The (Second) Revel Sale Is Dead. What Now?

A shuttered Revel in November 2014 (Photo: Dan McQuade)

Revel looks like it’s headed back to the auction block.

Yesterday, a judge terminated Florida developer Glenn Straub’s agreement to purchase the failed casino for $95.4 million. This is the second deal to fail; in December, a deal to Toronto-based Brookfield fell through.

So what now? The Press of Atlantic City says attorneys for both sides are still talking. Revel’s attorney said if Straub “came forward today ready to close, I suspect that we would take his money.”

But Straub tells the Inquirer he’s out, though. “We’re not going to buy it again,” he says. “We have to move on.” A judge ruled Revel can keep Straub’s $10 million deposit, but told it not to spend it yet. Straub’s attorney plans to appeal, while Revel will ask a judge if Revel can start spending the money immediately.

The holdup for both failed deals issues with the costs of Revel’s energy, as well as a lawsuit by Revel’s tenants that held up the sale to Straub.

What happens now? It’s not clear if anyone will make an offer. The Inky flags Richard Meruelo, “part of a family that has made at least two attempts to acquire Atlantic City casinos,” because he attended two Revel sale hearings, but there’s no word of his interest. Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment, which recently obtained a casino license in New Jersey, has said it is only interested in operating a casino at Revel for a new owner.

“There really isn’t a light at the end of that tunnel at the moment,” restructuring expert Ted Gavin told Forbes. For Revel, a third sale looms. And it will never be a university for geniuses.