Anyone got $250 mil?

Las Vegas’s Sands has been gone for a while now, but in Atlantic City a casino by that name soldiers on. And it will soon have a new owner, who might tear it down and start from scratch. From the AC Press:

Billionaire investor Carl C. Icahn is negotiating to sell the Sands Casino Hotel only three months after acquiring oceanfront property to transform the city’s smallest gaming hall into a major resort, according to newly released court documents.

Potential buyers have not been disclosed by the Sands, but Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. and the Cosmopolitan Hotel Resort & Casino have been mentioned in gaming circles as candidates. The purchase price is said to be about $250 million.

Rumors have swirled for months that the Sands was on the market, but there was no official confirmation until a July 12 bankruptcy hearing involving GB Holdings Inc., the casino’s former parent company and now a minority owner.

Attorneys for Icahn and GB Holdings are quoted as saying in recently released transcripts of the hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Judith H. Wizmur that talks were being held to sell the Sands, but they declined to reveal the name of the would-be buyer.

“They want to sell. … They’re just trying to complete a transaction,” GB Holdings attorney Gary M. Schildhorn told Wizmur.
Icahn: Sands is up for sale

As I said in an earlier post (Traymore returns?), I think the best thing would be to totally demolish the existing casino and build a centerpiece attraction on the Traymore site. Donald Wittkowski at the Press explains why this is a good idea, in pretty certain terms:

The Sands’ existing 600-room tower, marred by its budget-hotel architecture, is woefully outdated compared to the upscale hotel expansions at other casinos in town.

“Marred by its budget-hotel architecture” says it all too well. If you want more of my thoughts, check out Traymore returns.