\nATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) \u2013 A Toronto-based company abandoned its plan to buy the former Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City on Wednesday, dealing another blow to a city reeling from a string of casino closures and the disappearance of thousands of jobs.<\/p>\n
\tBrookfield Asset Management said in a brief statement that it had \u201cterminated the Revel acquisition.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe company planned to buy the casino for $110 million from bankruptcy court. It had said it would reopen the business as a casino-hotel but never said how soon that would happen.<\/p>\n
\tRevel opened in April 2012 at a cost of $2.4 billion and never turned a profit. After filing for its second bankruptcy, its owners closed the casino resort on Sept. 2.<\/p>\n
\tBrookfield\u2019s announcement came as hundreds of casino workers were protesting a planned shutdown of the Trump Taj Mahal, which would become the fifth Atlantic City casino to close this year if it shutters in December as threatened. So far, 8,000 casino workers have lost their jobs; 3,000 more would be unemployed if the Taj Mahal closes on Dec. 12.<\/p>\n
\tCasino revenues have been falling for years as a result of increased competition, including from neighboring Pennsylvania, now the second largest commercial gambling market in the nation.<\/p>\n
\tWhen the first Pennsylvania casino opened in late 2006, Atlantic City\u2019s annual casino revenues were $5.2 billion. Last year they were $2.86 billion, and they will be significantly less than that this year.<\/p>\n
\tBrookfield\u2019s decision to walk away from the deal was first reported by The Press of Atlantic City.<\/p>\n
\tBrookfield spokesman Melissa Coley told the newspaper that the decision stemmed from a disagreement with bondholders controlling debt related to Revel\u2019s power plant. The cost of operating the plant was one of several factors that kept Revel from becoming profitable. Several casino executives said they believed the long-range plan was to have the plant provide power to other development expected to follow Revel to its northern corner of the beachfront, but that development never happened.<\/p>\n
\tA Florida developer who lost the bankruptcy court auction of Revel was challenging the court\u2019s decision to sell the property to Brookfield. Glenn Straub told The Press that he is still interested in the property. He had spoken of re-opening Revel as an academy but said he was not certain if it would retain a casino.<\/p>\n
\tHis attorney did not immediately return a message Wednesday seeking comment. A Revel spokeswoman declined to comment.<\/p>\n
No replies were posted for this topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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