Sands Atlantic City

Sands Casino Hotel
Picture of the former Sands Casino/Hotel
Location	Atlantic City, New Jersey
Address	S Indiana Avenue & Brighton Park
Opening date	August 13, 1980
Closing date	November 11, 2006
Theme	Vegas-Style
No. of rooms	532
Signature attractions	Copa Room
Casino type	Land-based
Previous names	Brighton Hotel & Casino

The Sands Casino Hotel was a casino and hotel that operated from August 13, 1980 until November 11, 2006 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was formerly known as the Brighton Hotel & Casino. It consisted of a 21-story hotel tower with 532 rooms and a 5-story podium housing the 57,045 ft (17,387 m) casino and various other amenities. It was adjacent to Claridge Atlantic City and its parking garage was adjacent to the Madison Hotel.

The first Brighton Hotel (originally named the Brighton Cottage) was opened in 1876 on the site that would eventually become the Sands. It was demolished in 1959.

The Brighton Hotel & Casino was built at a cost of $70 million by Greate Bay Casino Corporation, controlled by two local businessmen, Eugene Gatti and Arthur Kania. It opened on August 13, 1980. The Brighton was the fourth property to open following the 1977 legalization of casinos in Atlantic City, and the first to be built from the ground up, rather than as a renovation of an existing hotel. The developers hoped that the Brighton's quiet atmosphere and small size, about half that of the city's other casino hotels, would prove attractive to high rollers. Early marketing featured Bert Parks as a spokesman, and the slogan "Brighton Up".

After less than a month in operation, Holiday Inns agreed to buy the Brighton for $121 million in cash and stock plus assumption of the property's $37 million mortgage. Holiday Inns pulled out of the deal a month later. As the Brighton headed into its first winter, the city's low season, it faced severe cash flow problems, with lower monthly revenue than all its competitors.

The Brighton was rescued in the first months of 1981 by $10 million in financing from Inns of the Americas (a Dallas-based hotel operator, owned by the Pratt brothers) and financiers Burton and Richard Koffman. Inns of the Americas and the Koffmans went on to buy a 60 percent interest in the Brighton from Gatti and Kania for $30 million in May 1981. Inns of the Americas had recently bought the Sands Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip, and immediately renamed the Atlantic City property under the well-known Sands name. The property soon became profitable under its new ownership.