NYC firm ups offer to buy shuttered Revel to $225M

Differing accounts from a prospective buyer of the shuttered Revel casino and its current owner continue to confuse as a New York-based private investment firm has reportedly sweetened its offer by another $5 million.

Keating & Associates LLC are prepared to spend $225 million on the massive boardwalk casino that cost more than $2 billion to build, according to the Press of Atlantic City. The upped offer comes about two months after it was reported the group offered $220 million to Glenn Straub, who acquired the Revel for $82 million after it fell into bankruptcy and rebranded it as TEN.

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Like with the earlier offer, Straub denied receiving the bid from Keating & Associates while also telling the Shore town newspaper he is spending nearly $1 million per month to maintain the property. He has declared a reopening date for TEN several times, only to miss the self-imposed deadlines each time.

He has maintained he will reopen the property despite a refusal to obtain the proper gaming licenses – even as Gov. Chris Christie specifically called out Straub and said it was a must.

Jeffrey Keating, a leader at the New York investment firm, said if the $225 million offer was accepted, the company could use the property and its brand as a "launching point" for expansion.

"We feel that the Revel is a magnificent property that was never positioned the way that it should have been within the marketplace," said Jeffery Keating, Co-Chairman of Keating and Associates, in a statement. "We see it as a brand with global potential and Atlantic City to be an incredible launching point."

The Revel closed in the fall of 2014 with Straub taking ownership several months later. As the property continues to sit empty, other casinos are undergoing redevelopment in Atlantic City. A liquidation sale has concluded for the former Taj Mahal, which will reopen as the new Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The existing Hard Rock cafe recently closed in preparation for the location set to open as part of the casino redevelopment.

While the casino industry continues to rightsize itself in Atlantic City, other industries are seeing some success. A strong schedule of meetings and conventions have contributed to the local economy. It has been a priority of Atlantic City politicians and other New Jersey leaders to diversify the Shore resort's economic structure after the closure of nearly a half dozen casinos beginning in 2014.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal