Judge Squashes Straub’s Request to Reduce Revel Bid

Glenn Straub will need to put up $95.4 million if he wants the Revel Casino property.

Atlantic City bankruptcy judge Gloria Burns has ruled against Florida real estate developer Glenn Straub’s motion to reduce his Revel bid from $95.4 million to $87 million. If Straub goes through with his attempt to buy the Revel, he will have to pay the higher price.

Straub won the bidding for the bankrupt casino property after Brookfield Asset Management pulled out of the running. Brookfield was leading with a bid of $110.

Attempting to exploit his position as the sole interested buyer, Straub put in a lower bid, arguing that the original auction wasn’t conducted on a fair and transparent basis. Judge Burns’ ruling put an end to that attempt.

Straub has 30 days to close deal

Now that the bid price has been settled, Straub has 30 days to finalize a deal with the Revel’s current ownership. The Revel was built at a cost of $2.4 billion but never turned a profit, serving as the most visible example of Atlantic City’s sinking casino industry.

Pennsylvania has taken advantage of American gambling laws to legalize commercial casinos in the state, and casinos in Philadelphia have siphoned business from Atlantic City.

Atlantic City now has only eight casinos, several of which now operate online and mobile casinos in addition to their land-based operations.