Lien Placed on TEN Atlantic City, Former Revel, for $62,000 in Unpaid CRDA Payments

Posted on: June 14, 2017, 02:00h. 

Last updated on: June 14, 2017, 11:39h.

Casino.org Staff Writer Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming.

The TEN Atlantic City saga continues, as a judge has placed a lien on the casino resort for owner Glenn Straub’s refusal to pay $62,000 in Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) Special Improvement District (SID) fees.

TEN Atlantic City Revel tax lien
The former Revel, now named TEN Atlantic City, doesn’t appear to be on its way to reopening on the Boardwalk anytime soon. (Image: Amy Rosenberg/Press of Atlantic City)

New Jersey Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez said the failed payments date back to 2015, when TEN owner Glenn Straub sued the state agency. The Florida-based developer argued his opinion that he’s exempt from paying CRDA fees since his casino is being roadblocked from reopening by the Casino Control Commission (CCC).

Straub has long maintained that he shouldn’t have to obtain a gaming license with the state since he plans to lease his floor to a licensed third-party vendor. But that’s simply not the law in New Jersey, as any parent company controlling a gambling operation must obtain a casino license.

“While the authority would prefer to resolve such claims amicably, Polo North (Straub’s company) refused to pay its SID Assessment and, ultimately, failed to comply with a court order compelling payment,” CRDA Executive Director Chris Howard told the Press of Atlantic City.

Earlier this month, Straub missed yet another self-imposed reopening deadline, saying it’s pointless to try and welcome guests without a functioning casino.

Straub Continues Fight

The SID money collected by the CRDA is used to improve the cleanliness and safety of the Atlantic City community. That includes Boardwalk and dune cleaning, recycling programs, street and sidewalk sweeping, landscape maintenance, and various other beautification tasks.

But for Straub, who purchased the $2.4 billion former Revel Casino Hotel for pennies on the dollar in April of 2015, the best way to embellish Atlantic City is to get shuttered properties back open for business. While he contends he has the Boardwalk community in his best interest, and that the state is simply standing in his way, others highlight his refusal to play by the rules others do shows he might have alternative motives.

Wayne Parry, the Associated Press journalist who covers gaming in Atlantic City, recently summarized Straub’s antagonistic behavior, “Casino license? Don’t need one. Alternative tax payment? I’ll pass. Power plant debt? Not my problem. Fees to spruce up the neighborhood? No thanks.”

Straub says his hostility to the state is due to New Jersey’s consistent efforts to “rape businesses.”

TEN Sale Rumored?

With Straub opting to forego opening TEN as a hotel-only facility, and now his refusal to pay CRDA SID money and allow a lien to go on the resort, rumors are justifiably surfacing that the controversial owner is looking to sell.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) has expressed his wishes that Straub does just that. “I’m hoping quite frankly that he sells it because in the end he just hasn’t been able to deliver,” the governor said in April on his radio show, refusing to call Straub by name, instead referring to him as “this guy” repeatedly.

Republican Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian has also stated publicly that he doesn’t believe Straub will ever open TEN, and will sell the property in the coming months.