I probably should post on the opening of the Venetian Macau, but I won’t, at least not today. Instead, there’s a casino project on the drawing board in Atlantic City that looks more interesting to me today. From the AC Press:
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.
Plans revealed for $2B. casino hotel
This is exactly the kind of project that the city needs. I don’t see any belly-aching about the Bader Field site here–just a desire to build the best in the market and let the customers decide for themselves.
I like the two towers concept (no, that’s not a Tolkien reference, at least not an overt one). I think that’s what they should have done with the Taj’s expansion. I read somewhere that Shah Jahan, who built the REAL Taj Mahal as a tomb for his favorite courtesan, wanted to build a matching tomb for himself in black. Instead, his son overthrew him and imprisoned him in the Red Fort.
Just imagine how cool an identical Taj tower in black would have looked! At least it wouldn’t be the usual white concrete/red lighted sign look that dominates the city. I haven’t seen enough of the actual expansion to say anything insightful…yet. But I still like the thought of the white and black towers, side by side.
I’d really like to see renderings for the Revel project. It sounds like the bold move ahead the city needs. If you click through, you’ll read that they’re even going to include a wedding chapel–something I can’t believe no one in AC has done yet.
It’s great to hear about new construction on the Boardwalk.
While we’re talking about that end of town, I still haven’t gotten a satisfactory explanation about why Harrah’s painted the Showboat beige. I guess, like the Mormon Will’s true provenance, it’s something I’ll just have to be content not knowing.