Judge allows implosion of Sands to proceed

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Oct. 18 (UPI) -- A New Jersey judge Thursday refused to block the implosion of the 27-year-old Sands Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.

The building was scheduled to come down at 9:30 p.m., drawing thousands of people to watch.

Vincent Barth, owner of the Park Lane Apartment Hotel, filed court papers late Wednesday seeking an injunction against the implosion, The Atlantic City Press reported. He argued that using explosives to collapse the building might release toxins that would do irreversible harm to his business.

The owners of the Sands, Pinnacle Atlantic City, said that with many of the explosive charges already in place, delaying the implosion might do more harm than going forward with it.

The Sands opened as the Brighton Hotel & Casino in 1980, about two years after casino gambling became legal in the beach resort. In its heyday, entertainers like Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. performed at the Sands and gambled on the gaming floor.

It is to be replaced by a larger and more elaborate casino resort.