Casino Floor Updates: What's Ahead in Atlantic City in 2026
After nearly 50 years of operation, the one thing that never changes about the Atlantic City casino industry is that it is in a constant state of evolution. So what changed in 2025, and what new attractions are on tap for 2026?
We'll take a look at several completed and uncompleted developments in the city.
Borgata Casino’s summer 2026 plans
Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa shut down its Premier Nightclub at the end of August 2025 after a 9-year run, because the casino's executives have plans for something even bigger in the summer of 2026.
The new project will be an 18,000-square-foot entertainment venue, built in partnership with Big Night, a prominent live music and hospitality firm in the New England area. The company runs Big Night Live, a major concert hall and dining area in the Hub on Causeway in Boston, as well as Shrine Nightclub at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.
According to Borgata executives, the space will feature the latest in technology as well as the flexibility to host "A-list" concerts (Big Night has a partnership with Live Nation), special events, and other programming all year-round.
The new entertainment site will serve as a complement to mid-2025 launches such as the Asian Gaming experience, a 25,000-square-foot space with 51 tables, five private gaming salons, and a high-limit gaming area that features a private bar to enhance the VIP experience.
Vibrant red and gold decor adds to the vibe at Asian Gaming, and the area's hosts collectively are fluent in Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and other Asian languages.
Borgata's ever-popular "B Bar," meanwhile, as of May 2025 has featured Italian craftsmanship as part of a freshened look. Finally, a lengthy project to upgrade the decor of all of the casino's guest rooms is scheduled to be completed in time for the summer 2026 season.
Ocean Casino finishing off its transformation
Over on the Boardwalk, Ocean Casino Resort spent $25 million in 2025 to complete a seven-year effort to transform all 1,860 guest rooms and suites. "Shoreline" colors and patterns were part of the upgrades as an enhancement for the property's calling card - panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean.
Ocean also opened La Scala's Fire Italian restaurant, a well-known brand in the Philadelphia market. The new High Stakes restaurant menu includes its version of the classic "Philly cheesesteak."
Before or after taking in a meal at La Scala, diners can try their hand next door at the Ocean's 18 mini-golf and bar starting in early 2026. A 12-foot-high Great White Shark "greets" the golfers and bar patrons.
Hard Rock’s The Balcony, Solana Tower
Hard Rock, which opened its doors on the same day as Ocean did in May 2018, reintroduced its popular nightclub called The Balcony in summer 2025 as part of the industry's $200 million spent in 2025 on a slew of upgrades and brand-new offerings.
The 600-room West Tower at the Tropicana Atlantic City has been rebranded as the Solana Tower, with an opening early in 2026 that will feature rooms with tropical-inspired decor as well as unique local artwork.
AC innovation not just limited to the casino properties
Atlantic City tourism officials in fall 2025 announced that the popular air show - a once-annual event that was revived months earlier - would be moved up in 2026 from August to May as a way to add a popular event just before the surge in crowds that arrive after the Memorial Day weekend.
Atlantic City Aquarium
Summer 2026 will mark a second "high season" for the revived Atlantic City Aquarium on the Boardwalk, with over 25,000 gallons of water featuring a 225-pound loggerhead sea turtle. A tropical reef and an estuary center are among the attractions for budget-friendly prices of $6 for adults and $4 for children.
Repaving and replanking the Boardwalk
A three-year, $20 million plan for renovations of the Boardwalk is expected to be completed sometime in 2026. A key focus is on the well-traveled wood planks between New Jersey Avenue and Tennessee Avenue, with work outside the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall having been completed in 2025.
Repaving of prominent local thoroughfares Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Avenue got underway in 2025 and are continuing - including traffic-light synchronization that will be quite welcomed by the city's residents.
New properties on the block
A major real estate developer has proposed a $1 billion project on the sites of the Claridge Hotel and adjacent Sands Casino on the Boardwalk, with an indoor amusement park and an outdoor sports complex proposed that would feature a 20,000-seat minor league baseball stadium, an outdoor ski slope, and an eSports arena. If developed fully, it also would include 1,500 new apartments, an 800-room hotel, and numerous restaurants and retail shops.
A Monopoly-inspired property under development called The Top Hat at the Orange Loop on Tennessee Avenue will feature a boutique hotel, short-term rentals, and 1,400 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor. It's part of a broader development at the three streets in the original Monopoly board game, including the other "orange" properties New York Avenue and St. James Place.
$3.4 billion Renaissance project to round out the AC casino vibe
The most ambitious proposal of all has been almost a decade in the making, and it took several procedural steps toward reality in 2025. That included a 12-1 approval vote in July by the board of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which deemed the massive project as suitable for the site, which is the former Bader Field Airport. CRDA is the lead agency for the Atlantic City Tourism District.
Renaissance at Bader Field by DEEM Enterprises is a $3.4 billion development proposal that would include a motorsports track, an automotive-themed museum, an amphitheater, a hotel, and thousands of housing units ranging from high-rise residential towers to condominiums to “motor-oriented townhomes.”
Why is Atlantic City changing its face?
The overall transformation effort is to retool Atlantic City from a heavy focus on the city’s nine casinos – six on the Boardwalk and three in the Marina District – to a more well-rounded set of attractions to bring in a broader number of tourists.
And with so many developments to the Boardwalk, whether already implemented in 2025 or or anticipated for completion in the new 2026 year, a well-rounded Atlantic City will soon be.
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