A New Jersey federal judge has temporarily halted the pending $94.5 million sale of the bankrupt Revel Casino in Atlantic City to Florida-based developer Glenn Straub.
U.S. District Court Judge Jerome Simandle scheduled an emergency hearing that is set to take place today, according to Reuters. Straub could lose his $10 million deposit if the sale doesn’t go through by today’s deadline, according to the website.
Straub is looking to buy the casino — the $2.4 billion hotel and casino closed in September 2014, causing more than 3,000 people to lose their jobs — without obligations to leases that are held by bars, clubs and restaurants that operated at Revel. Some tenants have tried to block the transaction unless their property rights are protected. An appeals court ruled in favor of one of the tenants, according to the website, causing others to follow suit and file similar motions. Straub has threatened to drop out of the deal if it doesn’t go forward as previously specified, Reuters reported.
Brookfield Asset Management had planned to buy the casino hotel for $110 million, but that deal fell through late last year. Fixed costs, such as electricity, cool water for air-conditioning is what ultimately killed that deal. [Reuters] — Claire Moses