With development dollars rapidly disappearing, several media sources reported that Revel Entertainment had reached an agreement with a Chinese company to provide the balance of the money necessary to complete the Atlantic City project and open the first new casino on the Boardwalk since Trump Taj Mahal opened in 1991.
According to the reports, China State Construction Engineering Corp. had agreed to invest $1.7 billion with the construction firm Tishman and Revel to help build the massive casino resort on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.
But the next day, Revel appeared to back away from the news, saying that China State Construction had only agreed to help Tishman with the construction and would not be investing any money. Sources close to the negotiations, however, say that the reported deal is likely to be completed once several filings are made and final details are hammered out between the partners.
China State Construction certainly has the financial wherewithal to complete the deal. One of the largest and most successful companies in China, last year it produced revenues of $23.5 billion and employed 121,500.
Revel will include almost 2,000 rooms, a plethora of non-gaming amenities, restaurants, theaters (5,000 seats and 1,500 seats), several pools and spas, and a 100,000-square-foot casino. The property expects to employ at least 4,000 people.
China’s biggest property conglomerate said last month in a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange that the project is expected to be completed in July 2011.
Revel CEO Kevin DeSanctis told Global Gaming Business he is confident the property will be profitable.
“It’s no longer, ‘Can you build it for this amount of money?'” he explained. “Fundamentally, the project is built. We understand exactly what the cost is, so the only real question now is ‘What, from a profitability perspective, can this project do?'”
