Playground Pier Closes WAV Nightclub on AC Boardwalk

AC wav closed Atlantic City
Short Life for Dance Club

The WAV nightclub is no more. The barely broken-in club on Atlantic City’s Playground Pier has reportedly closed it’s doors. The WAVac website is also offline.

Opened with much fanfare in April 2016, WAV was supposed to be a magnet for 20-somethings. The slow-growing Playground Pier in front of Caesars Casino on the Boardwalk really needed that kind of traffic boost. The many bars, retailers and eateries inside the Playground would supposedly benefit from the hundreds that would shop, eat & drink before heading into the WAV for a night of dancing.

LISTEN> ACprimetime Radio 7.6.2016

Playground Pier is the brainchild of Bart Blatstein and Tower Investments. Blatstein purchased the struggling ‘Pier Shops’ at Caesars for $2.7 mil in November of 2014. The deal was not a friendly one, which may explain why Caesars does nothing to encourage their guests to walk across the Boardwalk to enjoy Playground offerings.

This bad Playground news dampens the excitement of Blatstein’s new Showboat Hotel, opening on July 8.

Observers noted: if Playground would clone Tropicana’s ‘The Quarter’, they could have winner on that side of Atlantic City Boardwalk.

ALSO CONFIRMED: the GUESS retail store has exited their Playground location. ( is Starbucks next?)

Blatstein and Tower Investments is well known for the Piazza at Schmidt’s project in Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties section. After an exciting debut, The Piazza faltered and Bart sold out.

According to Philly.com, Caesars and Blatstein had quite the legal tussle with this prime piece of Boardwalk Real Estate.

Our 2 Cents: Dance clubs might be maxed out in Atlantic City. Plenty of competition in this space. Also, it’s well known that poorly named ‘Playground’ was poorly marketed too. PR / advertising campaigns never connected with fun-seekers, and at times seemed non-existent. Still, that pier in front of Caesars is spectacular… it just needs proper management / creative leadership.

Is Blatstein over-leveraged? That’s what some are asking. With Bart on a buying spree in AC, does the Philly developer have the cash to properly manage his acquisitions? Will Blatstein have the time and resources to properly develop the volleyball court and Garden Pier parcels if those deals close? We look forward to Glenn Straub’s next move with this situation. What do YOU think? Leave a comment below.

 

 

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