Casino Expert: Sandy Should Have Hit Revel, Not Seaside
A casino industry expert is coming out swinging, and his target is Atlantic City's billion dollar blunder, a.k.a. the Revel Casino Hotel.
According to a report from philly.com, chief executive of Gaming USA Corp., Alan R. Woinski says there is very little to be enthusiastic about in regards to Revel's latest round of bankruptcy filing.
Woinski makes several powerful points that show just why Revel may go down as Atlantic City's costliest mistake ever. The article notes:
- "Even if Revel Casino Hotel, which started its second trip through Chapter 11 on Thursday, is virtually given away in a bankruptcy auction, a new owner might have to spend $150 million to fix fatal flaws in its design..."
- "When Revel opened in 2012, it added slot machines and gambling tables to the Atlantic City market without expanding the market itself. Instead, Revel siphoned gamblers from other local casinos, jeopardizing jobs throughout the city's casino industry."
Woinski believes knocking it down and redoing would be the only viable option, even suggesting that SuperStorm Sandy should have taken Revel into the ocean and not the Seaside Ferris Wheel.
a new owner might have to spend $150 million to fix fatal flaws in its design
The article also details serious design flaws with the building and notes that the shear amount of open space means the cost to keep it cool or warm is just exorbitant.
Saverio R. Scheri III, president and chief executive of WhiteSand Gaming L.L.C., a consulting firm with offices in Atlantic City, says gutting Revel wouldn't be worth it either. "You'll never make that money back," Scheri said. "If somebody picks that property up at $100 million, which is like a nickel on the dollar, that's not a bad deal. You could make money, if you're smart."
Another industry expert is cited in the article saying Revel could fetch as little as $50 million to $60 million in an auction.
Either way, it is bad news for Revel and for Atlantic City. Thousands of jobs remain up in the air and millions in revenue to the city could just vanish.