In February 1977, Claridge Associates, a group of Connecticut investors led by F. Francis D'Addario, purchased the Claridge Hotel. In 1979, they took on
Del E. Webb Corporation as a partner in order to obtain financing. Del Webb owned several
Nevada casinos, including
The Mint Hotel and Casino in
Downtown Las Vegas. The Claridge hotel was expanded with 200 new guest rooms being built; it had the distinction of being the last of the pre-casino Atlantic City hotels to be refurbished into a casino. The New Jersey Governor at the time,
Brendan Byrne, had been dissatisfied with what he called “Patch and Paint” jobs of the city's old resorts, which had been done with
Resorts Atlantic City and the Dennis Hotel, which is part of Bally's Atlantic City, and he lobbied hard for the old structures to be torn down and replaced with new resorts. Del Webb faced a difficult time obtaining a permanent license but finally obtained one in 1982. At that time, Del Webb bought out Claridge Associates' interest in the partnership. In July 1981, the new casino opened under the name '''Del Webb's Claridge Hotel and Casino
(the hotel eventually became known as Del Webb's Claridge
and eventually just The Claridge'''). The
London-themed hotel saw success early on with its multi-level casino and 600-seat showroom that featured names like
Aretha Franklin,
Donny & Marie,
Billy Crystal,
Penn & Teller,
Joan Rivers,
The Isley Brothers, and
The 5th Dimension. As larger casinos were built in the city, the Claridge had a hard time competing as a small casino in a large market. An elevated moving walkway was constructed in 1988, which connected the hotel to the boardwalk and with the neighboring Sands property and would stay in operation until the Sands closed in 2006. In the 1990s, a parking garage was added. In 2001,
Park Place Entertainment purchased the property and a year later formally announced plans to merge operations with Bally's Atlantic City. As a result, the Claridge became a hotel tower for Bally's. In 2009, all of the Claridge's own restaurants ceased operation, but a small cafe, "The Corner Cafe", that continues to operate in the Gateway area that connects the Claridge Tower with Bally's. In 2009, the Claridge rebranded its casino floor
theRIDGE, and modeled the floor after a dance club, with a dance floor and DJ at its center, surrounded by table games. An extensive restoration was completed during the summer of 2010 through spring 2011, including a $3 million renovation of all hotel rooms and a $17 million facelift of the outside structure. But this was not enough to save its gambling business in the wake of a catastrophic period for Atlantic City's casinos, several of which filed for bankruptcy or closed altogether. theRIDGE ended its gambling and food operations during the winter of 2012; however, Bally's continued to use its 500 hotel rooms for guests. ==Current status==