Revel in New Jersey: Bleak is the Word
Following in the footsteps of the Borgata, Atlantic City’s newest casino Revel marketed itself as a premium Las Vegas-style resort and nightlife destination. And although its strategy succeeded at attracting upper class leisure vacationers, the average Atlantic City patron is interested in the one activity Revel’s planning team failed to emphasize – gambling.
Mere months after declaring bankruptcy, the much maligned casino has restructured its business plan to be more amenable to gamblers, a strategy that may incorporate an online gambling medium, although not anytime soon.
Revel’s approach to online gambling
Revel’s approach to the regulated Internet gaming market is best described as passive and quiet. Although the struggling casino has applied for a license, it has yet to announce its online gambling plans. It’s anyone’s guess whether the casino is currently in negotiations or has secretly aligned with an iGaming provider, but according to at least one source, Revel has no plans to pursue Internet gaming at this time.
To date, Revel is one of only two Atlantic City casinos that have not revealed their online partners; Atlantic City Club Casino being the other.
Revel declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2013. In exchange for debt reduction from over $1.5 billion to the comparatively small amount of $272 million, its lenders received an 82 percent equity stake.
After emerging from the worst of its troubles, Revel’s executives seem more concerned with resurrecting its brick-and-mortar locale than its position in the NJ online gambling market. This was made evident by its recent marketing attempts to attract average gamblers to its casino floor including a somewhat deceptive slots promotion that led one New York couple to file a lawsuit against the casino, designated smoking areas, and lower hotel room rates.
Revel’s live poker room
As part of its restructuring schema, in August 2013, Revel management made the decision to close the casino’s underwhelming poker room. In its final days, the poker room lowered its Bad Beat Jackpot requirements, offered $500 hourly high hand bonuses and ran exclusive promotions, all of which were designed to disperse the remains of its $234,000 Bad Beat Jackpot in short order. Sadly, it was one of the few times in the poker room’s 16-month lifespan when it was ripe with players.
Revel’s role in the Atlantic City Market
For Revel’s NJ online poker room to see the light of day it would have to first divulge its Internet gaming plans, announce an online partner, and be awarded an Internet gaming permit by the DGE. Of course, whatever partner it ends up selecting would also have to be approved by NJ regulators.
Whereas five of Atlantic City’s 12 casinos have already received an Internet gaming permit with relative ease, Revel’s inability to turn a profit until at least the summer of 2014 (and possibly beyond) may prove a determining factor against its case to house an online gambling operation. It will almost definitely deter prospective partners from aligning with it.
And even if a Revel online poker site comes to fruition it would face steep competition from other casinos that either launched their Internet gaming operations on the November 26th go-live date or succeeded in winning a significant share of NJ’s Internet gaming market.
Time will ultimately tell, but Revel’s role in the new Atlantic City online gaming market seems dismally bleak.
