Revel Casino Closure a Cautionary Tale for Florida

Once called a “game changer”, and “just the tonic Atlantic City needs”, the Revel Casino will close it’s doors next month after a buyer could not be found in bankruptcy auction proceedings. This closure means almost 3,200 local jobs will be lost and the economy of Atlantic City will continue to decline.

The tragic saga of the Revel should serve as a cautionary tale for Florida. The Revel was opened in 2012, the first new Atlantic City casino in 9 years. It was billed as a “destination resort” that would include “luxurious amenities” aside from gambling (read more here). After construction was halted, the state of New Jersey gave the Revel a $260 million taxpayer-funded bailout to keep it it afloat. In 2013, a little more than a year after opening, the “resort” filed for bankruptcy. After this bankruptcy, owners focused on the real reason for the construction of the property in the first place, the casino, with a “Gamblers Wanted” ad campaign. 

“This fiasco shows that these so-called ‘destination resorts’ are just a smoke screen to build a casino, and the promises of the gambling industry cannot be trusted,” said John Sowinski of No Casinos. “The ‘destination resort concept’ was supposed to be the economic boon that Atlantic City needed to hep their economy, and now they can’t sell their bankrupt casino on Craigslist. Florida does not have to fall victim to the same empty promises.”

Read the full story here


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Atlantic City’s Revel Casinos To Close In September

By Wayne Parry
Aug. 12, 2014
The Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City’s newest casino is shutting its doors just over two years after opening amid high hopes of turning around the crumbling seaside resort’s gambling market.

Revel Casino Hotel will shut down next month after failing to find a buyer in bankruptcy court, company officials announced Tuesday

The company said the $2.4 billion casino will close its doors on Sept. 10. It has never turned a profit.