ATLANTIC CITY | Revel Casino | 709ft | 53 fl | Completed

[desertpunk]

Revel began its life as a proposal for a major MGM casino hotel development. When the company encountered financial difficulty work stopped on the casino in 2009, the site was refinanced, and the project rebranded 'Revel' came to life in 2010.

Originally Posted by hkskyline

Kevin DeSanctis has sunk $1 billion into Atlantic City's great white elephant.
13 July 2009
Forbes


MGM resort concept. Those plans were scrapped in favor of Revel Gaming's 'Revel'.

Not long ago you couldn't find a better booster of Atlantic City than Kevin DeSanctis, 56. The chief exec of Revel Entertainment Group was promoting a $2 billion project to turn 20 beachfront acres into a luxury gaming parlor, 20 restaurants, 75,000 square feet of retail shops, 160,000 square feet of meeting space, three theaters and a wedding chapel. Now you can't get DeSanctis to come to the phone.

What's changed? The near collapse of the gaming industry. Trump Entertainment Resorts and Tropicana Casino & Resort are in bankruptcy. Grand development plans by MGM Mirage and Pinnacle Entertainment are now empty, weed-choked lots. In Atlantic City, always a tawdry stepsister to Las Vegas, gaming revenues for May came in at $350 million, a 15.4% drop from the same period a year ago, says the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. Revel laid off 40% of its construction crew in January. In early June the company finished the shell of a 7,800-car garage; it completed 40 of 47 stories of a steel-and-glass tower (one of two proposed). "Work on the interiors continues to be delayed," says a Revel spokesperson.

DeSanctis can't easily pull the plug, having already spent an estimated $1 billion. He ought to know better, having once served as the president of Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino and Penn National Gaming. Atlantic City already has 11 casinos, which are competing with slot parlors in neighboring Pennsylvania and New York and a new Sands casino in Bethlehem, Pa.

DeSanctis' backer, Morgan Stanley, bought the beachfront site for $3.4 million per acre three years ago, then swapped the property for an undisclosed stake in Revel, says a source inside the investment bank. In addition, Morgan Stanley has provided Revel an undisclosed amount of construction financing through the first quarter of 2010.

"It's sort of past the point of no return," says Joseph Weinert, senior vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group, a Linwood, N.J. consultancy. "It will be in a stall mode until they get the balance or the financing for the [entire] project." Or until Morgan Stanley pulls in its remaining chips.

Initially conceived as a twin towered complex, the plans were streamlined to one soaring tower with the possibility of adding a second tower later. Revel's hotel tower, is the tallest structure in Atlantic City and the second tallest in the state of New Jersey at 47 stories (710 ft) 216 m. The tower is also the second tallest casino tower in the United States. Revel will house 12 restaurants, 16 retail shops and a 5,800 seat arena. Along with height records, the construction process is the largest one in Atlantic City since the construction of the Borgata. The project is being built by Tishman Construction Company of New Jersey. Revel has also selected design firms to aid in the conceptualization and implementation of its casino complex. Scéno Plus, a Montreal-based design firm, collaborates with other professionnals to design core entertainment spaces as well as 150,000 feet of casino. The complex is also to feature a 5,800-seat arena and a 1,000-seat theater for smaller shows. The arena's seating will be retractable so the space can be used for conventions or meetings. In the summer of 2008 the project was officially scaled back to include just one hotel tower with 1,900 rooms due to lack of financing. In late January of 2011, Revel C.E.O. Kevin De Scantis while pitching yet another funding plan on Wall Street, announced that the property would only complete 1,090 rooms in the opening phase, in addition other aspects of the project were to be scaled back to meet the available funding.

[desertpunk]

Revel as originally envisioned:

[desertpunk]

Work on Revel 2008-2011

February 2008:

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Revel Construction Site by iirraa, on Flickr

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Revel Construction Site as Seen from the Boardwalk by iirraa, on Flickr

April 2008:



June 2008:

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Revel --Cranes above the Fog by junkyrddg1, on Flickr

July 2008:

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Revel Casino Construciton Site by iirraa, on Flickr

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People Walking on the Boardwalk in Front of the Revel Casino Building Site by iirraa, on Flickr

November 2008:

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Revel Casino in Atlantic City 1 by iirraa, on Flickr

June 2009:

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Atlantic City, NJ - construction of the Revel Casino Resort by QCmay27, on Flickr

October 2009:



December 2009:

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The Revel Casino as of December 2009 by iirraa, on Flickr

May 2010:



February 2011:



March 2011:

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Revel - 2011 by Liliang, on Flickr

May 2011:



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Atlantic City 059(1) by lmlhcpa, on Flickr

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July 2011

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Untitled by Senor Slugworth, on Flickr

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Untitled by Senor Slugworth, on Flickr

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Untitled by Senor Slugworth, on Flickr

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Untitled by Senor Slugworth, on Flickr

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Color Study - Atlantic City 3 by Chris Potako, on Flickr

[desertpunk]

October

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Revel by Multielvi, on Flickr

Work on the interior continues...

[desertpunk]

Revel may encounter labor problems over its employee tenure policy: http://www.google.com/url?q=http://w...rmnLalNvLWE6vg

Opening delayed until May 2012


http://archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=5382

[desertpunk]

UWISHUNU.com

December 9, 2011

More Expansion News: Chef Jose Garces To Open Three New Restaurants In Atlantic City This Spring

Posted by James




boardwalk this spring. (Left courtesy Garces Group; right courtesy Revel)

Jose Garces is continuing to expand his restaurant empire, announcing yesterday that he will open three new restaurants in Atlantic City this spring. All three restaurants will be located in the giant new Revel casino/resort/hotel that is opening in Atlantic City this spring.

Drawing from his incredibly popular and successful Philadelphia concepts, Chef Garces will open Amada, an authentic Andalusian tapas bar; Village Whiskey, serving spirits and artfully crafted cocktails alongside American dishes and amazing burgers; and Distrito Cantina, a festive margarita bar with a selection of 100 tequilas and modern Mexican street food from a Guapos Tacos take-out window.

Revel is going to be a major new destination on Atlantic City’s boardwalk. Garces’ three restaurants will be joined by nearly a dozen other restaurants, three clubs, more than 1,000 guest rooms, retail shops, a 28,000-square-foot spa, two theaters that seat 5,500 and 500 guests respectively and a 150,000-square-foot casino.


[...]

[desertpunk]

Revel To Be Virtually Smoke-Free; Opens April 2

Newest Atlantic City casino to be virtually smoke-free


http://ridiculouslyefficient.com/201.../attachment/1/

By WAYNE PARRY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Posted: Feb. 11, 2012 | 2:02 a.m.

ATLANTIC CITY -- Atlantic City's newest casino, Revel, is opening six weeks earlier than planned -- on April 2 -- and will be virtually smoke-free throughout the premises. That will mark the first time in the 34-year history of legalized gambling in the city that a casino has prohibited smoking without being forced to.

The casino, Atlantic City's 12th, will have a full-blown grand opening ceremony on May 25, but guests will be able to gamble and check into hotel rooms on April 2. Revel will start taking reservations online at its website, www.revelresorts.com, starting March 5.

Revel, a $2.4 billion resort, is widely being counted on to help revive the sagging fortunes of the nation's second-largest gambling market after Las Vegas. "I think this is going to be a very good summer for the city," Revel CEO Kevin DeSanctis said. "There will be no lack of things to do."

As promised since plans were unveiled in 2007, Revel will ban smoking on the entire casino floor, in guest rooms and in virtually all indoor and outdoor areas of the hotel-casino complex. The sole exception will be a small area outside a nightclub where club patrons will be allowed to light up. No one will have to walk through that area to get anywhere else in the resort, DeSanctis said.

[desertpunk]

A peek inside Revel

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/revelresorts/

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/revelresorts/

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/revelresorts/

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/revelresorts/

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/revelresorts/

[desertpunk]

Revel Puts Finishing Touches on Atlantic City’s Newest, Poshest Casino-Hotel


http://photos.nj.com/gloucester-phot...previe_48.html

By David Madden and Robin Rieger

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) – It is the second tallest building in New Jersey according to revel officials who welcomed media tours of the nearly finished Atlantic City property, Tuesday afternoon, prior to a soft opening on April 2nd.

“The design of the space of the entire property is to convey joy excitement, entertainment,” says architect Michael Prifti from Blt architects. He coordinated over 60 designers. They start accepting guests here next month, although the formal grand opening for the 6½-million-square-foot property is slated for Memorial Day weekend. Revel has almost 1,900 hotel rooms, which are sleek and elegant with ocean views. 14 restaurants, retail space and a spa, all spread over 6.3 million square feet.

But with competition from neighboring states consistently dropping casino revenues in Atlantic City, is another casino a safe bet? “We’re not focused on gaming,” says Revel’s public relations director Maureen Simon.

[adelphi_sky]

Awesome casino guys! Nice construction pics!

[desertpunk]

Revel opens

The $2.4 billion Revel casino resort opened its doors on Monday in Atlantic City with a blueberry smoothie toast at sunrise and a rush of gamblers eager to try out the city's 12th casino.

Situated at the extreme northern end of the Boardwalk, next to the Showboat Casino Hotel, Revel is the first Atlantic City casino to open since its main rival, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, opened in 2003. With its angular slanted roof and its giant white light-up ball atop the 47-story structure— the second-tallest in New Jersey at 710 feet—Revel is already an iconic presence in the resort city.

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As a non-smoker, I find Atlantic City Hotel Casinos unhealthy.

I avoid Atlantic City as much as possible.

Nice looking development otherwise.