Atlantic City's Revel Resort Files Second Bankruptcy

Reuters is reporting that Atlantic City's Revel Casino Hotel filed its second bankruptcy in just over a year this week. The casino is reportedly seeking a buyer in order to stay afloat.

The casino opened in April 2012 and filed its first bankruptcy the following March. On Thursday, management warned employees that their jobs would be terminated as of August 18 if no buyer came forward, according to a letter sent to staff.

The news service notes that Atlantic City, a historic resort destination on the New Jersey Coast, has lost gambling customers as venues in nearby states expand and as the city has had to pay out "big property tax appeals" as the values of the casinos declined. Revel said it was seeking a sale to a new owner who would "have the ability to provide the funding and long-term commitment to help Revel reach its full potential," according to a copy of the letter obtained by Reuters.

Revel opened in April 2012 at a cost of $2.4 billion, $20 million of which went to an ad campaign aimed at Manhattan’s meat-packing district set. At the time, Travel Agent said that the resort was "somewhat at variance from the Atlantic City norm by the very virtue that one can seriously use the word 'resort' to describe it." The 6.3 million-square-foot hotel has 1,800 hotel rooms and 14 restaurants, including several with celebrity chefs.