NJ commission to hold key TEN casino license meeting

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission is holding a meeting concerning a petition regarding 500 Broadway LLC on Tuesday. That is the company of developer Glenn Straub, which owns TEN Atlantic City (formerly the Revel casino and resort).

Straub is hoping to open TEN in less than a month, which is a timeline that is questionable at best.

The meeting will try to put to rest whether Straub’s company itself must apply for and receive a casino license from the state, or whether the third party that will actually run the casino for TEN needs to. Straub has contended that he should not be forced to apply for the license, since his company will not actually be running the casino.

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Either way, currently, the state has licensed no one to offer slot machines casino games on the premises

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Even if the problem with the casino license is worked out, there are road blocks to TEN opening at all, on other fronts.

If TEN is going to open as a commercial property without a casino, it still needs health inspections and a mercantile license from the city, said Dale Finch, city director of licensing and inspection.

“I spoke to him recently, and he was extremely cooperative,” Finch said. “He can open the building right now but can’t do business in it.”

Based on the existing hurdles, it seems difficult to believe that TEN will hit the newest opening date of Feb. 20. After all, Straub had promised a reopening last June, but that also never happened.

It seems pretty clear that many of the regulatory hurdles that existed then are still in play. In a best-case scenario, maybe some, or all of the resort’s hotel rooms are open for business, but not some or many of the ancillary amenities.
The smart money would be on the ongoing saga to continue for TEN/Revel in its quest to reopen.