The management team for the former Revel Casino in Atlantic City announced today they would be rebranding the property, “TEN”. ?The group has signed a 25-year lease, contingent upon a gaming license, and hopes to open the property by March 2017, according?to the resort property’s new website, tenacnj.com.
A press release noted;?“The number ten depicts the highest standard of achievement and is widely recognized as the benchmark of quality and excellence. The TEN brand appropriately reflects its idyllic beachfront setting and complete guest experience as Atlantic City’s flagship property.
“The TEN experience offers unrivaled elegance and affordable luxury for all that includes world-class rooms and suites, spas, pools, nightlife and day club escapes, gourmet dining, retail, a-list entertainment and gaming.”
The release comes a day before?Florida real estate developer and Revel owner Glenn Straub?is set to appear before the N.J. Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to try again to get site approval – a procedure needed since areas of the property including a valet area and the former porte cochere were repurposed for a ropes course.
The management group, which will reportedly run the casino, hotel, and several restaurants, ?includes?Alan Greenstein, the former Chief Financial Officer of Revel and?Robert Landino CEO of Centerplan Companies. Greenstein is quoted in the release as saying,?“I am keenly aware of what systems and strategic business processes are needed to make TEN a success internally and externally. I know what works and what did not, and would not have returned if not for TEN’s strong forecasted financial model and all-star executive team.” He added,?“It is the most spectacular resort that I have seen in my career and I am determined to make it a success,” stated Greenstein.
The $2.4 billion Revel closed in 2014 after just over two years of operations. Straub shouldered his way through several suitors and was able to secure the property for $82 million, but has yet to find the key to opening the property’s doors again as quickly as he would have liked too. One of the drags on the original development was a power plant, purpose-built for the property, that he was able to finally purchase outright for another $30 million.
The property is now wholly owned and “debt-free,” according?to?Greenstein as quoted by Philly.com.
Three other Atlantic City casino properties closed in 2014, even though some of them seemed to be on the mend from the recession. Revel simply couldn’t get out of the red and into the black due to heavy debt load, and what some perceived as marketing mistakes by the former management. Opening as an exclusive high-end resort and eschewing the local trade, before closing they reversed focus in any attempt to win foot-fall but were unable to recover from bankruptcy.? Trump Taj Mahal is scheduled to close Oct. 10. Showboat has reopened without a casino.
Several of the eateries and nightclubs, including HQ, were successful under the Revel banner, and many have expressed interest in returning once Staub secures an occupancy permit.
The?Casino Reinvestment Development Authority’s full board is scheduled to consider Straub’s application for the land use, which if approved would give him an occupancy permit. With that in hand, his next hurdle will be to garner a gaming license.