Nevada developer outlines plans for Atlantic City casino

Thursday, Jan. 14, 1999 | 9:23 a.m.

The $750 million project, which will be built adjacent to Mirage's proposed Le Jardin casino, will be funded jointly by the companies but operated by Boyd, according to Robert Boughner, chief operating officer for Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming.

It will feature a 120,000-square foot casino, eight restaurants, 3,000 slot machines, 120 table games, a spa and 40,000 square feet of meeting space, Boughner said. It will employ about 5,000 people.

Borgata is Italian for "village" or "hamlet," and was picked as a name because the property will have the warmth and charm of an Italian village, Boughner said.

Together with Mirage's casino, it will help lure new visitors to Atlantic City, he said.

"This is not going to be a cookie-cutter project," said state Sen. William Gormley, R-Atlantic. "It's going to be different, it's going to have its own style, it's going to make Atlantic City special."

The Borgata will be located adjacent to Le Jardin, Mirage's planned $1 billion, 4,000-room casino, but their retail areas will converge, Boughner said.

Ground breaking for The Borgata will begin next fall, with completion in 2002, Boughner said.