American Motor Inns and Great American Industries He later sold an option on the land for the project to MGM Grand Hotels. However, later that year, he faced charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission for misleading investors in the project. In July 1978, American Land Company, headed by Steven Silverberg, announced plans to build a hotel-casino in the marina area, named The Marina Casino. Many of the proposed projects were announced with major publicity efforts but died quietly. Most of them stopped in the planning stage only a few, such as the Dunes and the Penthouse, entered construction. However, a lack of available financing, along with legal issues such as zoning, licensing, and environmental regulations, ended most of these plans. A rush of investors announced plans to build hotel-casinos.
In November 1976, New Jersey voters approved a referendum that legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City, and when the Casino Control Act of New Jersey was signed by the governor on June 2, 1977, Atlantic City became the first place in the U.S., outside of Nevada, with legalized casino gambling. Numerous casinos have been planned for Atlantic City, New Jersey but never opened.
