Atlantic City’s former Revel casino endured another heavy blow as a New Jersey Supreme Court Judge placed last week a lien on the property for failing to make due payments to the state Casino Reinvestment Development Authority’s Special Improvement District back in 2015.
The shuttered casino resort’s owners had to pay the amount of $62,641 that year. The court ruling did not encompass unpaid fees for 2016 and 2017.
Revel was launched in 2012, but its original owners decided to close the property after two years of operations that never proved to be profitable ones. Florida real estate developer Glenn Straub and his company Polo North Country Club Inc. bought the shuttered resort for the total amount of $82 million. Revel’s construction cost $2.4 billion.
Mr. Straub has not commented on the recently placed lien yet. Chris Howard, Executive Director of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, noted that it had been their intention to resolve the matter “amicably”, but Polo North had refused to pay the due SID Assessment. This is why they were forced to bring the issue to court.
This has not been the first time when the former Revel, which is planned to be relaunched as the TEN hotel and casino complex, has found itself in a big trouble since purchased by Mr. Straub. The property has missed several self-imposed deadlines to resume operations as part of Atlantic City’s gambling casino space. Delays of different nature have obstructed the resort’s reopening for the past two years, the most prominent of which was Mr. Straub’s continued refusal to obtain a gaming license.
When the Florida businessman expressed interest to relaunch the shuttered property, including its casino floor, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission ordered him to apply for a casino license from the authority. Mr. Straub contested that order, arguing that he did not need such a license as his business would not run the casino portion of the complex. Under the real estate developer’s plan, the casino floor would be leased to a third party and it is that third party that would need to make the necessary application with the gambling regulator.
Revel, or TEN, was expected to be reopened today June 15. However, the lack of a gaming license resulted in yet another missed deadline. Under a previously self-put deadline, the casino resort was to swing doors open precisely a year ago.
Mr. Straub has been openly criticized by New Jersey officials about his continued failure to relaunch the venue. Some have even suggested that he sell it to an interested buyer. Replying to those suggestions, the businessman has said that he could sell the venue in case he was offered an adequate price for it.
