Glenn Straub Finally Owner of AC Revel

Atlantic City Revel Casino Hotel was finally sold to Glenn Straub on Tuesday for $82m. Last week, the new owner revealed his plan to invest about $500m in Atlantic City in order to save it.

After tortuous and complicated sale process a deal was finally closed on Tuesday, shortly after noon. A south Florida investor bought Revel, which cost about $2 billion to build, for $82 million. Stuart Moskovitz Straub's legal representative said he's always believed that they will close the deal and that Straub would eventually take over the ownership.

Hours after purchasing the property, Glenn Straub visited Revel with 1,800 rooms at his disposal. Straub plans to hire 6,000 people and add an indoor-outdoor water park. His plans for the Revel also include a hotel, a scaled-down casino and a health-themed spa.

His half-a-billion dollar “Phoenix Project” to revitalize Atlantic City as a whole is starting to take a shape. Straub has also mentioned that he wants to redevelop the Bader Field airport by restoring at least a part of its functions and services His main goal is to transform the city by offering attractions that would bring back gamblers, families and even retirees to Atlantic City.

Glenn has also announced that he will buy Showboat casino but only if Stockton University gives up on their plans to build a university campus on the property. He said that he would buy the property for $26 million and Stockton has 90 days to overcome legal challenge posed by the Trump Entertainment Resorts, trying to block opening of the campus. Stockton has already announced that if they don’t resolve current problems, they will sell the property because they can’t afford to keep an empty building.

Mayor Don Guardian said that Straub sees potential that Atlantic City has even though the city faced declines in tourism and gambling revenue. In his opinion, Straub knows how to recognize opportunities that distressed casino properties are offering and he believes that better days are coming. Mayor Guardian's statements certainly have a solid foundation, because Glenn has worked miracles with failing properties in the past.

The new owner still has to deal with concerns of former tenants and power generating company that were trying to block the attempts to close the deal. However, Straub said that he will pay the cost of the electricity and try to negotiate with ACR Energy.

South Florida investor has numerous plans to revitalize Atlantic City and bring tourists and gamblers back to its properties. Many people thought that glory days of Atlantic City are over but with the man as determined as Straub, miracles could be possible. There is a possibility that “Phoenix Project” will save tortured city and that better days are coming.

Photo: nbcphiladelphia.com