Nothing has come easily for Atlantic City's Revel casino, from the death of three executives in a plane crash to running out of money, going bankrupt twice and finally closing after just over two years of operation.
But the difficulties for the $2.4 billion Revel reached a new level Monday when a Florida developer won the right to buy it for $95.4 million — and immediately announced he was going to court to halt the sale to himself.
Glenn Straub's Polo North Country Club is the only bidder left for Revel. But it now wants the former casino at a lower price than it last offered.
'This is a most unusual sale motion in that we have an objection by Polo North to their own sale,' Revel attorney John Cunningham said. 'I think in my 23 years of practicing bankruptcy law this is my first time to see that.'
In the fall, Straub bid $95.4 million for the casino resort. He wanted bankruptcy Judge Gloria Burns to approve an $87 million sale price, which she refused to do.
The judge ruled that Straub's most recent bid is still binding, and that is the price he will have to pay. That led Straub's attorney, Stuart Moskovitz, to say he will seek a court order halting the sale to his client. He asked Burns to issue a stay to her own order, but she refused.
During a break in the hearing, Moskovitz said Straub 'is not making any decisions right now.'
Straub refused to say whether he intends to operate the property as a casino hotel or for some other purpose. One of many ideas he has floated involves gathering the world's top minds at the site to work at a 'genius academy' to tackle society's problems.
But Straub also sounded like it would not trouble him too deeply if the deal fell through. He said he remains interested in 'wineries and country clubs' in the region.
During an hourlong break, Revel attorneys spoke with Straub and his lawyer about unspecified language to be included in a final sale order. But Cunningham told the judge that Straub and his lawyer 'will not engage. They feel they need more consultations with experts. He continues to tell us he's going to appeal your order.'
Moskovitz told the judge that Straub simply needs a few days to consult with others, including nongambling businesses that operated at Revel. After the hearing, Moskovitz said no court challenge would be brought before Thursday.
Burns reiterated her belief that the auction was done properly, and that there are no grounds to void its results — something Straub had sought as an alternative if his request for a lower purchase price was rebuffed.
In October, the court approved a sale to Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management for $110 million. Brookfield pulled out of the deal a month later in a dispute with bondholders over debt from the construction of Revel's costly power plant.
That led the court to turn to Straub's Polo North Country Club as the runner-up bidder, whose last bid was $95.4 million.
Moskovitz said Straub's bid of $90 million should be in effect 'because we believe the entire bidding process was tainted.' He also wanted a $3 million 'breakup fee' applied to the purchase price, which the judge denied. He objected and asked the court to set aside the auction results last year after it emerged that Revel attorneys had represented companies affiliated with Brookfield in unrelated matters.
Revel shut down on Sept. 2 after little more than two years of operation in which it never turned a profit. It was one of four Atlantic City casinos to close in 2014.
Its entire history is rife with setbacks and tragedies. It broke ground just before the Great Recession hit, and it ran out of money halfway through construction. Three of its top executives were killed in a plane crash, and a construction worker was fatally struck by lightning.
0 Full Coverage of Plane Crash In Minnesota. Mayor Scott Evans told The Associated Press that those on board the flight from New Jersey included two high-ranking executives from Revel Entertainment, which is building a $2 billion hotel-casino project in Atlantic City, and several employees of Tishman Construction. A project manager on.
N818MV, the Hawker 800 involved in the accident, photographed in February 2007. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 31 July 2008 |
| Summary | Crash during go-around attempt after landing; pilot error |
| Site | near Owatonna Degner Regional Airport, Owatonna, Minnesota |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Hawker 800 |
| Operator | East Coast Jets |
| Registration | N818MV |
| Flight origin | Atlantic City International Airport, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Destination | Owatonna Degner Regional Airport, Owatonna, Minnesota |
| Occupants | 8 |
| Passengers | 6 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 8 |
| Survivors | 0 |
East Coast Jets Flight 81 was a business jet flight operated by East Coast Jets, that crashed on July 31, 2008 while attempting a go-around at Owatonna Degner Regional Airport near Owatonna, Minnesota, killing all eight passengers and crew on board. The flight originated in Atlantic City International Airport, and was scheduled to land in Owatonna. The crew made a go-around attempt after the aircraft touched down, but it overran the runway, hit Approach Lighting System fixtures, stalled and crashed, with the main wreckage coming to rest 2,400 ft (730 m) from the runway end.
- 4Investigation
Aircraft[edit]
The aircraft operating the flight was a Hawker 800 registered as N818MV, manufactured in 1991. East Coast Jets began operating it in June 2003.[1]:8
Flight[edit]
After first travelling from its base airport at Lehigh Valley International Airport[2] to Atlantic City to pick up passengers, East Coast Jets Flight 81 departed from Atlantic City International Airport at 8:13 am, en route to its destination, Owatonna Degner Regional Airport in Minnesota.[3] `
Accident[edit]
At 9:45 am, Flight 81 was cleared for landing, and the aircraft touched down on assigned runway 30. Noticing that there was insufficient runway length remaining for the jet to stop, the crew decided to go around. As it began to take off again, the aircraft overran the end of the runway and impacted elements of the Approach Lighting System. This caused the aircraft to bank hard to the right until it was upside down before crashing into a cornfield 2,400 ft (730 m) from the runway. Seven occupants died on impact. One survived the crash, but she died less than two hours later in a hospital.[4]
Investigation[edit]
After initially suspecting an over-run,[citation needed] the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators deduced, from eyewitnesses in the airport's control tower,[page needed] that the aircraft crashed due to a failed go-around.[1]:x Because the jet had no flight data recorder on board, NTSB investigators used the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder and eyewitness accounts. Because of the wet runway, the idea of possible hydroplaning was discussed, however it was ruled out later on.[1]:87 Investigators determined that the pilots hadn't begun the go-around earlier before overrunning Runway 30. The pilots failed to apply full brakes, and moved the brake handle towards the OPEN position instead of selecting the proper DUMP position during the landing.[clarification needed] which would have safely brought the aircraft to a stop even after it overran the runway. The pilots were also criticized that they continued the attempt to go-around after overrunning the runway. The NTSB cited the pilots' error in attempting a go-around as the primary cause of the accident,[1]:89 concluding that the aircraft would have come to rest within the runway safety margins.[1]:87 The NTSB cited other contributing causes, and issued a series of recommendations.[5][6]
Probable Cause[edit]
In the NTSB's final report, it states the following:
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the captain's decision to attempt a go-around late in the landing roll with insufficient runway remaining. Contributing to the accident were, 1, the pilots' poor crew coordination and lack of cockpit discipline; 2, fatigue, which likely impaired both pilots' performance; and 3, the failure of the Federal Aviation Administration to require crew resource management training and standard operating procedures for Part 135 operators.[1][7]
Revel Casino Wiki
The NTSB issued 14 Safety Recommendations as a result of this accident.[1]:90-91
Aftermath[edit]
The six passengers were all connected with the construction of Atlantic City's gigantic Revel Casino, the city's tallest building, then under construction. They had flown to Iowa to meet with the glass-walled project's glass manufacturer.[3] Wrongful death actions were filed on behalf of the passengers' families and were settled around the same time as the NTSB's report. The casino was described by some as a 'memorial' to the flight's passengers.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ abcdefg'Crash During Attempted Go‐Around After Landing, East Coast Jets Flight 81, Hawker Beechcraft Corporation 125‐800A, N818MV, Owatonna, Minnesota, July 31, 2008'(PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. March 15, 2011. NTSB/AAR-11/01. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
- ^Deegan, Jim, 'NTSB preliminary report issued in crash that killed Bethlehem-area pilots', The Express-Times, August 7, 2008.
- ^ abFerraro, Nick, and Vezner, Tad, '8 dead after Owatonna plane crash; missing accounted for', Pioneer Press, July 30, 2008.
- ^'accident record'. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
- ^Cohen, Aubrey, 'NTSB: Pilot in fatal crash tried go-around too late', Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 15, 2011.
- ^Katz, Peter (July 5, 2011). 'It's better to accept a poor outcome than to create a disastrous one'. Plane&Pilot. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
- ^Lacagnina, Mark (May 9, 2011). 'Too Late to Go'. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
- ^Nguyen, Ho (April 11, 2012). 'Atlantic City's Revel seen as memorial to 6 executives who died in plane crash'. The Press of Atlantic City.
External links[edit]
| Wikinews has related news: Southern Minnesota plane crash kills eight |