Former Revel Casino Moving Toward Reopening as Ocean Resort

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (Associated Press) — Atlantic City’s former Revel casino is moving toward its reincarnation as the Ocean Resort Casino.

The Boardwalk property said Monday it’s affiliating with the Hyatt hotel chain. The announcement came on the sixth anniversary of the opening of Revel.

Colorado developer Bruce Deifik bought Revel in January and set about remaking the property.

“Hyatt has an incredible 60-plus-year legacy in the industry, and its loyal global customer base will have access to an authentic way to experience all that makes Atlantic City attractive and popular,” Deifik said.

Although Ocean Resort will continue to own and operate the 1,399-room hotel and the casino, its affiliation with Hyatt will enable it to make use of their reservation systems and other infrastructure, a spokeswoman said.

It also will include the 32,000-square-foot location of exhale, Hyatt’s newly acquired fitness and spa brand, which will feature 32 treatment rooms, a mind and body studio, and a retail boutique.

Ocean Resort plans to open sometime this summer, although it has not yet announced a date.

Accessing the expertise of a major worldwide hotel chair — and its base of potential customers — could address two big reasons Revel failed. It shut down in 2014 after little over two years of operation, during which it never came close to making a profit.

The $2.4 billion resort had to compete against casinos with national and global customer bases, putting it at a disadvantage.

Ocean Resort recently got approval from state gambling regulators for the design of its gambling chips, and has been advertising numerous jobs throughout the resort.

It is one of two shuttered casinos planning to reopen this year.

Hard Rock is remaking the former Trump Taj Mahal casino that President Donald Trump opened in 1990 and fellow billionaire Carl Icahn closed in 2016.