The former Van Halen singer, who now fronts the band Chickenfoot, says on his website he couldn't reach a deal with the casino company that owns a bar that had been known as Sammy's Beach Bar for the past three years.
"Following months of ongoing discussions, Sammy Hagar has regretfully been unable to come to terms with Caesars Entertainment on the rebuilding of the Sammy Beach Bar & Grill at Bally's Atlantic City Hotel and Casino," the rocker wrote on his web site. "Since opening in May 2010, the restaurant had been a popular boardwalk destination until it was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy."
Katie Dougherty, a spokeswoman for Caesars Entertainment, said the bar was damaged by the Oct. 29 storm but was not destroyed. It will be open in May under the name Bally's Beach Bar.
"While Bally's has enjoyed the partnership with Sammy Hagar, the decision to reopen this coming May as Bally's Beach Bar, is purely financial in nature," she said.
Hagar, whose nickname is the Red Rocker, was a regular visitor to Atlantic City, stopping in at the bar when he played one of the casinos or Boardwalk Hall.
Last May, he stopped there to donate $10,000 to St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church for its food pantry, which feeds some of Atlantic City's poor. While there, he also couldn't resist needling the current lineup of Van Halen, featuring the man he replaced, David Lee Roth, which had just postponed dozens of shows without giving a reason.
"I predicted this was going to happen a lot sooner, Hagar said at the time. "I lost money on that bet!"
Hagar also operates beach-themed bars in locations including Maui; at airports in Las Vegas and New York; St. Louis; and Roseville, Calif.
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