Revel sale off

5m purchase agreement between Revel casino and mogul Glenn Straub was terminated by a bankruptcy court judge on Thursday.

Judge Gloria Burns ruled at a hearing that Straub violated the terms of the agreement when he failed to meet a deadline of 9 February to complete the acquisition.

Straub’s company, Polo North Country Club, had requested more time for the takeover to go through and wished to move the deadline until later this month.

Straub, a Florida-based millionaire, intends to appeal the decision, as was confirmed by his lawyer Stuart Moskowitz.

Revel will now be able to begin talks about a potential takeover with other interested parties and will be allowed to retain Straub’s $10m deposit, though Judge Burns ruled that the deposit must be held in escrow for now.

The latest collapse of a Revel takeover follows a $110m deal to sell to a Canadian private equity firm, which fell through last year over payments to the operator of the casino's custom built power plant.

The casino closed in September, causing 3,000 employees to lose their jobs, and was one of four Atlantic City casinos to cease operating last year.

Revel’s chief restructuring officer Shaun Martin said at a hearing last week that “a lot of inquiries” have been made for the casino, though no more formal offers have as yet been received.