Toronto-based Brookfield US Holdings LLC bought the Revel casino in Atlantic City at a bankruptcy court auction for $110 million and plans to reopen the casino.
"These are the first people that realized what I've been saying about Atlantic City turning the corner and being a great investment due to the low prices,"
Mayor Don Guardian told The Associated Press. "We've had a lot of bad news. This is certainly some good news."
The auction price is far below the $2.4 billion cost to build the 2-year-old casino. A bankruptcy court hearing to approve the sale is set for Oct. 7.
"Revel is a brand-new trophy asset on the beachfront, which we are acquiring at a substantial discount to replacement cost," Brookfield spokesman Andrew Willis said, according to the AP. "We are excited about owning the newest and highest quality asset in Atlantic City at such an attractive basis. This acquisition is consistent with Brookfield's history of contrarian investing and always on a value basis."
Glenn Straub is the backup bidder. Straub, who had talked of reopening Revel as a "genius academy" where intelligent people would tackle world problems, may challenge the sale in court.
Lawyers for Straub complained about the auction process and are
seeking sanctions against Revel and its lawyers, The Wall Street Journal reported. A hearing is set for Oct. 20.
"Any degree of confidence in [Revel's lawyers'] ability to conduct a fair auction is nonexistent," lawyers for Straub said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A lawyer for Revel called the complaint baseless.
Revel opened in 2012 and employed more than 3,000 people before shutting down.
The casino was one of four Atlantic City casinos that closed this year in the face of increased competition from neighboring states that adopted gambling.
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