Revel: A quiet death

“Gaming in Atlantic City isn’t dead, but it has to go on a crash diet to survive.” That’s the coroner’s verdict of the Newark Star-Ledger, in which former Atlantic Club worker Bill Terrigino adds his voice to the chorus that says, “The fascination of slot machines is over with. More gambling isn’t the solution. If we don’t make it fun for people in Atlantic City, they’ll make us irrelevant.” Yes, but wasn’t part of Revel‘s downfall that there was too little gambling and it was too difficult to reach?

For reporter Mark Di Ionno, the problem is easy to diagnose: “Atlantic City took its greatest attraction” — the Boardwalk — “and made it inaccessible.” He adds, “Still today, there are long stretches of the boardwalk with nothing to eat except in the overpriced casinos, few restrooms and changing facilities — and parking is expensive and distant … As for amusements, the rides at the famed Steel Pier look like nothing more than a local church carnival bolted to the boards.”

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno (R) was on hand to toast Revel when it opened. This morning, when it closed, nobody of note was present — just some Tail-End Charlies getting in a last fix of gambling. Trump Plaza will follow it into oblivion in two weeks. “I really love this place,” said last-ditch gambler Ruthie Fenimore. “This place [Revel] would be perfect if it was in Las Vegas. It would be right up there with Wynn [Las Vegas]. I remember the first time I came here, I was lying on the bed opening and closing the curtains with a remote control. It blew my mind. The bathroom was bigger than my home.”

There was so little action that the casino closed 35 minutes earlier than planned, shooing customers into the pre-dawn darkness. Atlantic City veteran Mark Juliano thinks Revel was in the wrong place in the wrong time, a pre-recession product launched in a recessionary income. But there was also the lack of a player database, an aversion to marketing to traditional Atlantic City customers, a snooty attitude, pricey amenities and a casino floor whose design boded ill: Gamblers “had to take a vertiginous escalator up four flights to reach the casino floor. Once there, the property wound around a circular pattern instead of the linear layout of most other casinos.”

In the meantime, “Betty” finds herself without a place to trawl for johns. They know her face too well at Borgata and the Caesars Entertainment casinos, so how’s a grande horizontale supposed to make a living? That may not be such a question for the HQ Beach Club, which is turning a profit. Ditto several restaurateurs who could conceivably return if Revel is reopened as a non-gaming resort.  “It was a good ride while it lasted, but that’s the risk of renting space in a casino. You never know what’s going to happen,” said one.

Rumor has it that, once relicensed, MGM Resorts International will buy Revel out of bankruptcy. MGM would have a devil of a time reviving the corpse — but stranger things have happened.

* With slot routes bringing in as much as $12,000 a month per location, the pressure is going to be on Illinois‘ legislature to allow more. After all, when Quincy is making $150,000 off the devices, do you think it will say, ‘No, that’s enough, thank you.’

* Today also marks the ribbon-cutting on Mandalay Bay‘s Delano Las Vegas, formerly THEhotel. Based on descriptions, the property is grounded in Southwestern motifs and airy decor elements reminiscent of Miami‘s South Beach. It sounds like a beautiful place to stay although, after the Tropicana renovation and SLS Las Vegas, there’s some risk that the “South Beach” shibboleth will become a Strip design cliche. Even so, good luck to the new(ish) kid on the block.