Colorado developer has big plans for controversial building
After weeks of denying that he had sold the originally $2.4 billion Atlantic City building, Revel Casino owner and Florida property developer Glenn Straub finally confirmed Monday that he had accepted an offer of $200 million on the asset from Colorado developer Bruce Deifik’s AC Ocean Walk company.
Opened to great fanfare in 2012, the magnificent Revel was soon in financial straits which led to acrimonious bankruptcy. After a few false starts by liquidators in trying to sell off the property and some tough horse trading Straub finally acquired the premises for a fire-sale $82 million in 2015 (see previous InfoPowa reports) but became almost immediately enmeshed in casino licensing regulatory arguments with the New Jersey authorities whilst the building stood unimproved.
Confirming the sale to the Associated Press news agency, Straub hinted at these aggravations, saying that he had issues with what he called the “anti-business” attitude of the regulatory authorities.
Deifik was understandably in a more upbeat frame of mind, revealing that he intends to reopen Revel this summer as the Ocean Resort Casino following a $175 million renovation.
Deifik opined Monday that the Revel prior failures were probably due to a lack of understanding of the appropriate customer base for the Revel’s location and purpose. He and his team had thoroughly studied the project and had planned accordingly, he revealed, hinting that there would “something for everyone” in the new project.
That apparently will include (subject to the US Supreme Court’s findings in the New Jersey sports betting case) sports book activity.