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Analysis: Wells Fargo’s Patience Is Key to Revel’s Future

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Following the collapse of yet another deal to sell Atlantic City, N.J.’s defunct Revel Casino Hotel, time may be running out for the resort to find a savior, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Revel, which has seen two bankruptcy court-approved deals fall through, must once again begin discussions with potential buyers. And with no other proposed buyer yet to emerge, Revel’s continued survival is heavily dependent on primary lender Wells Fargo & Co.’s willingness to continue to provide funding. Though Revel shut its doors in September leaving thousands out of work, millions of dollars in legal expenses and utility payments continue to accrue each month. Much of that has been paid for by the Wells Fargo loans. “Wells Fargo has to make this calculated decision about whether to fund losses with the hope they will be able to make up those losses with an increased purchase price,” said Joel Levitin, a lawyer at Cahill, Gordon & Reindel who isn’t involved in the case. Shaun Martin, Revel’s chief restructuring officer, said at a hearing last week that no formal offers have been made for Revel, but that there have been “a lot of inquiries.”

Caesars Seeks to Disband Committee of Hostile Creditors

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Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. asked a judge to disband a committee of creditors that was set up to represent the interests of investors hostile to the bankrupt gambling company’s restructuring plans, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The panel of second-lien noteholders is dominated by hedge funds that sued the Las Vegas-based gambling company before it filed for bankruptcy last month and accuse it of scheming to defraud creditors. They have also sued the non-bankrupt parent, Caesars Entertainment Corp. Caesars asked the judge overseeing its bankruptcy to either disband the committee, combine it with a related committee of unsecured creditors or limit how much the second-priority group can spend on legal fees. Because the two committees, organized by the U.S. Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog, have official status with the court, Caesars must pay their expenses, which in large cases can run into the tens of millions of dollars.
 

Trump Entertainment Creditors Settle to Ease Bankruptcy Exit

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A panel representing Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc.’s unsecured creditors reached a deal to resolve disputes over a restructuring plan with the bankrupt casino company and lenders controlled by billionaire Carl Icahn, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The settlement “allows us to support the plan” and opens a path for Trump Entertainment to exit bankruptcy on schedule, Karen A. Giannelli, a lawyer for the unsecured creditors’ committee. Trump Entertainment filed for bankruptcy Sept. 9 and shut the Trump Plaza days later, one of four Atlantic City casinos that closed last year as the New Jersey gambling hub was battered by competition from surrounding states. The Trump Taj Mahal remains open after weathering multiple threatened closings and has secured financing from the Icahn group to keep running until the turnaround plan takes effect. Under the plan, the Icahn lenders would get control of the two casinos through a conversion of debt into equity in the reorganized company. The unsecured creditors had opposed Trump Entertainment’s reorganization plan, backed by the Icahn lenders, because they would only get to split a $1 million fund, for a recovery of less than 1 percent, according to court documents.

Revel Allowed to Scrap Second Bankruptcy Sale and Try Again

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Revel AC Inc., the bankrupt Atlantic City casino, is hoping to be third-time lucky after it won a court’s permission to scrap its second attempted sale and try once more to find a buyer, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. If the company strikes out, it could be game over for the casino which has suffered along with the rest of the seaside New Jersey town as gamblers are drawn to venues in neighboring states. Revel representatives have said the company could be forced to liquidate if it can’t attract a buyer within five months. Bankruptcy Judge Gloria Burns at a hearing yesterday in Camden, New Jersey, gave the company permission to cancel its $95.4 million deal with Florida real estate investor Glenn Straub. She also ruled that Revel can keep the bidder’s $10 million deposit, which will be held in escrow.

Revel and Straub Continue Talks as Judge Weighs Ending Sale

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Revel AC Inc. urged a judge to let it scrap the second attempted sale of its bankrupt Atlantic City, N.J., casino and try for a third time to find a buyer, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The current proposed buyer, Florida real estate investor Glenn Straub’s Polo North Country Club Inc., has no intention of going through with the deal and Revel needs to find another suitor, the casino’s lawyers told Bankruptcy Judge Gloria Burns. Revel, which opened in April 2012 at a cost of $2.4 billion, filed for bankruptcy in June and closed in September as Atlantic City lost business to competitors in neighboring states. Brookfield Property Partners LP, which won a bankruptcy auction for the assets with a $110 million offer last year, walked away, leaving Polo North as the only suitor. Revel has argued it should be allowed to cancel the $95.4 million deal with Straub after a Feb. 9 deadline lapsed without a closing. Revel is also seeking to keep Polo North’s $10 million deposit. Polo North has said that it couldn’t go through with the sale before learning whether existing tenants would be allowed to stay. Judge Burns said that she will rule by Thursday after reviewing court documents and considering arguments raised at the hearing.

Paulson Sells Lake Las Vegas Parcel for $12.5 Million

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A group of investors led by a California real estate firm has purchased 127 acres at Lake Las Vegas from hedge fund manager John Paulson's real estate investment arm for $12.5 million, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. R.Y. Properties, an Alhambra, Calif.-based developer, said Wednesday that it had bought 344 lots from Paulson's real estate unit and plans to develop three communities on the site of what was formerly The Falls golf course at Lake Las Vegas.

Revel Sale Hangs by a Thread after Court Hearing

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The sale of Atlantic City's shuttered Revel Hotel and Casino was hanging by the thinnest of threads on Wednesday after a U.S. bankruptcy judge denied a move to extend the closing date but left in limbo a motion to terminate the deal, Reuters reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Gloria Burns put off ruling on whether Revel AC could terminate its deal with Florida developer Glenn Straub, who made a $95.4 million bid for the casino, which has never turned a profit since it opened in 2012 with a $2.4 billion price tag. Judge Burns will hear arguments on Feb. 17 about whether Revel can solicit a new buyer and keep Straub's $10 million deposit.

Trump Taj Mahal Settles over Anti-Money-Laundering Violations

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Atlantic City, N.J.’s embattled Trump Taj Mahal casino has agreed to a settlement of federal findings that it violated anti-money-laundering requirements, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The Treasury Department’s financial crimes enforcement regulators in December told Trump Taj Mahal Associates LLC it had violated the Bank Secrecy Act’s “program, reporting and record-keeping requirements,” according to papers filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Trump Entertainment Resorts, the casino unit’s parent company, noted in a statement that the civil consent order was reported in the chapter 11 plan voting materials that have been approved for creditor balloting. The company detailed the settlement on Tuesday in a motion seeking approval from a bankruptcy judge. Trump Taj Mahal has agreed to consent to the assessment of a $10 million civil penalty, and admits violations of the anti-money-laundering program requirements.

Revel Casino Seeks to End Planned Sale to Florida Developer

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The Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J., asked a bankruptcy judge to end its agreement to sell the gambling complex to Florida developer Glenn Straub for $95.4 million, Reuters reported yesterday. The hotel's legal team also asked Judge Gloria Burns for permission to keep Straub's $10 million deposit. The sale to Straub became embroiled in disputes with owners of the casino's $160 million power plant, and with a group of restaurants and nightclubs that once operated in the casino, which closed in September. The restaurants feared that they could lose millions in construction costs if the sale to Straub proceeded and they were stripped of their leases. But under a stay of the sale issued by U.S. District Judge Jerome Simandle, it remained unclear if those businesses were included in the $95.4 million purchase price from Straub. The Revel asked Judge Burns to hold a hearing today to consider its requests.

U.S. Judge Puts $94.5 Million Atlantic City Casino Deal on Hold

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A federal judge in New Jersey yesterday called a temporary halt to the pending sale of bankrupt Revel Casino in Atlantic City and scheduled a hearing today on a motion to block some of the terms of the $94.5 million deal, Reuters reported today. U.S. District Court Judge Jerome B. Simandle ordered an emergency hearing in the proposed sale of the property to Florida developer Glen Straub, who could lose his $10 million deposit if the deal does not close by Monday's deadline. Straub is trying to buy the casino without any obligations to leases held by bars, clubs and restaurants that operated in the casino's hotel. Some of those tenants have gone to court to block the deal unless it protects their property rights. An appeals court on Friday ruled in favor of one of the tenants, prompting others to file motions on Saturday to get similar treatment. Judge Simandle ruled in their favor in setting the hearing for Monday. Revel, which cost $2.4 billion to build and opened two years ago, closed on Sept. 2 after filing for bankruptcy three months earlier.