Judge to approve latest deal to buy Atlantic City’s Revel Casino

(Reuters) – A federal bankruptcy judge in New Jersey on Thursday said she would approve an $82 million sale of Atlantic City’s Revel Casino Hotel to Florida developer Glenn Straub.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Gloria Burns said from the bench that she would sign off on the deal, the third one she has approved. The previous two agreements failed.

The offer, from polo club owner and distressed real estate mogul Straub, is a far cry from the $2.4 billion it cost to build the gleaming casino complex. Revel opened in 2012 to much fanfare but never turned a profit and went bankrupt twice.

Burns delayed the approval in part to see if other interested buyers could finalize deals, but none did. Burns noted that Revel’s estate was losing money every day as it waited.

“We’ve been here multiple times,” she said, adding that she would approve the latest deal with Straub.

Straub’s previous agreement, to buy Revel for $95 million, failed to close on time. Before that, Brookfield Asset Management backed out of its $110 million agreement.

(Reporting by Hilary Russ; Editing by David Gregorio)