Dave & Buster’s Atlantic City to Open Inside Jay-Z’s Former Nightclub

Dave Buster s is nearing an official opening date in Atlantic City.

The restaurant and entertainment chain popular with families announced its intentions to open a location in Atlantic City more than a year ago. After initially targeting a fall 2023 opening, officials with Dave Buster s now say the restaurant and arcade will open sometime in early December.

Dave Buster s is replacing Jay-Z s former nightclub called the 40/40 Club. Once a popular spot for celebrities, the hip-hop mogul s nightclub in Atlantic City closed in 2013. 40/40 clubs in Manhattan, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Brooklyn are also no more.

The roughly 21,000-square-foot facility at 2120 Atlantic Avenue is inside the Tanger Outlets shopping complex, just a block inland from Caesars Atlantic City.

Dave Buster s, a publicly traded company, will replace Jay-Z s nightclub décor with its sports bar and grille, arcade games, and abundance of televisions showing live sports.

Atlantic City is trying to follow Las Vegas lead in diversifying its local economy away from a gaming-first mentality. To keep its occupied throughout the , resorts and businesses in the region are investing heavily in nongaming attractions.

Showboat owner Bart Blatstein and his Tower Investments, a Philadelphia-based real estate firm, are leading the charge to lure in travelers who aren t necessarily coming to gamble. In June, Blatstein featuring 11 water slides, a wave and surf simulator, a lazy river, a waterfall, and an adventure pool at his Boardwalk resort.

The Showboat is also home to what s billed as the largest indoor arcade in America. The amusement facility replaced the Showboat s casino space when Caesars Entertainment operated it.

The Lucky Snake is an 85,000-square-foot complex featuring over 300 arcade games and an indoor go-kart raceway where drivers can speed around the track at speeds up to 25 mph.

Dave Buster s opening just steps from the will provide families another reason to venture down the shore.

Dave Buster s is also a major sponsor of the UFC and shows its pay-per-view events in its locations in special viewing areas. The restaurant and arcade chain has more than 140 locations in North America.

Though Dave Buster s is a popular spot for sports fans to watch their favorite teams, the Atlantic City location won t offer an on-site sportsbook. However, since New Jersey is home to legal online sports betting, guests can place wagers on their smartphones.

In 2021, Dave Buster s industry by partnering with a third-party operator like DraftKings. The announcement came as its rivals, including Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooter s, signed sportsbook partnerships.

Dave Buster s ultimately folded on pursuing a real money sports betting relationship. The company instead partnered with Gambit Sports for a social sports wagering experience.

Dave Buster s integrated the Gambit product into its Rewards app. Players can make free, fun-money bets on sports to win arcade tickets. Gambit issues players a free number of tokens to bet with. Users who lose their free allotment can purchase additional tokens to continue their wagering in hopes of winning free arcade game plays.