Author: Casino Connection Staff

The saga of Atlantic City’s failed Revel casino continues to evolve. As Casino Connection reported in August, a deal allegedly had been struck to sell the casino to a private investment firm. That firm was identified last week, New York’s Keating & Associates, as well as an updated price tag of $225 million. The original offer was reportedly $220 million.

But that is apparently not good enough for mercurial owner Glenn Straub. Straub has sued the state of New Jersey for not allowing a casino to open at the property, which he has renamed TEN. The Florida developer continues to insists that he does not need a casino operators license because he is leasing the casino space to an outside operator, even though all other owners of casino buildings or leased land in Atlantic City have been required to be licensed, and the regulations clearly state that requirement.

Straub, who bought Revel for $82 million in 2015, has repeatedly said it would reopen—even as a non-casino hotel—but all his deadlines have passed without success. Now, he’s even denying that an offer was made, despite the fact that Keating has issued a statement that contends not only has it been made but has been accepted.

“We feel that the Revel is a magnificent property that was never positioned the way that it should have been within the marketplace,” said Jeffery Keating, co-chairman of Keating and Associates, in a statement reported by the Atlantic City Press. “We see it as a brand with global potential and Atlantic City to be an incredible launching point.”

Straub “angrily” denied any offer has been made, according to the newspaper.

“I haven’t heard of any offer,” Straub said Thursday. “It’s costing me a $1 million a month to keep this place.”

Keating & Associates has a history of investing in Atlantic City, as well as other hospitality ventures, and sees tremendous value in Revel.

“Our plan is to develop one of the world’s top experiential destinations and to allow someone to truly revel in their experience; to enjoy life with passion and exuberance,” Keating said. “We are excited for the coming future and the partners, brands and opportunities we will bring to this property and Atlantic City as a whole.”

Sources tell GGB News (Casino Connections parent company) that former Sands Bethlehem President Mark Juliano has been hired by Keating to run the property and has been seen frequently at Revel towards the end of the summer. Other activity indicates that preparations are being made for some kind of opening. Juliano has vast experience in Atlantic City and has led Caesars Atlantic City and Trump Entertainment in the past.

The American Gaming Association has joined with 20 states in filing briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of New Jersey’s attempts to offer sports betting in the state.

New Jersey has made several appeals as courts have repeatedly struck down its attempts to overthrow the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which bans sports betting in all but four states. New Jersey’s latest attempt seeks to decriminalize sports betting by allowing unregulated sports betting at casinos and racetracks.

The move was struck down in federal court and at the federal appeals level, but the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case this fall.

Two separate amicus brief filings were made to the court—one by the association and one by a group of states led by West Virginia and its attorney general, Patrick Morrissey. The briefs ask the court to strike down PASPA.

Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the AGA, said the brief filed by the group of states shows that the move to offer legalized sports betting is growing in the country.

“State legislatures are beginning to hear the message,” he said in a press release. “Currently, 14 states have already introduced sports betting bills or resolutions in anticipation of legal sports betting that could be coming soon. Eighteen other states have joined West Virginia in filing a separate amicus brief to the Supreme Court. We’re thrilled to see these 18 states join West Virginia, and we think that will go a long way with the court,” he continued.

The number of state attorneys general or governors signing onto the brief has now grown to 20.

Freeman said the states involved represent a diverse sample of the country and includes states that both have and don’t have casino gambling.

Among those are Utah, which currently does not allow casino gambling in any form. Analysts say the state’s move is made in an attempt to protect state’s rights in deciding gambling and other regulatory issues. In previous cases, New Jersey has argued that PASPA infringes on its right to regulate gambling within its own borders.

Lisa Soronen, executive director of the State and Local Legal Center, which helped prepare the West Virginia brief, told CDCgamingreport.com that it is common for states to join Supreme Court cases dealing with Congress commandeering state’s rights.

“Even if a case like this doesn’t seem that relevant to a particular state, the commandeering concept of the federal government coming in and telling states how to have their laws is something that every state cares about deeply,” she explained. “And even if a case doesn’t affect you today, the issue could affect you tomorrow.”

Soronen said the West Virginia brief does mention sports betting, but focuses more on issues of federalism and states’ rights.

“We focus a good deal of time in the brief on problems associated with the federal government passing any sort of law in any of context that could freeze state law in time,” she said according to the report. “If the Supreme Court approves PASPA’s process—which effectively forces states to freeze their gambling laws in time—then the federal government can go on and do this in other contexts.”

The AGA’s brief also adds the argument that the federal ban is simply fueling an illegal sports betting market valued at $15 billion.

“Regulation of sports betting needs to be accomplished in a sensible manner that promotes, rather than thwarts, the strictures and principles of federalism,” the brief states. “PASPA has thus had the perverse effect of pushing an enormous market underground by way of federal decree while stamping out state and local efforts to adapt their own laws pursuant to their own citizens’ wishes.”

The state supporting the West Virginia brief are: Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wyoming and West Virginia plus the governors of Kentucky and Maryland.

Meanwhile, hoping to mollify tribes who believe that tribes, not states, should be in the driver’s seat when it comes to legalizing sports betting, the AGA has watered down states’ rights arguments in its website advocating repeal of the federal ban on sports wagering, reports Dave Palermo for InsideSportsReport.com.

While largely diluting the states’ rights aspect of repealing the ban, the website has beefed up the Indian sovereignty aspect.

It now reads: “Advocate for repealing the failed federal sports betting ban and granting states and tribal sovereign governments the ability to determine how to address sports betting.” The section that describes who makes up the coalition that seeks legalization has also been edited to say that it includes “tribal sovereign governments.”

One section that was deleted had listed as a goal: “Defer to states regarding the desirability of regulating sports betting as all forms of casino wagering.” For tribes that operate under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) such a statement is like waving a red flag in front of a bull.

The changes came after several gaming tribes, including nine members of the AGA, criticized the website.

Legal Sports Report quoted Robert Martin, chairman of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, which belongs to AGA: “I think the AGA will confer more closely with member tribes.”

Many gaming tribes were initially critical of the decision of nine of the larger gaming tribes to join the AGA’s coalition seeking repeal. As Legal Sports Report wrote: “Sources said NIGA board members had not seen the AGA website when they voted to join the group. ‘They’re (AGA) clearly promoting legalization of sports betting and they want to turn it over to the states,’ a high-ranking tribal official who requested anonymity said of the original website language.”

National Indian Gaming Association Chairman Ernie Stevens has stated several times that his group joined the coalition to monitor its activities, not to actively work towards lifting the ban.

Some tribes support tribes operating sports wagering even in states that choose not to legalize it, should the federal ban be lifted.

Many tribes are leery of the effects that sports betting legalization would have on existing tribal state gaming compacts, which often give tribes a monopoly on gaming in exchange for agreement to pay taxes on the profits. Twenty-eight states have Indian gaming.

Meanwhile a bill authored by Rep. Frank Pallone that would make tribes and states co-equals in sports betting jurisdiction is being distributed, but has not yet been introduced. It spells out that the status sports betting would not interfere with existing tribal state gaming compacts or impact IGRA.

Kevin Ortzman has been with Caesars Entertainment for 13 years. He joined Caesars Atlantic City and Bally’s Atlantic City in 2012 as president and in July was named regional president of all the Caesars Entertainment casinos in Atlantic City, including Harrah’s Resort. One Caesars’ casino closed in 2014, Showboat, but the other three properties remain open and strong players in the market.

Ortzman spoke with Global Gaming Business Publisher Roger Gros at his offices in Atlantic City in July. Included in this interview are recently appointed Harrah’s Resorts General Manager Karie Hall and Atlantic City spokeswoman Noel Stevenson.

The Hard Rock Café was the last vestige of the former Trump Taj Mahal casino to stay open, but it will now close temporarily as Hard Rock international—the casino’s new owner—refurbishes the property.

Officials said the café will close September 30 and construction will then begin on a new café at the property. The new restaurant will employ 100 people, up from the current 55, officials said.

Hard Rock bought the shuttered casino, which now-President Donald Trump opened in 1990, from billionaire investor Carl Icahn. A liquidation sale of furniture and other amenities from the closed hotel and casino concluded in early September.

For now Hard Rock Café is offering 70% off in the Rock Shop—T-shirts, mugs, etc.—while supplies last, and free valet parking. There will also be 3 last live rock shows before it reopens:

Friday, September 15 – Camille Peruto
Friday, September 22 – Ken Shiles & CiBon
Friday, September 29 – Good Look Sigourney

In another Atlantic City announcement, Dusk nightclub at Caesars Atlantic City is closing. The club was independently owned and operated for eight years. Details of why the club is closing were not released.

The news comes two weeks after it was announced that another Atlantic City nightclub—the independently owned Providence at the Quarter at Tropicana—was also closing. Owners of that club say they plan to re-open at a new location.

Atlantic City is spinning the wheel again on its 143-acre closed municipal airport hoping to bring a major attraction to the site.

The city’s latest request for proposal process for the tract brought four proposals.

One was made by Frank Boulton, the former owner of the independent minor-league Atlantic League’s Atlantic City Surf baseball team. The Surf played in a minor league stadium dubbed the Sandcastle at the site before the team folded in 2009.

Boulton says he wants to return baseball to the site and that the stadium is being underutilized.

“My goal is to assist in returning professional baseball to Atlantic City,” he told the Press of Atlantic City. “It’s an asset that’s being underused.”

Boulton told the paper that has visited the site on several occasions and met with city officials to discuss returning minor league baseball to the city. Boulton said he has had interest from potential buyers of teams that would consider locating in the resort.

Another proposal was submitted by Glenn Straub, owner of the former Revel casino, under the company name Atlantic Adventures LLC. The plan would turn the field back into an airport.

In 2015 Straub floated a similar plan for the site saying he wants to use the site for “business aviation” and “aviation entertainment,” according to the Press.

“We want to ask FAA to reopen a portion of the runway,” Straub said. “This town needs more people flying into it from places like Boston and Youngstown.”

The two other proposals were submitted by Pipe Dream Development Group, located in Brick, Ocean County, and Bader Field Development LLC, based in Long Branch, Monmouth County, according to city documents, but details were not available.

In a similar story, Atlantic City’s City Council is scheduled to approve a development plan for the city’s maritime park Gardner’s Basin September 6. The proposed plan by developer Scarborough Properties, includes the company trying to buy adjacent waterfront land, which is now owned by President Donald Trump’s son in-law’s family business, Kushner Companies.

According to the Press, Scarborough outlined its plans for the site in October to renovate and update the area. The plan includes buying the adjacent property from Kushner Companies.

The proposal includes a letter from Kushner Companies to Scarborough saying the real estate company would be willing to sell the adjacent property if a “reasonable offer” was made.

The New York City-headquartered company formerly run by Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has owned the plot of land next to Gardner’s Basin since 2004, the Press reported.

Scarborough’s proposal includes enhancements to existing Gardner’s Basin attractions and would also include adding attractions such as a children’s garden, a mini-golf course, a water taxi and development with retail, restaurants and parking along Caspian Point, according to the Press.