The remaining $1.15 billion in financing was secured Thursday, and work on the stalled $2.4 billion project will resume as quickly as possible, Kevin DeSanctis, Revel's CEO, told The Associated Press.
In what was surely an understatement, he described himself as "a little relieved."
"We're extremely pleased to be moving forward," DeSanctis said. "We think we will have a really positive impact on Atlantic City and South Jersey."
Bob Griffin, CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts and president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, said Revel's resumption marks "the rebirth of Atlantic City."
Revel was begun in 2007, before the national recession hit and credit markets dried up. It ran out of money in January 2009 and halted work with just the exterior nearing completion.
Gov. Chris Christie has committed $261 million in state tax credits to help Revel once it's open. Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the governor, termed Thursday's announcement "good news, just what we wanted to hear. We hope to see things move forward in earnest now."
Revel will open in the summer of 2012 with 1,100 hotel rooms, and is likely to be Atlantic City's last mega-resort for some time. When fully operational, Revel will employ 5,500 people. It will generate about 2,100 construction jobs, providing a much-needed boost for the southern New Jersey economy.
But just as big is the psychological boost that completion of Revel will provide for Atlantic City.
"It's a win for the city," said Joe Weinert, senior vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group, a New Jersey casino consulting firm. "This should be a morale boost for everyone who has a stake in Atlantic City. Revel itself is going to be a catalyst for a rebound after four years of discouraging news."
Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley, the project's major backer, pulled out in April 2010, deciding it was better to take a nearly $1 billion loss on the project than see it through to completion.
DeSanctis said work will resume soon on the project.
"We will be moving as quickly as we can," he said. "Every day, you'll see a little more starting up there."
Revel is likely to be the last project of its kind in Atlantic City for the foreseeable future. It was begun when the resort was awash in grand construction plans, including four new casino-hotels worth more than $10 billion. The first (and only) project to actually put shovels in the ground and begin construction, Revel progressed to the point where it was considered too far along to abandon when money ran out.
Atlantic City has since set its sights lower. Christie signed legislation last month to allow construction of two "boutique" casinos in Atlantic City with a minimum of 200 hotel rooms.
Previously, New Jersey law required at least 500 rooms, and the most successful of the city's 11 casinos have 2,000 rooms or more.
Yet Revel plans to be exactly the type of destination resort Atlantic City says it must have in order to compete successfully with the racetrack casinos and slots parlors that are bedeviling Atlantic City in neighboring states. In that regard, it is following the blueprint set out by the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa which has been Atlantic City's most successful casino since it opened in 2003 with an emphasis on luxury Las Vegas-style gambling, accommodations, top restaurants and entertainment.
"I've been saying we need new product, something more than just new rows of slot machines, something transformational from convenience gambling to a true destination resort like Borgata," said State Sen. Jim Whelan, a former Atlantic City mayor. "That's what Revel is going to be. I think Atlantic City is positioned well for the future."
Even competitors welcomed Revel into the market. Don Marrandino, eastern division president of Caesars Entertainment, which owns four of Atlantic City's 11 casinos, said the jobs and renewed buzz Revel will bring to the market will benefit everyone.
"It will help by bringing more people down to that end of the Boardwalk," he said. Together with the announcement Monday that the Houston-based owner of the Golden Nugget is buying Trump Marina Hotel Casino, Marrandino said "there's great optimism in the city right now."
Nothing about Revel has come easily. Six months before its developers ran out of money, and interior construction slammed to a halt, three key executives working on the project died in a plane crash in Minnesota.
The city's casino service workers union campaigned against a $350 million tax break the casino sought, fearing the new development could cause other casinos to close and throw its members out of work.
Even the wind has targeted Revel, toppling a construction crane off its roof. When welders were dismantling what was left of the crane, part of the building caught fire.
The ocean-themed casino is being built on a 20-acre site at the northern end of the Boardwalk, next to the Showboat Casino Hotel. Its gently sloping contours are designed to appear sculpted by ocean waves.
