More misfortune for shuttered Atlantic City casino

The Revel land casino in Atlantic City – launched just two years ago at a cost of $2.4 billion but floored by the decline in Atlantic City fortunes and bad management decisions – is going back on the market following the withdrawal of an auction offer of just $110 million from a Canadian company.

Brookfield Asset Management took just over a month to decide that its bid for Revel was not such a good idea after all and announce its withdrawal this week. The Canadians had earlier disclosed plans to give the shuttered Revel a $200 million makeover, which is now off the table.

A Brookfield spokesman told local media that the company has been unable to come to an accord with creditors who are holding $118.4 million of Revel debt associated with power supplies, killing the viability of the deal.

All is not yet lost, however; Florida developer Glenn Straub has indicated he may still be interested in Revel, and he is clearly a determined man, having launched an appeal against the award of the bid to Brookfield.

Straub was one of the bidders at the Revel auction, offering $95.4 million, but subsequently revealing that he had been prepared to go to $134 million. Despite this, the deal was awarded to Brookfield.

Even at that price the Revel has to be a tempting development prospect, given its age, spectacular position and appealing design.

Development experts have described Revel as one of the most magnificent structures built on the East Coast in the last decade, with commercial, residential, retail and entertainment potential.

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