Judge allows Revel sale to proceed despite challenges from nightclub, restaurant operators

A federal judge Wednesday allowed the sale of the shuttered Revel Casino Hotel to a Florida developer to continue, rejecting a challenge from tenants of the Atlantic City property that said they would lose their investment if the deal goes through as planned.Ruling against Revel’s former nightclub operator, a restaurant and other tenants, U.S. District Court Judge Jerome Simandle denied their motion to halt the sale process. That puts the property on track for a Feb. 7 closing date with developer Glenn Straub, who reportedly threatened to walk away from the $95.4 million deal if the court ruled against him.

But it never got to that point. In a 50-page ruling Wednesday, Simandle concluded that “the entry of a stay would detrimentally impact other parties — notably the debtor and its other creditors involved in this litigation.”

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The appellants included nightclub operator IDEA Boardwalk LLC, the operator of the American Cut steakhouse, Revel’s energy provider ACR Energy Partners LLC and gaming vendor International Game Technology. The judge’s ruling indicated there would be an appeal.

It’s the latest twist in the tortured history of the 3-year-old casino, which cost $2.4 billion to build but failed to ever turn a profit. Despite hopes that it would revitalize Atlantic City with a new upscale offering, Revel closed Sept. 2 after its owners filed for bankruptcy for the second time in as many years.

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Simandle’s ruling came less than two weeks after a federal bankruptcy judge approved the sale to Straub, who heads Florida-based Polo North Country Club Inc. He later said his vision for Revel included $108 million, family-friendly complex anchored by a water park.

Straub won the property after Brookfield Asset Management — a Canadian firm that owns the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas — bid $110 million for Revel in a bankruptcy auction but then backed out when the deal fell apart. The developer was the original “stalking horse” bidder in September after Revel filed for the bankruptcy.

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