Revel Casino drama – new rival bidder emerges for shuttered hotel

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- A billionaire Manhattan developer and veteran New Jersey real estate executive are pursuing Atlantic City's former Revel casino, according to a court filing Tuesday.

The court filing by former business tenants at the casino says Howard Milstein of New York and Carl Goldberg of New Jersey plan an $88 million bid for Revel. That would top the $82 million bid by Florida developer Glenn Straub's Polo North Country Club, which is due to be considered Thursday by a bankruptcy judge.

The filing asserts the Milstein group has agreed with the tenants to not seek cancellation of their leases if they buy the casino. It also says another group has signed an offer to buy the casino.

"One of the bidders, a joint venture between New York's Howard Milstein and New Jersey's Carl Goldberg (the Milstein Group) is prepared to post an $88 million cash deposit (which is either $6 million or $16 million more than Polo North's escrowed purchase price, depending on how you count)," according to the filing by the casino's so-called amenity tenants.
"The Milstein Group has reached an interim agreement with the Amenity Tenants under which they will not seek a sale free and clear of the Amenity Tenants' leaseholds at this time," they wrote.

They are among numerous parties whose appeals and objections have thus far thwarted at least four attempts to approve a sale of the $2.4 billion casino, which operated for just over two years and never turned a profit.

Revel AC did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment Tuesday.

The filing came as Revel told the court it hopes to sell the property soon, even as it seeks an extension through the end of June to wrap up its bankruptcy case.

The deadline for Revel AC to complete its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case currently is April 30. The company said it needs more time to solicit support for and execute an exit plan from bankruptcy.

Revel said in its filing it has "diligently worked with Polo North and (is) now working towards finalizing a sale to Polo North" under an amended sale agreement. "The debtors hope to consummate the sale soon."

Straub's attorney, Stuart Moskovitz, said he plans to close soon after the sale is approved. He said the extension to let Revel AC line up support for its exit from bankruptcy won't affect the sale.

If Judge Gloria Burns approves the sale of Revel to Straub on Thursday, Moskovitz said the closing "would be rather imminent. We want to get it done right away."

The Record of Hackensack reported last week that the Milstein group planned to bid on Revel, citing a person it did not identify.

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