Revel Casino Set to Reopen in Atlantic City by Mid-June

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Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016 | Written by Charles Washington

Revel is the most expensive casino in the history of Atlantic City, with the property having cost $2.4 billion to build. After opening with plenty of press coverage and media attention in 2012, though, the buzz was not sufficient to make Revel a success, and so the casino shuttered its doors in the autumn of 2014, and has been closed ever since. However, there is now hope that the casino will reopen in June under new ownership, and with a new name.

An Ordeal of a Purchase

Florida resident and wealthy businessman Glenn Straub purchased the former Revel Casino in April 2015 during bankruptcy proceedings. He was able to buy the property for just $82 million, meaning he paid roughly 4 cents on the dollar. That would seem like quite a bargain, but ever since Revel being purchased, the casino has caused legal and financial troubles for Straub. He was fined repeatedly for not complying with fire codes, had to purchase the power company supplying electricity to the casino to put a stop to litigation, and even had to pay $36,000 to repair windows damaged by seagulls. The light at the top of the casino reportedly has a problem as well. It’s intended to shine in multiple colors but during a recent test could only illuminate with white light.

A Tentative Deadline

After all of the costs and legal battles, Straub says that Revel Casino will re-open this June under a new name that has yet to be chosen. He claims that at least part of the casino’s gaming floor will be open and that 500 rooms in the hotel will be available for reservations. In addition, he has stated that all of the original night clubs, restaurants and bars will be open by June 15th. As Straub explains:

“We haven’t been sitting around for 10 months doing nothing. We’re not going to have all 1,800 rooms open; we’ll probably have 500 open that day. All the restaurants will be open, I think. They’ve been wanting to re-open since the day it closed.”

No Gaming Licence Yet

It’s easy to see why Straub wants to have the renamed Revel Casino open for business in time for this summer’s tourist season, but there are serious doubts about whether this is doable when you take into consideration how much he would need to accomplish to achieve the goal. Revel doesn’t currently have a gaming license, though Straub claims he can get around this by working with a licensed partner in the area.

Atlantic City officials have also shared that Revel does not have any licensing to accept hotel guests or operate food service businesses. Even the restaurateurs who ran the casino’s food service businesses have said that they haven’t been approached about the reopening. None of this seems to bother Starub much, and as he explained recently:

“We don’t need a casino license, they can argue with us all they want. We’re saying we don’t have to have it. I’m the owner of the casino.”

Other Problems Loom

Despite assurances from Straub and his confidence on the matter, it remains unclear if the former Revel Casino will actually be able to reopen in June 2016. There seems a lot to be accomplished over the next 3 months to make that happen, as Atlantic City has a number of other major issues on its plate, including a statewide voting referendum in November to decide whether to allow two casino projects to go-ahead in North New Jersey. Naturally, Mayor Don Guardian is keen to maintain Atlantic City’s monopoly over the state’s gambling industry, and he is currently spreading apocalyptic warnings over the possible dangers of a gambling expansion in the state. As he commented recently:

“If you don’t think prostitution and drugs and other minor crimes won’t come along with it, you’re foolish.. You may want the money, but you don’t want the extra commuting time.”

Atlantic City is also facing possible bankruptcy, with Mayor Don Guardian even requesting a loan to cope with the city’s financial problems, as it cannot hold out until the next quarterly tax payment in May. In response, Governor Chris Christie has said that no money would be forthcoming unless Guardian agrees to a state takeover of the Atlantic City’s finances. It will be interesting to see how these ongoing sagas will plays out over the next few weeks and months.