Ocean Resort Casino opened on June 28, 2018. It partners with Hyatt on the hotel operation and William Hill on its sportsbook.
Ocean Resort Casino offered complimentary rooms to anyone living in Hurricane Florence’s impact zone, but it report5ed on Friday that it is out of complimentary rooms until Sunday — due to overwhelming response.
Ocean Resorts Casino is the Atlantic City casino which once went by the name Revel. Revel Casino opened in 2010 as the most expensive casino in Atlantic City’s history, at $2.4 billion. It closed 29 months later and sold in a bankruptcy auction for $83 million.
Three years later, that buyer resold the casino for $200 million after it sat empty for years. In June 2018, Colorado hotel and real estate developer Bruce Deific reopened under the name Ocean Resort Casino.
Still building a clientele two and a half months later, Ocean Resort Casino offered free rooms to those fleeing the path of Hurricane Florence, which is headed for the Carolinas.
Ocean Resort Casino Complimentary Rooms
On Wednesday, the 57-story casino resort announced it would open its doors to those in the path of the hurricane. Owner Bruce Deifik announced, “We completely understand the concern for families and the community during times like this, so we want to do our part by providing somewhere safe, warm and dry to those impacted by Hurricane Florence.”
To receive a complimentary room, visitors had to show a valid drivers license for the affected area. Ocean Resort Casino‘s announcement stated, “Efforts will be made to accommodate based on the availability of rooms and space.”
Those carrying beloved family pets are welcome, though families should expect to receive one single hotel room or suite, due to the response. Ocean Resort Casino’s site said, “One room per household. Pets are welcome and our pet fee will be waived.”
North Carolina’s Hurricane Florence Evacuees
The response was huge, because over a million people were told to evacuate a wide swath of North Carolina and South Carolina. Ocean Resort Casino said in a press release Friday, “Due to the overwhelming response, we are sold out through Saturday 9/15. However, we will be able to offer rooms Sunday 9/16 through Thursday 9/20.”
Florence was listed as a Category 4 hurricane earlier in the week. As predicted, it was downgraded to a Category 3 and then a Category 2 hurricane by the time it made landfall in North Carolina. After a half-day onland, Florence was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane and then a tropical storm.
Hurricane Florence Deaths in Wilmingon, NC
Meteorologists noted throughout the week that it did not matter what category the hurricane/tropical storm was, because that has to do with the powerful winds accompanying the storm. The most dangerous aspect of Hurricane Florence was the fact it was slow-moving — roughly 4 miles an hour or the speed a human walks — and so it would dump as much as 40 inches of rain on the area, causing high waters and floods.
That is exactly what happened to Wilmington, North Carolina, which received some of the worst of the damage. On Friday, the Wilmington Police Department reported the first fatalities of the storm, tweeting, “WPD can confirm the first two fatalities of Hurricane #Florence in Wilmington. A mother and infant were killed when a tree fell on their house. The father was transported to (New Hanover Regional Medical Center) with injuries.”
Distance Hurricane Survivors Travel
Atlantic City is 552 miles from Wilmington or roughly and 8.5 hour drive by car. Despite the long distance, the opportunity for free accommodations were a godsend to hundreds of North Carolinians fleeing the hurricane.
Those considering a stay in the Ocean Resort Casino on Sunday through Thursday should call ahead (866-50-OCEAN) to make certain accommodations are available. To check online for availability, visitors should go to Ocean Resort Casino: Hurricane Florence Relief.
