Mere hours ago, it was announced that the new owner of the shuttered Atlantic City-based Revel Casino is Florida developer Glenn Straub. Mr. Straub acquired the property for a sum considerably smaller than the amount spent on Revel’s construction.
Back in 2012, developers invested as much as $2.4 billion into establishing a luxurious casino that would offer world class gambling facilities. In comparison, Glenn Straub is to pay the modest amount of $82 million, which means that he pays 4 cents for every dollar spent on the construction.
Judge Gloria Burns approved the sale during the court hearing held yesterday. However, the issue with the Revel tenants remains unsolved. It is still uncertain if they will be allowed to operate when the property is reopened.
The judge said that this matter should be privately discussed and the affected parties have to reach an agreement outside the court.
The sale became possible after Mr. Straub dropped his demand for “free and clear of encumbrances” property.
The acquisition was approved regardless of the intention of real estate developers to outbid the $82 million proposed by Straub. Casino owners announced that a deal between them and Carl Goldberg and Howard Milstein could not be reached due to disagreements over the power company that supplies Revel.
That is the second occasion when a sale fails because of the aforementioned reason. Back in 2014, Brookfield Asset Management walked out of the deal, too.
Stuart Moskovitz, the attorney of Mr. Straub, commented on the acquisition and said that the setbacks that have befallen Revel’s sale postponed the start of the renovating process that would have helped the struggling economy to be diversified. Instead, Atlantic City officials have been “waiting for Godot” for quite some time.
In conclusion, Mr. Moskovitz said that the plan Glenn Straub has for the property has to be put into action as soon as possible.
Right after the court hearing, the Florida developer announced that he was going to purchase several operating or closed casinos in Atlantic City but he was reluctant to reveal more details before Saturday. Yet, he hinted that he has already acquired them. He also announced that the Revel sale is expected to be finalized today.
As for the utilization of the property, Mr. Straub proposed Revel to be transformed into a genius academy, a water park, a hotel or a casino and communities are getting impatient to know which of the projects will be materialized.
