Glenn Straub says he will open 1,500 to 2,000 rooms at his Ten resort in Atlantic City, which was formerly the Revel casinos, by June 15.
Of course, Straub has made several such announcements before dating back to last summer—when he also named June 15 as an opening date—and all have been delayed as he battles the state and city over regulatory approvals.
This time Straub said he expects the rooms at the site’s hotel to be open and include a $4 million computer system, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
However, it quickly became apparent that Straub still needs city approvals to open the property.
“We will reach out to him and work with him the best that we can,” Dale Finch, city director of licensing and inspection told the paper.
Straub also has to meet several conditions from the state Casino Reinvestment Development Authority—which oversees the city’s tourist district—including providing a landscaping plan and traffic study. CRDA officials said Straub has yet to meet the conditions, the Press said.
Straub has had numerous battles with the state over the property, including a court battle with the state Casino Control Commission. The commission ruled that Straub needs full casino licensing in the state for a casino to re-open at the property. Straub maintains he will only lease the space to a casino company and should not need licensing.
Straub told the Press he plans to open the hotel rooms while he waits on state Superior Court to rule on his petition to waive the casino license requirement.
“While that is being resolved, we wanted to open the hotel,” Straub said.
If the court rules as expected that Straub needs a casino license, Governor Chris Christie told an NJ101.5 radio show that he should either apply for one or sell the property because Christie would never approve a casino license for Straub under his watch, which ends in January 2018.
In another matter, a case involving sign taken from the neighboring—and now closed—Trump Taj Mahal casino has been settled, the Press reported.
A lawyer representing a Philadelphia recycler that said it bought the “TRUMP” signs and then tried to sell them on eBay told the paper all cases stemming from the case are settled, but did not disclose any details, including who ended up owning the signs.
According to the paper, Recycling of Urban Materials for Profit, or RUMP, claimed it paid an Eastern Sign Tech worker removing the signs from the closed casino $250 on Feb. 16 and took possession of them that day.
The clients then put the signs up for auction on eBay, getting a high bid of $7,500, before they were forced to cancel the auction when the seller claimed the sale was invalid. RUMP then sued Eastern Sign and Trump Taj Mahal Associates for at least $100,000.
