Revel Casino Bought by AC OCEAN WALK for $200M

The Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City has just been bought for $200 million by Colorado developer Bruce Deifik and his consortium investment group called AC OCEAN WALK. The venue is now expected to be reopened as the Ocean Resort Casino this summer, also leading to the creation of 2,500 new jobs for the east coast gambling resort.
The huge property originally cost $2.4 billion to complete and at the time of its opening in 2012 was touted as a cure for the economic woes that had been afflicting New Jersey’s gambling industry for a number of years. Unfortunately, it proved to be a white elephant, instead, and subsequently closed down in 2014, only to be purchased in 2015 by Glen Straub’s Polo North Country Club for $82 million.
Despite his best efforts, however, the property has remained shut ever since, with Straub also having to deal with a number of disputes associated with the owning the building, including from its energy supplier ACR, the local council, as well as from health and safety, and the fire department.
In 2016, Atlantic City saw its revenue increase by 1.5% to $2.6 billion, representing its first annual growth for a decade. In the meantime, some of the resort’s shuttered casinos have now started to enjoy better prospects, including the former Trump Taj Mahal Casino which is currently being developed by the Hard Rock International brand. Commenting upon Revel’s acquisition by AC OCEAN WALK, Deifik said:
“We are incredibly excited that we were able to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire this tremendous property at a time when Atlantic City is seeing great economic strides. Now the city has a number of exciting new projects with our property and the Hard Rock, as well as Stockton University’s new campus and the expansion of the medical center.”
For his part, Straub said that he originally intended to keep the property but was ultimately forced to sell it due to the “anti-business climate” which existed in New Jersey. He also expressed his hope that the newly elected governor would pursue a more positive course than his predecessor, before adding that he still remained committed to the resort.
Needless to say, Revel’s sale was taken as a good sign by Mayor Frank Gilliam, who stated: “It’s like having Christmas in January. This is a sign to the market that Atlantic City is well on her way back the prominence that she once had.”