Ocean Casino Resort
Ocean Casino Resort (formerly Revel Casino Hotel Atlantic City) is a resort, hotel and casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. It is the northernmost casino on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, located on 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land, adjacent to the Showboat Hotel. It is notable for its white sphere structure atop its roof away from the Boardwalk, capable of displaying a wide variety of colors and designs thanks to the LEDs inside it. Revel opened on April 2, 2012, and after declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time, closed on September 2, 2014. Revel was the third of four Atlantic City casinos to close in 2014.
Ocean Casino Resort
500 Boardwalk
April 2, 2012 (as Revel)
June 27, 2018 (as Ocean)
September 2, 2014 (as Revel)
1,900
130,000 sq.ft.
Luxor Capital Group[1]
Revel Atlantic City
Later that month, on September 11, 2014, the casino reached a deal to sell itself to Glenn Straub's Polo North Country Club, a developer based in Florida, for $90 million, a fraction of the cost of construction. The sale plan failed, and Revel was planned to be sold at a September 30, 2014 auction to Brookfield Asset Management for $110 million. On November 19, Brookfield Management reneged on the deal.[2] On April 7, 2015, Revel was sold to Polo North Country Club for $82 million.[3] One of the property's tenants and new management of the property announced plans to reopen Revel under the name TEN.[4]
After multiple struggles of reopening the properties and the anticipated opening dates being announced then delayed, the casino never opened to the public under the ownership of Straub. In January 2018, the sale of the property was announced[5] and it reopened as Ocean Resort Casino on June 27, 2018.[6]
Ovation Hall[edit]
Ovation Hall is the 5,500-capacity multi-purpose venue at Ocean. Opened with the building in 2012, it has hosted acts like Maroon 5, Beyonce, Brooks & Dunn, Tom Segura, and Duran Duran.[15]
Incidents[edit]
Construction safety incidents[edit]
A tower crane on the Revel construction site collapsed in high winds on March 13, 2010, injuring one person on the ground.[22] On March 20, 2010, the use of welding torches to remove the collapsed crane sparked a rooftop fire. The damage from the fire was minor, and there were no injuries.
Lightning from a brief, intense storm struck three concrete workers on September 15, 2011, killing one.[23] On September 30, 2011, a worker was listed in critical condition with a head injury after falling off a ladder.[24]
Escalator[edit]
In August 2012, an English tourist was saved by bystanders after his clothing caught in the escalator at Revel. Besides tattered clothes, he suffered a broken leg.[25]
On September 10, 2012, a customer was severely injured at Revel when he fell off an escalator to the floor 40 feet (12 m) below.[26]
Ray Rice incident[edit]
On September 8, 2014, National Football League (NFL) running back Ray Rice was suspended indefinitely[27] following release by TMZ of a video recording showing him assaulting his fiancée in an elevator at Revel earlier in the year.[28] The publication of the security video forced the Baltimore Ravens and the NFL to revisit their positions on the matter, leading the league to extend Rice's suspension (formerly for two weeks) and the team to release him. The only public video previously available was from outside the elevator and showed Ray Rice dragging his unconscious fiancée partially out of the elevator before a hotel employee stopped to help them.