Ocean Resort Casino to change hands again barely a year after former Revel’s last sale
The casino's new owner is said to plan $70 million in fresh investment at the property.
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The Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City is in the process of changing hands, as its owner of little more than a year struggles with lagging revenue and unpaid bills to contractors.
Denver-based developer Bruce Deifik, who led January 2018′s $200 million purchase of the shuttered former Revel, told the Associated Press on Thursday that the property is being acquired by an outside investor who plans a $70 million capital injection into the property.
The deal, which will allow Deifik and his family to retain a small, non-controlling ownership interest in the casino, is expected to be finalized Thursday, the AP reported. The incoming owner was not identified. Deifik did not return phone or text messages from the Inquirer.
Deifik’s disclosure comes a day after the Inquirer reported on what was said to be an impending sale.
Built for $2.4 billion, the former Revel reopened as the Ocean Resort on June 27, the same day as the competing Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in what had been Trump Taj Mahal. The Revel had at that point been sitting vacant since September 2014, when it closed due to financial troubles after operating for only 2½ years.
Under the ownership of Deifik’s group, its gambling receipts have trailed those of other casinos.
Between the Ocean Resort’s first full month in operation in July and November, the most recent month for which figures are available from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, there has been only one month — August — in which its slot and table revenue has not lagged that of Atlantic City’s eight other casinos, the Inquirer reported.
Atlantic County Clerk’s Office records also showed two outstanding construction liens against the property demanding a collective $1.1 million for lighting displays and work at the casino’s nightclub. At least four other construction liens also were filed but have since been discharged, according to the records.
Such liens are filed by contractors or subcontractors who have performed work on a property but have not been paid.
Ocean Resorts' new owners, who must be approved by state regulators, plan to use its fresh investment to open a buffet, additional suites and rooms, improvements on the casino floor, and more entertainment programming, the AP reported.