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And he also said Revel needs to get real when it comes to food and hotel room prices, which are higher than those of most of its competition. Indeed, just a few hours before filing the bankruptcy petition Monday, Revel sent out a marketing email offering hotel rooms starting at $129 a night during the week, more in line with its lower-cost competitors. "While this would not be a problem for the convention trades, where the attendee is on an expense account, it can be a big negative for the frequent independent traveler, overnight guest and the day tripper, that provides much of Atlantic City's customer base," Norton said. "Revel doesn't have the level of low priced food options like every other Atlantic City casino." Norton said Revel was hurt by many factors, including the decision not to build a second hotel tower when the project ran out of money halfway through construction. He also specifically absolved former CEO Kevin DeSanctis of responsibility for its problems. DeSanctis is staying with a corporate affiliate to work on amenity projects for the resort. "The substantial construction cost of Revel, the loss of 1,900 of their rooms, the general collapse of the economy, the U.S. unemployment problem and new gaming options in Pennsylvania and New York
-- all causing a 40 percent decline in casino revenues -- are the primary reasons for Revel's failure, not Kevin DeSanctis," Norton said. "And without him, the property would still be an empty shell like Boyd's Echelon Place or the Fontainebleau, on the Vegas Strip." Steven Smith, a partner specializing in restructuring and insolvency with the law firm Edwards Wildman Palmer, said the key question is how a bankruptcy court judge reacts to the preplanned agreement. "Revel expects that its operations will continue post-bankruptcy without any interruptions," he said. "And by negotiating with its key creditor constituents prepetition, Revel hopes to minimize its stay in Chapter 11 land to just a couple of months and hopes to emerge in time for the Memorial Day weekend holiday with a severely deleveraged balance sheet." Revel says it plans to continue its existing player loyalty programs, promotions, dining options and entertainment shows, including sold-out concerts by Alicia Keys and Rihanna. It has 1,399 hotel rooms and a 130,000-square-foot casino with more than 2,400 slot machines and 130 table games.
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