ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - Atlantic City's mayor said
Wednesday there are six potential buyers for the Revel Casino Hotel, which is
up for sale next month at a bankruptcy auction.
Don Guardian also said his administration has been in talks
with the current owners of the former Atlantic Club casino about selling it to
a new buyer.
It was not immediately clear whether a new buyer would seek
to operate the Atlantic Club as a casino. However, a deed restriction as part
of the sale from Caesars Entertainment to a Florida firm prohibits the building
from being used again as a casino.
The city's Republican mayor spoke at a news conference on a
parking lot in sweltering heat after he had lunch with state Senate President
Steve Sweeney and Sen. James Whelan, a former Atlantic City mayor, about the
possibility of the state allowing a casino to open in the northern New Jersey
Meadowlands.
Guardian acknowledged the city is going through hard times
with its rapidly shrinking casino industry, but sought to emphasize the
positive, even as the Showboat and Trump Plaza prepared to shut down by
September, and Revel could do likewise if a buyer is not found.
"No, I'm not happy that three casinos are
closing," Guardian said. "But I know that behind closed doors there
are a half-dozen companies looking at the opportunity to purchase Revel."
Revel, the city's newest casino, cost $2.4 billion to build.
It opened in April 2012 but has declared bankruptcy twice. A spokeswoman for
Revel as well as its president did not immediately return calls seeking comment
Wednesday.
Guardian also said Showboat has potential buyers, but did
not say how many. He said he did not know of any potential buyers for Trump
Plaza.
The mayor also revealed that the former Atlantic Club Casino
Hotel, which shut down in January, could be sold yet again. Caesars Entertainment
sold the building on May 29 to TJM Properties, which planned to run it as a
non-casino hotel.
"We're meeting with TJM about a potential new buyer for
that property," the mayor said, but would not go into detail.
Richard Stockton College of New Jersey has been seeking to
locate a campus in Atlantic City and there was been speculation the college
might seek a former casino building for such a purpose. But the college said
Wednesday it has not targeted any specific building in the city.
Sherry Amos, a spokeswoman for TJM, had no immediate comment
Wednesday.
Sweeney has said he is open to letting New Jersey voters
decide through a referendum next year whether to amend the state Constitution
and permit casino gambling in locations other than Atlantic City. But
Wednesday, he was vague about what that would entail, promising only that he
would not put forth any bill that does not sufficiently help Atlantic City.
Under proposals being considered by state officials, the
operator of a casino at the Meadowlands race track would be taxed at a much
higher rate than Atlantic City casinos and a certain as-yet unspecified
percentage of that extra revenue would be returned to Atlantic City to help it
deal with the in-state competition.
Sweeney said that whatever the percentage ultimately is, the
money would be Constitutionally dedicated to help Atlantic City and could not
be diverted to the state's general fund.
Source: Philly.com
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