Atlantic City Revel Casino, which was supposed to close doors on February 7th and be eventually acquired by Glenn Straub, faced new setbacks.
The current owners of the shuttered casino announced that they would cancel the deal on Tuesday morning.
Glenn Straub was about to acquire the venue for the sum of $95.4 million and the deadline for the sale to close was 12:01 a.m.
However, the attorney of Revel commented on the matter and said that early today a request related to the deal cancellation will be filled and submitted to the court. Michael Viscount made that announcement mere minutes after the deadline was passed.
The deal cancellation has been the second one in the last couple of months. Initially, Brookfield Asset Management was to take the reigns of Revel but the Canadian company walked out of the deal to make way for Glenn Straub who was a runner-up in the auction, to acquire the property.
Viscount said that Revel officials have to think about an alternative option since they are really pressed for time.
The soon-to-be-owner Glenn Straub requested the court to extend the sale deadline until the end of the month and tomorrow morning, the court will have its final say on the matter.
Stuart Moskovitz, who is in charge of Straub’s legal affairs, said that Revel officials are allowed neither to keep Straub’s deposit nor to terminate the deal.
Moskovitz added that it was not financially beneficial to Revel to cancel the deal because such a move will by all means result in significant losses and Revel might never be able to make up for these losses.
Viscount also said that Straub’s deposit totaling $10 million would definitely help the struggling property.
People with knowledge on the matter reminded that Revel kept the deposit, given by Brookfield, when the deal was terminated.
Judge Jerome Simandle did not give his consent to the deal completion unless Revel’s tenants claims are taken into consideration.
Judge Simandle allowed the restaurants and nightclubs to stay within the property, which made it impossible for Straub to close the deal.
Everything was expected to go smooth but last Friday, things went wrong when Revel’s tenants were given permission to stay within the premises.
During yesterday’s court hearing, the judge said that despite the current situation, the deal could be closed. However, Straub strongly disagreed with that statement.
Last month, the Florida developer announced his plans for turning the former casino into a water park, hotel and condominiums but probably the most eccentric proposal was establishing a high-speed ferry service connecting his newly acquired property with New York City.
