A Last Look at Atlantic City’s Failed Revel Casino

Revel, the sleek, stylish $2.4 billion beachfront resort that opened in April 2012, will close its doors at 11am ET on Monday, Sept 1. Revel, the fourth Atlantic City, NJ casino to shut down this year, has been plagued by financial problems from the start: construction was delayed in January 2009 because of lack of funds and Revel has filed for bankruptcy twice since opening.

Revel was seen as the answer to Atlantic City's gambling woes; industry insiders, state politicans and locals believed Revel would attract the crowds that have slowly been leaving AC for gambling venues in New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Its modern design, open spaces and Vegas-like entertainment drew people to the resort, but Revel failed when it came to AC's bread and butter: gambling.

"It was a resort with a casino, not a casino with a resort," says Alan Woinski, publisher of Gaming Industry Weekly Report. "Casinos need to attract gamblers -- that's what pays the bills."

Revel was reportedly losing between $1 million to $2 million per week.

Oliver Cooke, an associate professor of economics at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, says 2014 will "go down in Atlantic City's history as one of the worst economic years on record." More than 8,000 casino workers in Atlantic City will lose their jobs.

Here's one last look at Revel before the lights go out.

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