Revel
A Florida developer purchased the former Revel Casino Hotel today for $82 million.
(Mel Evans/AP)
A judge on Monday formally approved the sale of the former Revel Casino Hotel that cost $2.4 billion to build for pennies on the dollar after a contentious months-long effort to unload the bankrupt Atlantic City boardwalk property.
Florida developer Glenn Straub's company, Polo North Country Club, has agreed to buy the shuttered casino for $82 million. Straub's attorney, Stuart Moskovitz, said they have until Tuesday to close on the sale but the deal could be finalized later Monday.
Though other potential buyers had recently expressed interest in the property, attorneys for Revel said at a court hearing last week that Polo North was still the only party with money on the table. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gloria M. Burns said on Thursday she would approve the deal. Burns entered the sale order on Monday morning.
Questions remain, however, about what will happen with former tenants of the property and the casino's power supplier, which have put up roadblocks to finalizing previous sales.
Moskovitz said it was unclear exactly when the property, which closed last September after twice filing for bankruptcy, would be reopened.
"It's hard to say because there are so many balls in the air," he said. "This is part of a major project."
Moskovitz was referring to $500 million in investments in the Atlantic City area included in Polo North's "Phoenix Project." The details of that project were announced last week.
Part of the project includes the purchase of Showboat for $26 million if Stockton University cannot resolve a dispute with Trump Entertainment. The university said it aimed to open an island campus in the Showboat but a 1988 covenant was being used to stymie those plans.
A joint release from Stockton and Polo North last week said the "Phoenix Project" also includes the redevelopment of Bader Field, an extreme sports complex, an equestrian complex, waterparks and marinas able to host "super yachts," among other amenities.
Erin O'Neill may be reached at eoneill@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LedgerErin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.