ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — From the day it opened less than a year ago, Revel decided to break the rules.
The newest casino in Atlantic City banned smoking, didn't offer a buffet, turned its back on bus-riding day trippers and focused on the upscale leisure traveler more than the slot-playing senior citizen.
But Monday, the $2.4 billion resort found it could not break the law of supply and demand as it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Camden.
Dragged down by a combination of bad timing (It started construction just before the U.S. economy cratered and was too far along to scrap when things were at their worst.) and business decisions that flew in the face of what had previously worked when things were going well for Atlantic City, the casino-hotel that was viewed as the resort's best hope finds itself in the same place that many of the city's other casinos have been or have barely escaped.
In filings with securities regulators last week, Revel said it was worth no more than $450 million, and it could take four years to become fully profitable.