Revel Has Plans to Move Toward Profits
With the appointment of a new CEO, the Revel in Atlantic City is touting other changes it intends to make in order to improve its financial standing, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
Revel’s new chief executive officer, Scott Kreeger, who will also be filling the role of the struggling casino’s chief operating officer, told the Press that promotions and deals relating to gambling are only a small part of Revel’s strategy for moving forward.
Promotions will still exist but not take center stage
Revel, Atlantic City’s newest casino property, entered and quickly exited from bankruptcy earlier this year, after reaching an equity for debt deal with its creditors. Revel, constructed at the cost of $2.4 billion, sought bankruptcy protection less than a year after opening its doors to much fanfare.
Since emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last Spring, Revel has grabbed a few headlines with some of its more bold casino promotions, including one that promised slots players that they would be refunded for their losses, making it so they essentially could not lose.
That promotion had some fine print that angered some Revel patrons, particularly so-called advantage players, who were barred from participating in the You Can’t Lose offer. Furthermore, the promised refund came in the form of additional slots play, not a cash refund, another point that irritated some who traveled to Revel to cash in on the deal.
Kreeger said that while promotions like the slots rebate offer – which happened to help propel the property to some revenue gains – will continue at Revel under his leadership, the company has other plans, as well.
“I don’t think you can promote your way to success. We’ll continue to do those out-of-the-box promotions but not every single month. It’s about listening to our players and our customers. All the answers lie with them,” Kreeger remarked.
Casino plans to lure patrons with lower prices
At the time that it came out of bankruptcy, Revel officials said that they hoped the property would be able to turn a profit by the summer of 2014. Part of the company’s plan to move into the black hinges upon attracting a more “typical” class of Atlantic City gambler.
To that end, Revel, which began its life being aggressively marketed as a luxury property, has reversed its previously held ban on smoking and is working to offer amenities at a lower price point, such as a $3.99 breakfast special and other low-priced food offerings.
Kreeger, who has an extensive work history in the Nevada casino industry, is a newcomer to Atlantic City. He lives in both New Jersey and Utah, and said that he hopes that the property’s newly-assembled management team remains in place long enough to solve some of the issues that have plagued Revel since it opened in April of 2012.
“Revel has been through so many different incarnations of management and business philosophy. The plan is for the management team that’s coming in place now to be for the long term,” he said.
