By DONALD WITTKOWSKI Staff Writer, (609) 272-7258
Published: Tuesday, August 28, 2007

ATLANTIC CITY - Revel Entertainment Group, an upstart gaming company backed by Wall Street investment giant Morgan Stanley, plans to develop a $2 billion casino hotel that will top out at nearly 4,000 rooms and tempt customers with an array of retail and entertainment attractions.
Revel wants to build two hotel towers of 1,936 rooms each, but market conditions will dictate the timing of the second one. The towers will soar 700 feet high, becoming the tallest buildings in town and dwarfing anything else currently on the Boardwalk.

Kevin DeSanctis, Revel's chief executive officer, said the emphasis on hotel rooms fits in with the city's evolution from a gambling market historically dominated by daytrippers to one that targets wealthier overnight guests.

"When you think about Atlantic City today, the reality is that Atlantic City just can't rely on the convenience customer anymore," he said of gamblers who stay for only a few hours before heading home. "From our perspective, in order to attract a customer to stay overnight, you have to give them reasons to stay overnight. That's exactly what this property is designed to do."

The 48-story towers will be built in two phases. Combined, they will give Revel more hotel rooms than any other Atlantic City casino. But if Revel elects to stay with only one tower, four other casinos in town will have more rooms based on their existing inventory or expansion projects that will open in 2008.

Before moving forward with construction of the second tower, Revel will study the market and decide on the proper mix of suites and standard rooms, DeSanctis explained.
"I'd love to build the two towers first," he said. "But the reality is, we're not exactly sure what types of rooms will make sense. So if the customers like more suites, then we'll build more suites. But if they like more rooms, then we'll build more rooms."

Revel is clearing the 20-acre oceanfront tract where the casino is planned. The site is bordered by New Jersey, Oriental and Metropolitan avenues, overlooking the Boardwalk next to Showboat Casino Hotel. A grand opening is scheduled in 2011.

This is the first casino developed by Revel, which has the financial backing of investment partner Morgan Stanley. Preliminary estimates indicate the price tag will be about $2 billion, nearly twice the cost of the $1.1 billion Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, the city's newest and most expensive casino.

"It's in the $2 billion range. I think that's reasonable," DeSanctis said.

Revel has not yet named the casino and is about a week away from releasing architectural renderings to the public. The dimensions of the project, made public for the first time, are contained in Revel's application with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for a Coastal Area Facilities Review Act building permit.

Dennis M. Farrell Jr., a gaming analyst for Wachovia Capital Markets, predicted that Revel's casino will do for the northern end of the Boardwalk what the trend-setting Borgata did for the Marina District when it opened in 2003.

"Just imagine what the reception would be if Borgata was on the Boardwalk," Farrell said. "It will really help the northeastern end of the Boardwalk kind of blossom. As you put more bodies down there, you'll really have more excitement in that area."

Revel is planning to have 168,610 square feet of casino space, second only to the 178,815 square feet of gaming space at Bally's. However, Bally's combines the gaming space of Bally's Park Place, the Claridge Casino Hotel and the Wild Wild West Casino all within one complex collectively known as Bally's Atlantic City.

What will really distinguish Revel's casino from its rivals is the amount of retail, entertainment and dining space - slightly more than 500,000 square feet worth. A 5,500-seat special events center boasting 120,000 square feet of space is part of the retail and entertainment component.

"I think it's pretty diversified in terms of the dining, retail and entertainment," DeSanctis said. "The retail component is not as large as The Quarter. What we're really focused on is dining and entertainment."

The Quarter, the Latin-themed retail and entertainment complex at Tropicana Casino and Resort, features 200,000 square feet of space within a mall-like setting. Revel will have about 144,200 square feet of retail space, but the added dining and entertainment attractions will give the new casino more combined nongaming space than any of its competitors, analysts say.

Revel will also have Atlantic City's first casino wedding chapel, a Las Vegas-like touch that DeSanctis thinks is a strong draw for tourists who view the resort town as an up-and-coming honeymoon destination.