Now, if anyone needs convincing that Atlantic City is enjoying renewed growth, two existing casino/hotels have announced expansions, and a pending sale is moving forward. The latter, too, could end up as an expansion.

First, the Tropicana Casino and Resort, already the state's largest hotel with over 1,600 rooms, will add a 500-room tower. The $225 million expansion will include a 200,000-sf shopping, dining and entertainment complex, a conference center, a new parking garage and expansion of the existing casino. "It will be something new and unique in this city," enthuses Paul Rubeli, who heads the Trop's parent company, Aztar Corp.

Next, the Showboat needs only corporate approval for a new 500-room tower of its own. The project comes on the heels of its announcement that it will convert its failing 60-lane bowling complex into a massive Mardi Gras-themed buffet. (Harrah's, Showboat's sister hotel, is already adding more than 400 rooms in the Marina District.) The Showboat expansion is being dictated by the fact that it's virtually sold out most of the week, with rooms generally available only on Monday and Tuesday nights, which are usually slow in the city's hotel properties, according to SVP/GM Tom O'Donnell.

Finally, the face-off between GB Holdings (parent of the Sands Hotel and Casino) and Park Place to buy the ailing Claridge Hotel and Casino is over. The Sands backed off after the Casino Control Commission ruled that Park Place's acquisition of the Claridge wouldn't violate the Casino Control Act's "undue economic concentration" regulations.

Park Place's offer of $83 million actually started with Claridge executives who went to Park Place with the plan to fend off the Sands' offer. The latter was actually higher - just under $86 million, but it involved less than $7 million in cash, with the rest in stock. Park Place's offer included $65 million in cash and a heavy pay-down of the property's debt.

"We don't have sufficient cash to buy the Claridge on a cash basis and renovate the two properties together," according to Sands president/CEO Alfred Luciani. Cash-rich Park Place, which is the company resulting from Hilton's spin-off of its gaming operations, is expected to refurbish and perhaps expand the Claridge, which is Atlantic City's smallest casino/hotel.