Judge allows Revel to pursue financing to stay open as it seeks buyer

Revel warns employees they'll lose jobs if buyer not found. “Oh, God, I don’t even want to think of that,” said Frank Catania, a gaming consultant and former director of the N.J. Division of Gaming Enforcement. “It can’t happen. It just can’t happen.” 

And, he said, it probably won’t. ”I think a sale is going to happen. This is just too magnificent of a place to close,” he said.

He pegged Revel’s chance of finding a buyer at 80-percent. But “if anybody’s going to buy it, they’re going buy it at a bargain-basement price. I don’t see anybody getting anything near what it cost to build,” he said.

The 6.2 million square-foot property cost US$ 2.4 billion to construct. Catania said its current value is “in the US$ 750 million range. I would say that’s the maximum.”

In the near term, Thursday’s bankruptcy filing will keep Revel afloat while its owner, Revel AC, looks for a buyer. The process “puts a moratorium on the payment of certain debt,” said Gary Ehrlich, an attorney and gaming consultant. “It kind of freezes things in place … where the casino can still operate … but certain long-term obligations, big debts and so forth, are put on hold,” he said.

In court filings Thursday the company estimated that Revel’s total liabilities exceed $500 million and that it has more than a 1000 creditors.

Keeping Revel up and running is the best way to preserve the value of Revel’s assets and protect the interests of its creditors, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gloria Burns said Friday, approving an initial plan for Revel to borrow more than US$ 23 million.

Luke Palladino, owner of Luke’s Kitchen and Marketplace, a fast-casual restaurant on Revel’s casino floor, said workers at Revel are on edge. “People are concerned for their jobs and their livelihood and their families,” he said. “We’re hoping there will be purchase and that we get the right operator.”

“We’re hoping for someone with … a national brand that can come in and take advantage of the beautiful building,” he said. Companies like Caesars, Tropicana and Hard Rock “already have a clientele base that will come. They can get people to come to Atlantic City and check out their new digs,” he said. “We’ll have to see how it all shakes out.”