CasiNotes: Golden Nugget in Atlantic City will get a makeover

THE FORMER Shell showroom at Trump Marina will once again be alive with the sound of music.

That's the word from Tilman Fertitta, CEO of Landry's Restaurants Inc. which on Tuesday assumed ownership of the Marina, which will now be called Golden Nugget Atlantic City.

Fertitta told us that entertainment will play a significant role in his new gaming hall's marketing strategy - a 180-degree turn from the recent past when the Shell had only been in regular use during the summer because of the Marina's ongoing financial problems.

According to Fertitta (pronounced fer-TEE-ta), a 53-year-old Texas billionaire, the Nugget's show-business philosophy will be more of a "big tent" affair than one that targets specific demographic groups. "You're not going to see alternative bands," he said, "but you will see who cater to people 21 and up. Whoever we get here a 21-year-old will like and a 60-year-old will like."

Most importantly, Fertitta promised, "There will always be a show in that showroom. We will always have an act in there."

So far, the Nugget has announced three bookings for what is now simply known as the Showroom: jumpin' jivers Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (June 17), "Great American Songbook" vocalist Steve Tyrell (June 22-July 3) and "The Rat Pack IS Back," a tribute to the turn-of-the-'60s showbiz phenomenon composed primarily of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.

Fertitta also suggested he'd be open to having a resident star in the manner of singing impressionist Gordie Brown, who for the past couple of years has performed at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. "I would like to find someone like [Brown] but we'll bring in some big-name entertainers, too."

Having a regular schedule of entertainers at the bayside gambling den is welcome in a town that needs every nongaming attraction it can get to ensure its survival. And there's certainly plenty of showbiz history within the Showroom's walls.

During the property's heyday, the mid-'80s to mid-'90s, the 500-seat jewel-box of a performance space hosted a parade of headliners, from high-roller favorites like Tom Jones and Frank Sinatra Jr. to Steve Martin, who once did a silent, seven-minute magical act as "The Great Flydini" (the entire turn consisted of him pulling various objects from his fly) and Roseanne Barr, who, in the summer of 1990 at the height of her popularity, taped an HBO comedy special there.