Hard Rock professes interest in Revel, A.C.

ATLANTIC CITY - The head of Hard Rock International, a company owned by the Seminole tribe of Florida, said Thursday that his company remains interested in Atlantic City and has had "unofficial conversations" with Glenn Straub, the anticipated incoming owner of the closed Revel Casino.

Appearing before the Casino Control Commission, where the company took steps to fast-track a state gaming license, CEO James Allen said Hard Rock was still tempted by the beleaguered Atlantic City market.

He also said the company was interested "100 percent" in any opportunities that would arise in North Jersey if the state ultimately allowed them.

That would not preclude an Atlantic City property, he said. Hard Rock has a 16 percent interest in the Meadowlands Racetrack and holds the rights to any eventual gaming there. The state would have to amend its constitution to allow casinos outside Atlantic City.

"It's certainly very intriguing just from an economic standpoint of a $21/2 billion building being purchased for $94 million," Allen said of the Revel after the hearing. He said, "We certainly know Mr. Straub," the maverick businessman and polo impresario who is also based in Florida.

Allen said Hard Rock had submitted an unsuccessful bid for Revel prior to its auction last year.

After hearing testimony about the Hard Rock brand (the names Clapton, Bono, Bruce, and Yoko were dropped) and philanthropic causes (homeless children), the commission unanimously granted the company a "certificate of compliance" that would fast-track a casino license should it apply.

Hard Rock does not own property in Atlantic City. "We've certainly been watching, like a lot of operators," Allen added of Revel.

Hard Rock International is a separate company from Brookfield Asset Management, which runs a Hard Rock-brand hotel in Las Vegas. Brookfield was the high bidder at the Revel auction but walked away from the purchase, leaving it to runner-up Straub.

Allen said Hard Rock's earlier interest in building a boutique hotel in Atlantic City seemed unwise in the current market and that the company now preferred taking over an existing property. Hotel developer Curtis Bashaw has expressed an interest in bringing gaming to his Chelsea, a boutique hotel near the Tropicana.

Allen stressed that Atlantic City needs to upgrade its infrastructure and work on luring air service that would encourage two- and three-day visits. He said infrastructure improvements in the resort would have to go beyond a philosophy of "pave a road and plant a tree."

He said the company "does not have a specific transaction" in hand but is evaluating opportunities. "We still believe there's opportunity in Atlantic City," Allen said.

Allen said the company grew the market by 64 percent in Ohio with its Hard Rock "Rocksino" in Northfield Park and thinks it can do the same in gaming and non-gaming in Atlantic City, provided there are improved infrastructure and continued cooperation between state and local officials. He said recent events in Atlantic City, and talk of possible bankruptcy, made the company cautious, but "at the same time, great business opportunities have happened many many times in the past when things are challenging."

"We certainly have been known to take risks in the past," he said. "Fundamentally, we think the brand 'Atlantic City' itself is an amazing brand that has worldwide recognition and cachet."

Straub did not return a request for comment. The bankrupt Revel, which must close on the deal with Straub by Feb. 7, recently negotiated a decrease in its property assessment from Atlantic City from $625 million to $225 million.