[toc]The former Revel Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City — aka TEN AC for a brief time — is officially sold and will reopen this year under a new name: Ocean Resort Casino.
Here’s what we know so far about the old/new resort coming to AC.
Here comes Ocean Resort Casino, the former Revel
Most of what we know about the former Revel — now Ocean Resort — comes from a press release from the purchasing company. The former owner — Glenn Straub — did finally confirm that the sale was happening, despite months of denying it.
The purchasing company — AC Ocean Walk — bought the shuttered resort for $200 million. Straub bought the company out of bankruptcy for less than half that in 2015. The casino had been open only briefly before that after being built for a price tag of more than $2 billion. The resort plans to employ more than 2,500 people.
“We are incredibly excited that we were able to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire this tremendous property at a time when Atlantic City is seeing great economic strides. Now the city has a number of exciting new projects with our property and the Hard Rock, as well as Stockton University’s new campus and the expansion of the medical center,” said Bruce Deifik, chairman of AC Ocean Walk, told the Press of Atlantic City.
When will Ocean Resort open?
The company said it plans to reopen the resort in “summer 2018.”
That’s obviously a large swath of time. Earlier reports had a possible opening in May, but that’s an aggressive timeline based on how much the new owners are planning to do to get the resort up and running. Investor documents earlier showed plans for $175 million dedicated to changes and improvements.
While May is possible, June or July might be more likely. There’s definitely going to be a race between Ocean Resort and Hard Rock — which is renovating the former Trump Taj Mahal — to be the first to reopen.
Will you be able to gamble at Ocean Resort?
Seeing as “casino” is in its name, that seems to be a given. When Straub was trying to reopen Revel, it was not clear gambling would take place.
But Ocean Resort will have 138,000 square feet of gaming space, according to new ownership. There will be 100 table games and 2,200 slot machines.
There are also plans already afoot for opening a sportsbook, as well, which would happen if New Jersey wins its US Supreme Court case to have legal sports betting.
So, yes, you’re definitely going to be able to gamble there.
Will Ocean Resort have online gambling?
There’s no word on whether Ocean Resort will join the NJ online gambling industry. But it seems like a safe bet eventually.
Even though it would be a late entrant to the market — online gambling has been around since 2013 in the state — there’s no reason why the new casino couldn’t get involved now. The market has continued to expand in recent years, and new brands and approaches to the online casino and poker space have succeeded.
It’s possible the online casino market is nearing saturation, but Ocean Resort could certainly get a piece of the pie. It’s even possible an online casino could come before the physical casino, based on how quickly the new owners appear to be moving.
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What else will Ocean Resort have?
Here are some of the other numbers on Ocean Resort:
- 1,399 rooms
- 165,000 square feet in meeting and convention space
- 5,700-seat concert hall with space for potential future expansion
- 7,700 parking spaces
Also from the owner:
“It is our mission and vision to fully serve the customer base of Atlantic City. In that regard, we are working to bring back some of the restaurants that were successful at the property and we have worked diligently to create some specialized new venues including a top Asian noodle bar and a high end players club. Our investment in this property will make certain there is something for everyone at the Ocean,” Deifik said.
Image credit: Jon Bilous / Shutterstock.com