Revel to open new $2B. casino by late 2010, company says
By DONALD WITTKOWSKI Staff Writer, 609-272-7258
(Published: December 6, 2007)
ATLANTIC CITY - Gamblers, mark your calendars. Atlantic City's 12th casino will open by November 2010. You can bet on it.
So says Revel Entertainment Group, the developer of a proposed $2 billion megaresort that will feature one or two hotel towers soaring more than 700 feet above the Boardwalk.
"We expect the project to open somewhere in 2010, November or perhaps a little bit earlier," said Kevin DeSanctis, Revel's chairman and chief executive officer.
DeSanctis revealed the date Wednesday during a Revel presentation at the Wachovia Global Real Estate Securities Conference in New York. Previously, the company had said it hoped to open the casino sometime in the second half of 2010.
Last month, Revel unveiled architectural designs for twin hotel towers of 1,900 rooms each and another curvy building, containing the casino, that appears sculpted by waves. The hotel towers would rise 710 feet high, making them the tallest buildings in Atlantic City.
DeSanctis noted during the New York conference that Revel will decide later on whether to build both towers simultaneously or hold off on the second one until market conditions dictate.
Most of his comments were a recap of what Revel has already said of the project, including a price tag in the $2 billion range. Known only as "Revel," the casino hotel will have a private beach and feature an ocean theme.
"At the end of the day, our goal is very simple. Our company is creating a place where adults can have fun," DeSanctis said.
Revel is redeveloping a barren, 20-acre oceanfront site next to Showboat Casino Hotel. Contractors are installing the piles that will serve as the underpinnings for the foundation and plan to start work on the steel superstructure in the spring.
Amenities will include 500,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment attractions, a 5,500-seat arena for concerts and conventions and Atlantic City's first Las Vegas-style wedding chapel.
"Atlantic City suffers from a problem where there's nothing to do," DeSanctis said. "So part of our thought process is that you have to give people things to do. That's what our goal is in creating some of these amenities."
Revel is partners in the project with New York investment bank Morgan Stanley, which owns the land. DeSanctis told the conference that Revel plans to let the credit crisis calm down before seeking financing for the project, probably in the second quarter of 2008.
"I think everyone here can agree that going out to the credit markets right now would probably not result in an optimal experience for us," he said.
To e-mail Donald Wittkowski at The Press:
DWittkowski@pressofac.com