Could new megaresort be Atlantic City's game-changer?
ATLANTIC CITY -- The $2.4 billion Revel is unlike anything ever seen in Atlantic City. And maybe the biggest gamble.
The ultra-contemporary, curvy glass-and-steel oceanfront complex — the most costly resort built here — aims to rise above the competition and attract a more upscale clientele to a historic gaming destination undergoing a much-needed face lift in a bid for survival.
Due to open in stages April 2 at the southern end of the Boardwalk, with 500 of the total 1,898 rooms, the 47-story Revel boasts guestrooms with floor-to-ceiling windows that give everyone a coveted water view. There's a plush casino with burlesque stage and electronic table-game pit, plus a party pool run by a Las Vegas entertainment group.
Revel hopes to attract those who may not have considered vacationing or holding meetings in Atlantic City, says CEO Kevin DeSanctis, offering an early look at the 6.3 million-square-foot resort as workers hammer, paint and bring in furnishings. Grand opening is Memorial Day weekend, when all restaurants and shops are due to be up and running. A 300-room boutique hotel within Revel is planned next year.
"There are 47 million adults within a six-hour drive," DeSanctis says. He wants to draw AC newbies craving "a weekend of luxury" at the beach. Revel, whose name signifies enjoying oneself in the company of others, he says, aims to please a resort crowd by breaking casino-world conventions. It's the only smoke-free casino resort in Atlantic City. There will be one outdoor puffing area outside a nightclub.
"I think smoking is so yesterday" and turns off the clientele he seeks, says DeSanctis, 59, a trim and down-to-earth former New Jersey state trooper in jeans and brown suede blazer. "Interestingly, I have only heard from non-smokers, who are ecstatic."
More like Las Vegas
In other convention-breakers: You needn't walk through the casino to get to your room, and Revel plans no bus programs for day trippers. Neither will there be a buffet to feed gamers fast and reward them with free or discounted feasts. Buffets are "mass-market" feederies, DeSanctis says. While Revel will have a rewards card, he's less interested in doling out comped visits to gamers than attracting those interested in the spa, shopping, night spots and restaurants.
Revel's roster of celeb-chef eateries ranges from a steakhouse from Iron Chef America winner Marc Forgione to a budget replica of a taco truck run by another Iron Chef, Jose Garces. Pool food is from Michel Richard, who has two other eateries at Revel and a restaurant at the hip The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Revel's main "InOut" pool starts indoors and meanders outside; swimmers pass through see-through automatic doors.
DeSanctis has A-list casino-world credentials thanks to stints with Donald Trump, Sol Kerzner of Atlantis fame and Vegas' Steve Wynn. He served as president of industry giant Penn National Gaming.
Revel, conceived by Miami's cutting-edge Arquitectonica firm, is coming to life after financing fits and starts. First, Morgan Stanley was involved. They withdrew after the crash of 2008 and wrote off more than $1 billion as a loss to Revel's benefit, DeSanctis says. Little expense seems to have been spared. With so many kinds of polished and unpolished marble from Italy and China, it's hard to keep track. Arty mobiles of paper-thin, gold-colored rectangles dangle from an atrium entrance; rooms have brown leather desk chairs.
