No More Boxing Show! Revel Casino Goes Broke Again and Will Close September 10
By Robert Brizel, Head RCM Boxing Correspondent
Atlantic City, NJ (August 15th, 2014)– The Atlantic Club Hotel, formerly The Hilton. The Showboat. The Trump Plaza. Three casino resorts soon to be down and out. Now add Revel Casino Resort to the list in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the fourth casualty of the fading casino industry in the famed resort destination. The Revel, site of several world championship boxing bouts, will close its doors for good on September 10, 2014.
The rise of new casinos and casino resorts across the United States, particularly new locations in the Northeastern United States, spelled the demise of Revel. However, Revel lost at least 284 million dollars in the past 20 months in operating expenses and loans. The unique Las Vegas style resort was built without the Atlantic City gambler in mind, and was doomed from the start. However beautiful, Revel was just not meant to be. Its construction costs were nearly a billion dollar loss for initial backer investment bank Morgan Stanley, who sold its majority stake in April 2010 and wrote off the loss, an ominous sign of bad things to come. With the second bankruptcy, Revel had no chance of survival.
The decision by the four casino resorts to close will cost Atlantic City casino hotel workers thousands of jobs. The Revel by itself employed 3,100 workers. To complicate matters worse, the State of New Jersey’s state agency which oversees the multibillion dollar employee pension funds voted late last year to investment 300 million dollars in Chatham Asset Management, the hedge fund which owns 28 percent of the current Revel casino Resort property. If Chatham goes down over the Revel investment disaster, the State of New Jersey’s employee pension fund could take a hit is cannot recover from.
The Revel, which cost 2.4 billion to build, and emerged from bankruptcy protection last year from 1.5 billion dollars in debt burden, has 47 floors and 1,399 rooms, is still on the market for sale in bankruptcy court. The Revel is expected to be sold at some point in the foreseeable future for the bargain basement rate of 200 to 300 million dollars. The state of New Jersey Economic Development authority approved a 261.4 million dollar tax incentive package for The Revel in February 2011 to jumpstart its unfinished construction. The casino never generated a profit, so the anticipated state sales, corporate and hotel tax payments from The Revel the State of New Jersey had banked on never came to pass.
Atlantic City Casino Statistics, News, and Closing Calendar
11 casinos, take of 1.55 billion dollars in casino gambling, first seven months of 2014
11 casinos, take of 73.1 million dollars in internet gambling, first seven months of 2014
11 casinos, July 2014, take of 274 million dollars
11 casinos, July 2013, take of 297.1 million dollars
Internet gambling revenue, 2014, 10 million dollars
Borgata Internet, July 2014 up 3.2 million dollars
Caesar’s Interactive, July 2014 up 2.7 million dollars
Tropicana Interactive, July 2014 up 1.9 million dollars
11 casinos, one year revenue decline of 6.6% * (excludes Atlantic Club)
Worse casino revenue decline, The Revel, one year revenue decline of 36%
Worst casino revenue decline, Trump Plaza, one year revenue decline of 34%
Worse casino revenue decline, The Showboat, one year revenue decline of 19%
Best casino revenue increase, Golden Nugget (formerly Trump Marina), up 40.5%
Best casino revenue increase, The Tropicana, up 19%
Atlantic Club Casino (ACH), formerly The Hilton, closed January 13, 2014.
The Showboat, set to close August 31, 2014.
Revel Casino Resort, set to close September 10, 2014.
Trump Plaza, set to close September 16, 2014.
Atlantic City jobs lost by four casinos closing: nearly 8,000
New Non-Gaming Resort: Claridge Hotel and Celebrity Theatre, sold to TJM Properties Incorporated of Florida (reopened)
New Non-Gaming Resort: Madison Baymont Inn & Suites, Sold to Ratan Hotel Group (reopened)
New Non-Gaming Resort: TRYP by Wyndham, sold to Wyndham Hotel Group (reopened)
New Non-Gaming Resort: Atlantic Club, sold to TJM Properties Incorporated of Florida (not reopened as yet)
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