The glass corpse of Atlantic City's Revel casino has been claimed at a bankruptcy auction for $110 million, a near-$2.4 billion discount from its final construction cost two years ago.
Brookfield US Holdings LLC, a company under the aegis of the mammoth global real estate firm that owns and maintains the public land on Zuccotti Park, beat out Florida developer Glenn Straub, who had bid $90 million. The purchase must still be approved by a judge on October 7.
Rich vultures never go quietly, and Straub is alleging that Brookfield engaged in backwards dealing and vowed to sue. "We're taking it to the courts," Straub told the Press of Atlantic City. "We're not doing anything else."
Revel, which opened to great fanfare in April 2012, never turned a profit in its two years of operation and closed over Labor Day weekend (we were there to bear witness).
If Brookfield is The Blob, a $175 billion atomized cloud of capital that permeates everything and nothing, Straub, a "polo enthusiast," has seemingly modeled himself on the urine-jar-collecting titans of yore.
The wealthy polo enthusiast has talked about placing a university of geniuses on site to deal with world problems, erecting a second tower, as well as demolishing the structure - the second tallest in the state - if plans go awry.
A university of geniuses, y'say? Well that and two bits will get you a glass of rattlesnake milk.
The Press of Atlantic City has more on what Straub saw as he leaned in close to the earth's fissure next to the Oracle at Delphi:
Straub said he’d build a second tower at Revel that would stand 30-35 stories. In it: a colony of “some of the smartest people in the world,” living and working on pressing global problems, like nuclear waste disposal.
Thursday’s interview also included talk of high-speed ferry and rail systems and an “underground passageway” for tourists to comfortably traverse Atlantic City during winter.
Atlantic City needs guidance from someone, he said — “something like a dad.”
A Dad who isn't afraid to bet Jimmy's college fund on black.
Whether he prevails in court or not, Straub said he will "most likely" invest in Atlantic City one way or another, something the 3,100 laid off Revel employees (more than 8,000 total from the other casino closures) are surely grateful for.
