Florida developer Glenn Straub revealed that the closed Revel resort will be reopened and will feature a casino, although it would be half the size of the former gambling venue.
The $2.4-billion Revel opened doors in April 2012 and was hoped to be what would revitalize Atlantic City’s struggling casino market. However, the venue never turned to be a profitable one and was closed in September 2014. Early in 2015, Mr. Straub purchased it for the amount of $82 million.
The developer said on Tuesday that he has eventually decided to add a casino to the property’s offering, although it would be a smaller one. He further pointed out that he does not know when the gambling facility will open doors as he has other more important matters to deal with regarding the resort and its future amenities.
The businessman indicated that he would first move forward with his plan for the development of a water park at Revel. Construction is set to start in May. And hotel rooms at the resort are expected to be opened in June.
Mr. Straub explained that his application for the necessary casino license needs to be completed and that the gambling venue is not likely to be launched this summer as the state gambling regulator needs to carry out an investigation of the plan. Such investigations are often quite lengthy. A gambling operator is to be hired to manage the casino and it would include a number of options, with popular Asian games being among those.
The Florida developer said that the gambling venue will be renamed but its name is still to be decided on. If the casino opens doors, it would be Atlantic City’s ninth gambling hall. Next-door Showboat, which, too, closed doors in 2014, was recently purchased by Philadelphia businessman Bart Blatstein. It is still unclear whether the developer would reopen the former casino but people with knowledge of matter said that Showboat together with Revel could represent hope for the potential growth of the struggling Atlantic City casino industry.
However, the once-popular casino destination will probably have another obstacle to overcome, if the state Legislature and voters approve the expansion of New Jersey’s gambling industry outside the city. Under a proposed bill, two new casinos will be built in North Jersey in a bid to prevent the state from losing even more gambling customers to casinos in neighboring states. The matter is likely to be voted on at this year’s November ballot.
