[toc]The problems with reopening TEN Atlantic City — both as simply a resort or as a casino in New Jersey — have been well documented.
But that’s not stopping the property from getting into the social casino business.
TEN AC’s social casino launches
The Atlantic City resort formerly known as Revel just launched a social casino site. For those not familiar, that’s an online casino where you can gamble, but not with real money. You can check it out here.
The new platform from TEN is the first thing of substance to come out of the shuttered resort, even though the casino is “virtual.” The social casino is powered by GAN, which provides the Betfair (now FanDuel) online casino. Betfair operates with real money.
The offering from TEN is a good-looking product on launch, with dozen of slot machines as well as table games on offer, including blackjack and roulette.
Does this mean TEN AC has designs on real-money online gambling?
Of course, the physical TEN is not even close to opening. It has missed several launch dates as owner Glenn Straub consistently battles with state and local officials.
Until Straub and TEN get a real casino license, however, it would seem unlikely that an online casino is in the offing. TEN AC still has issues with its land-use certificate to even open as a hotel.
To date, Straub has argued vehemently with the New Jersey Casino Control Commission that he does not need to have a gaming license. Instead, he insists, the third-party vendor that will operate the casino for him should need to get the license. To date, regulators have disagreed.
Since GAN is already an active player in the real-money market in NJ online gambling, it stands to reason that TEN could be getting ready for an online gambling launch in the future. But guessing at Straub’s intentions during the Revel/TEN saga is a difficult game at best.
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Still, TEN could open in 2017
The resort still has designs on reopening its doors for the first time since 2014, when the $2 billion Revel closed. From TEN’s social casino website:
Atlantic City’s finest property TEN opens later this year. Keep checking here for exciting new promotional offers, designed to let you experience TEN’s free-to-play Online Casino and to help you prepare for TEN’s opening.
The resort’s website also promises a 2017 launch, even though it missed a February soft launch date already.
It’s certainly possible TEN is trying to activate customers in advance of a hoped-for launch down the road. And if that happens — along with a casino license — expect TEN to attempt to get into the lucrative business of NJ online casinos.