smoke-free casino in a market built on regular local and bus customers. It sat near the bottom of the Atlantic City market from the start.
New management tried to turn it around, without success. Revel filed for bankruptcy a second time and closed on September 2, 2014.
The afterlife was messy too. Brookfield Asset Management won the bankruptcy auction in October 2014 and then walked away, partly over a dispute involving the power plant built to serve Revel. Florida developer Glenn Straub finally bought it in April 2015 for $82 million, a fraction of its cost, but never reopened it as a casino.
What it is now: Bruce Deifik bought the building for $200 million in January 2018 and reopened it as Ocean Resort Casino on June 27, 2018. Luxor Capital Group took over in 2019 and renamed it Ocean Casino Resort. Detroit’s Ilitch family bought half in 2021 and, in August 2026, completed the purchase of the remaining 50%. Ocean is one of Atlantic City’s nine operating casinos.
Trump Plaza was the fourth 2014 closure
Trump Plaza was the fourth Atlantic City casino to close in 2014. It was the worst performer in the market when it shut down, and the building had fallen into disrepair. It closed on September 16, 2014.
What it is now: Carl Icahn took control of the property when he took over the bankrupt Trump Entertainment Resorts in 2016. The tower was imploded on February 17, 2021, and the Boardwalk lot sat empty for years. In September 2026 Icahn sold the site for about $6.65 million to a group led by George E. Norcross III and his family. Plans have not been announced, and the city has said it will not be a casino.
Trump Taj Mahal closed in 2016
Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza’s sister property, came close to closing several times after its parent company, Trump Entertainment Resorts, filed for bankruptcy in 2014. Carl Icahn, who took control of the company, kept it open for a time, but with workers on strike and the casino losing millions each month, the Taj closed on October 10, 2016. Hard Rock International bought it, renovated it and reopened it as Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on June 27, 2018, the same day Ocean opened.
Sands Atlantic City
The Sands closed on better terms than the 2014 casinos. It opened in 1980 and ceased operations in 2006. Pinnacle Entertainment bought it out of bankruptcy that year to build a new resort on the site. The Sands tower was imploded in 2007.
The new resort never happened. Pinnacle suspended the project in 2009 as the economy tanked and competition grew, and in 2010 it said it would sell its Atlantic City land and abandon its plans there. In 2013 it agreed to sell the holdings for $30.6 million to an undisclosed buyer. No casino has been built on the site since.
The Claridge Hotel
The Claridge opened in 1930 and was a successful resort long before legal gaming came to Atlantic City. It became a casino-hotel in 1981. Park Place Entertainment, which owned Bally’s Atlantic City, bought it in 2001, and by the end of 2002 it had been merged into Bally’s as a hotel tower.
What it is now: Gambling and food at the Claridge ended in 2012. Caesars sold the tower to TJM Properties in 2014, and it reopened that May as a stand-alone hotel without a casino. It still operates as an independent non-casino hotel.
Playboy, Atlantis and Trump’s World’s Fair
The Playboy Casino opened in Atlantic City in 1981 and struggled from the start, beginning with trouble getting a gaming license. The Playboy name was dropped in 1984 and the property became the Atlantis Hotel and Casino. Atlantis filed for bankruptcy in 1985 and kept struggling. Trump bought it in 1989.
It was renamed Trump Regency and ran without gaming until the casino was relaunched as Trump’s World’s Fair in 1996. That lasted until 1999, when it closed. It was razed in 2000.
Atlantic City casino closures at a glance
| Casino | Closed | What is there now |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Club (former Hilton) | January 2014 | Vacant building, listed for sale |
| Showboat | August 2014 | Non-casino hotel, facing foreclosure suit |
| Revel | September 2014 | Ocean Casino Resort |
| Trump Plaza | September 2014 | Empty lot, sold in 2026, plans not announced |
| Trump Taj Mahal | October 2016 | Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City |
| Sands | 2006 | Imploded, no casino rebuilt |
| Claridge | Casino ended 2012 | Independent non-casino hotel |
| Playboy / Atlantis / Trump’s World’s Fair | 1999 | Razed in 2000 |
Failed Atlantic City casinos FAQ
How many casinos closed in Atlantic City in 2014?
Four of the city’s 12 casinos closed in 2014: the Atlantic Club, Showboat, Revel and Trump Plaza. Trump Taj Mahal closed two years later, in October 2016.
What happened to Revel?
Revel closed in September 2014 after two bankruptcies. It reopened in June 2018 as Ocean Resort Casino and now operates as Ocean Casino Resort, owned by the Ilitch family’s gaming company.
Is Showboat still a casino?
No. Showboat reopened in 2016 as a hotel without a casino and still operates that way.
How many casinos does Atlantic City have now?
Nine. Ocean and Hard Rock, which reopened in former Revel and Taj buildings, are among them.
Please gamble responsibly. If gambling is causing problems for you or someone you know, call or text the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET.