Billionaire investor Glenn Straub has received another blow in his court battle with Stockton University over the ownership of the former Showboat casino. An appeals court voided on Thursday Mr. Straub’s claim that he should be allowed to purchase the shuttered gambling venue.
Casino operator Caesars Entertainment closed the Showboat in 2014. The property was profitable enough at the time, but Atlantic City’s casino market was deemed unable to sustain larger competition, hence the decision for the casino’s closure.
Shortly after, Stockton University bought the Showboat for $18 million as part of a plan to develop an urban campus for its students. However, the college was unable to proceed due to two different deed restrictions that clashed over what the property could be used for.
A 1988 contract between the owners of the Showboat, Trump Taj Mahal, and Resorts prohibited the Showboat from being used for anything but a casino. The other contract prohibited it from being run as a casino. Failing to solve the issue, the college announced that an agreement was penned in April 2015 for the property’s sale to Mr. Straub for the amount of $26 million.
The agreement had a July 2, 2015 due date but no settlement in relation to the above-mentioned deed restrictions was reached by the time. Mr. Straub brought the matter to court, arguing that Stockton University had failed to do its best and solve the issue in a timely manner. He requested that the court extend the agreement until the matter was dealt with, a request that a lower court judge rejected.
The Thursday appeals court decision came as an affirmation that the previous ruling that had allowed the college to end its agreement with Mr. Straub was the correct thing to be done.
Stockton University eventually sold the shuttered casino to Philadelphia real estate developer Bart Blatstein for $23 million. The businessman reached an accord with Trump Taj Mahal owner Carl Icahn to reopen the Showboat as a hotel only. The venue was relaunched in the summer of 2016.
Mr. Straub is the owner of the former Revel casino. The property closed doors in 2014 after only two years of quite unprofitable operation, and was purchased a year later by the Florida investor for $82 million. Mr. Straub has been struggling to reopen it as a hotel and casino complex for some time now.
In fact, the businessman was keen on buying the Showboat in order to be able to connect its utilities to neighboring Revel. Mr. Straub was locked in a legal battle with the power plant that had formerly supplied the property. However, the issue was solved with the developer acquiring said plant.
Following the Thursday decision, Mr. Straub said that it did not hurt much. Yet, the businessman confirmed that his legal team was considering the possibility to appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court.
