Since before it was even built Atlantic City’s Revel Casino Resort has faced financial problems and now only just over two years after it opened it looks as if the casino resort will close unless the company manages to find a buyer. About 2 700 both full time and part time employees were contacted recently by Revel’s management and told that if a buyer is not found soon that the whole resort could close down as early as the 18th of August 2014 and that workers’ contracts would also have to terminate at this time.
Most Expensive Casino Resort in Atlantic City
Revel’s short history has not been a happy one since it opened in April 2012. It’s financial problems began before construction got under way in 2008 when a lack of finance meant that the scale of the project was reduced. Then two years later construction stopped again and Morgan Stanley holder of 90 per cent of the Revel Entertainment Group that owns the casino resort sold its stake making a loss of 932 million dollars. In order to save the casino resort and the jobs it provided as well as backing up the Atlantic City gambling industry, the state’s governor, Chris Christie announced that the state of New Jersey would invest in the casino resort. At the same time, the Revel entertainment group received backing so Revel’s construction was finally completed. At a cost of 2.4 billion dollars, Revel casino resort is the most expensive casino resort to be built in Atlantic City but now it is valued at only a fraction of that amount.
Major losses
The highest current valuation of the Revel casino resort is of 300 million dollars but other estimates put it as low as 25 million dollars. Revel has never made a profit since it opened and its quarterly results only show losses with the latest for the first quarter of 2014 being 21.7 million dollars. The casino resort with more than1 300 hotel rooms and a casino with over 2 500 slot machines and 120 table games (Blackjack, Craps, Mini Baccarat, Roulette, Let It Ride, Big 6, Three-Card Poker, Four-Card Poker, Fortune-Pai-Gow Poker, Spanish 21) along with restaurants, theatres, retail outlets and entertainment, has had to declare bankruptcy twice. The first time was in February 2013 and the second time was just recently on the 19th of June 2014 although the company has told its employees that it has secured the finance to remain in operation while it deals with its bankruptcy.
This is all happening against a background of low gambling revenue results in Atlantic City for May which are down over 8 per cent compared to last May.
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