Straub plans to operate a casino, but first plans to build a water park and reopen the hotel.
Revel Building owner Glenn Straub told reporters on Tuesday that he plans to open a casino on the site, after a long period of uncertainty and study. Straub, a Florida developer who won a protracted battle to purchase the Revel Casino, said he expects the new gaming operation to be less ambitious than the original business which operated there.
Straub told the reporters, “We’ll have a casino that’s about 50% of what was there.”
Glenn Straub’s Ownership
Straub’s announcement comes as good new to the people of Atlantic City, which lost 8,000 casino jobs when four casinos, including Revel Casino, closed in 2014. Revel had entered its second bankruptcy in 15 months when it closed its door in September 2014. For the next 8 months, Glenn Straub fought off a number of rivals to gain control of the bankrupt property. Despite the Revel Building costing $2.4 billion to build, Glenn Straub was able to buy the property in a bankruptcy auction for a mere $83 million.
That did not end the old casinos iffy legal situation. Straub spent six months in court battling with ACR Energy Partners, the electric coop which had an exclusive contract with the original Revel Casino, to see what the energy payments on the new operation would be. Straub outlasted ACR’s executives, who claimed they were near bankruptcy, and eventually bought out the energy company for a $30 million price tag. That gave Straub more control of the building’s financial future, clearing the way for Revel Casino to reopen in the indeterminate future.
Uncertain When an Opening Will Happen
Glenn Straub told the assembled media on Tuesday he still is uncertain when the new casino will open. From other details he gave, the time table could be a long one. Straub said he would first open other business operations in the Revel Building.
His first project is to build and operate a water park in the skyscraper. Straub expects construction to begin on the water park in May 2016. He also said he hopes the Revel Hotel will open for business in June 2016, when the summer rush happens.
Applying for Gaming License
Polo North, the holding company Glenn Straub owns, has applied with the Division of Gaming Enforcement for a casino license. The application process is still incomplete and expected to take many months. For that reason, it is unlikely the Revel Casino would open this summer, shortly after the hotel reopened. The DGE conducts a thorough review of a potential operator’s background and connections, so it is unlikely that process would be complete by the summer of 2016. The PokerStars application was held up for nearly 2 years, though the PokerStars/Rational Media case is something of an outlier.
Straub said he would hire a casino management company to manage the day-to-day operations of the casino. He has no prior experience, so Polo North will contract with a company who does. A similar business arrangement between owner Morris Bailey and property management from Mohegan Sun for the Resorts Casino. Bailey hired Mohegan Sun to manage Resorts Casino in 2012, and the business arrangement has led to a much-lauded turnaround for the company.
Potential 9th Casino in Atlantic City
When Revel Casino reopens, it will be the ninth casino in the Atlantic City area. The Showboat casino next door was bought earlier this month by Bart Blatstein, a Philadelphia-area casino operator and real estate developer. Blatstein, who is responsible for the Playground on the Boardwalk, said he is uncertain whether he’ll open a casino or a non-gaming attraction in the Showboat building. Because of a prior agreement between Caesars Entertainment and Carl Icahn involving the Showboat’s business operations, the options are somewhat limited. That fact sparked major controversy in Atlantic City, when nearby Stockton University bought the Showboat property in hopes of creating an Atlantic City campus there.
As for Revel Casino, its reopening will be the latest chapter in a tumultuous and sometimes bizarre story. When Revel opened in April 2012, it was the most expensive casino ever built in Atlantic City and hailed by some as the most awe-inspiring building on the American East Coast.
Revel Casino’s History
Revel was expected to be a Las Vegas-style integrated resort which would draw VIP high rollers, but the casino’s concept never worked in the traditionally working class Atlantic City. Instead, the fancy casino was never financially solvent and experienced problems from Day One. The most famous event which happened at Revel Casino was the domestic abuse incident between Ray Rice and Janay Palmer.
Glenn Straub hopes to open a casino which is more fitting for the Atlantic City clientele. If he succeeds, then the city’s job market could grow by roughly 1,000 much-needed positions. Local leaders and workers alike can hope that happens.
