A Borgata bio
July 1, 1995: Las Vegas gambling tycoon Steve Wynn comes to Atlantic City to announce Le Jardin, a billion-dollar casino-hotel to be built on a city-owned dump-a/k/a the H-Tract - in the Marina District. Key to the project, he says, will be a new highway connecting the area to the Atlantic City Expressway, its $330 million cost to be paid mostly with public funds.
July 1, 1995: Las Vegas gambling tycoon Steve Wynn comes to Atlantic City to announce Le Jardin, a billion-dollar casino-hotel to be built on a city-owned dump-a/k/a the H-Tract - in the Marina District. Key to the project, he says, will be a new highway connecting the area to the Atlantic City Expressway, its $330 million cost to be paid mostly with public funds.
1998: Las Vegas gaming companies Boyd Gaming and MGM announce joint plans for an unnamed luxury gaming resort on the H-Tract.
1999: Amid controversy over the eradication of the stable Westside neighborhood, the Atlantic City Expressway Connector highway opens.
Sept. 21, 2000: Boyd Gaming and a new entity, MGM/Mirage, stage a "virtual" groundbreaking for the $1.1 billion Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, with Tuscan-themed interior decor.
July 2, 2003: As thousands clamor to get in, Borgata opens its doors at 11:45 p.m., 16 minutes earlier than planned.
2005: Borgata teams with Maxim, Stuff and Blender magazines to stage the "Maxim All-Access" party hosted by Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, which enhanced the casino's image as a glamorous, hip spot.
2006: Major expansion adds several celebrity-chef-fronted restaurants, the mur.mur dance club and the town's largest poker room. Plans for the $450 million Water Club Hotel are announced. The World Poker Tour makes its Borgata debut.
July 2007: Billy Joel, who once described Atlantic City as "an elephant's graveyard for entertainers," performs for invited guests at Borgata's fourth-anniversary party - the only gig he's ever done in an AC casino.
November 2007: Police bust an illegal, mob-connected poker-game operation in the hotel. Six of 18 suspects arrested are Borgata employees.
June 2008: Water Club opens.
November 2008: A sour national economy and competition from eastern Pennsylvania casinos force 400 layoffs.
May 23, 2009: Patricia Demauro, a New Jersey grandma, sets a world record, throwing the dice 154 consecutive times (over 4 hours and 18 minutes) without throwing a 7 and thus losing the dice. The odds of doing so: 1.56 trillion-to-1.
2010: Old Homestead Steakhouse serves its 1 millionth customer.
2011: Within a two-week span, two penny-slot-machine jackpots are hit for a total $8.5 million ($4.9 million and $3.6 million). Blackjack whiz Don Johnson wins $5 million.
2012: In response to Revel's opening, Borgata completes $50 million renovation project.
Feb. 19, 2013: Borgata becomes first casino to introduce in-room electronic gaming.
July 2, 2013: Borgata marks its 10th anniversary.
- Chuck Darrow