Revel seeks environmental permit for A.C. casino

Revel Entertainment Group, L.L.C., the company behind a proposed $2 billion gambling palace on the northern end of the Atlantic City Boardwalk, said today that it has applied for an environmental permit and filed a site plan application for its project.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which regulates development along the shore, requires that all major projects secure what's known as a Coastal Area Facility Review Act, or CAFRA, permit.

The CAFRA filing and a site plan application with Atlantic City "represent important milestones for Revel, as with their approval we have established the appropriate regulatory framework for Revel to obtain the building permits necessary to begin construction of the company's resort entertainment casino project," Kevin DeSanctis, chairman and chief executive officer of Revel Entertainment, said today in a statement.

The proposed gambling hall will feature 3,800 hotel rooms in two towers, 150,000-square feet of gambling floor space, retail shops and entertainment venues. It is being financed by Wall Street investment firm Morgan Stanley, which purchased the 20-acre site bordered by Oriental, New Jersey and Metropolitan Avenues for about $74 million in May 2006.

Revel Entertainment, which is based in Atlantic City, was founded last year by DeSanctis, a former president and chief operating officer of Penn National Gaming Inc. of Wyomissing.

DeSanctis announced in late May at a gaming conference in Atlantic City that because of the Jersey Shore's lengthy permitting process and rising construction costs, Revel's budget for its planned casino had doubled from $1 billion to about $2 billion.

The project represents the first of four planned gambling venues for the resort. Three other major casinos have been proposed by Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas, MGM Mirage of Las Vegas, and a private investor group led by former Caesars Entertainment chief executive officer Wallace Barr.