ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) – The Beatles played it. Bruce Springsteen, too. LBJ was nominated there, and dozens of Miss America winners walked the 90-foot runway inside.

They don’t have Boardwalk Hall dressing rooms named after them, though, or places in its Hall of Fame. Arturo Gatti does.

In a city with few sure bets, Gatti is one of them. Whenever the rough-and-tumble welterweight fights at Boardwalk Hall, the cavernous Depression-era landmark comes alive, with sellout crowds, raucous home-state cheering sections and boxing action that inevitably leaves Gatti bloody and his fans satisfied.

They pack the 12,000-plus arena, the cheers of “Gat-ti, Gat-ti, Gat-ti” echoing off the 137-foot tall ceiling and back down into the arena again. When Gatti – coming off a lopsided loss to Floyd Mayweather last June – returns to action there Saturday in a 12-round fight with unbeaten Thomas Damgaard, the whole scene will play out once more.

Both weighed in Friday at 147, the class limit.

“We refer to it as “The House of Gatti,”‘ said Valarie McGonigal, marketing director for Boardwalk Hall, which has hosted six Gatti fights in the last 31/2 years.

The appeal, undeniably, is Gatti himself. But the storied arena, which fills with home-state partisans for his fights, is his not-so-silent partner.

Born in Italy and raised in Montreal, Gatti moved to Jersey City, N.J., where he fashioned a reputation as a brawler with more heart than skill. Fighting in ballrooms and small arenas, usually on undercards, he built a following in the New York-New Jersey area that grew with each fight – win or loss.

His first big fight in Boardwalk Hall came in 1997, when he rallied to stop Gabriel Ruelas and retain his IBF junior lightweight title.

It was vintage Gatti: Rocked by a left uppercut in the fourth, Gatti absorbed more than 15 consecutive punches before being saved by the bell. In the fifth, he connected on a left hook to drop Ruelas and end the fight.

But his box-office fortunes began booming here in 2002, after he lost to Micky Ward in a controversial 10-rounder in Uncasville, Conn.

Promoter Main Events booked the rematch at Boardwalk Hall, and a sellout crowd of 12,238 turned out to see Gatti win a 12-round decision. Six months later, the two squared off again, trading punches in a thriller in which Gatti overcame a broken hand in the fourth round and a knockdown in the sixth to win the decision.

Since then, Gatti has become box-office gold, drawing capacity crowds or near-capacity crowds for four more fights in the building.

“He is to Atlantic City what Oscar De La Hoya is to Vegas,” said boxing promoter Lou DiBella. “That building loves him.”

Last year, Boardwalk Hall’s operators inducted Gatti into their “Boardwalk Hall of Fame,” a modest wall-mounted concourse display that also features ticket stubs, autographs and photographs of fellow inductees Cher, Rod Stewart and Neil Diamond.

Room 108, meanwhile, got a 2-by-7 brass plaque affixed to the door. It reads: “Arturo “Thunder’ Gatti Dressing Room.”

Now, he doesn’t fight anywhere else.

“He’s just developed a very, very loyal fan base,” said Ken Condon, president of Bally’s Atlantic City casino, who has promoted most of Gatti’s Atlantic City fights. “It’s almost like a cult following. People just can’t wait for the next Gatti fight. When Arturo fights, it’s more than a fight. It’s an event weekend. People buy rooms, come down, party hearty, celebrities show up.

“For a guy who isn’t a heavyweight, he treats the venue as if it’s a heavyweight fight,” said Condon.

Even in defeat, Gatti (39-7) draws. In the Mayweather fight, he was completely outclassed, with the younger boxer dominating him from the opening bell to take his 140-pound title. Gatti’s corner threw in the towel after Round 6.

Still, Saturday’s fight against Damgaard (37-0) is expected to sell out. As of Thursday, about 1,500 seats remained.

“Will he fight anywhere else? It’d have to be a hell of an offer,” said promoter Carl Moretti, vice president of Main Events.

“It’s like my home,” said Gatti.

AP-ES-01-27-06 1928EST