(This story was updated at 7.30 pm to include additional details from the property record and other news articles in paragraph two, three and eight).
Glenn Straub’s Polo North agreed to sell the casino property known as the Revel to a group of developers that had been leasing the property and trying to reopen it as TEN. A property record shows Polo North and TEN agreed to the sale on Aug. 31.
It was not clear from the document whether TEN, backed by Denver-based developer Bruce Deifik, is making a serious bid to buy the Revel or just trying to protect their interests as lease-owners. Reports of a possible sale of the Revel were rife over the summer and The Press of Atlantic City reported that an offer for the property was made in July.
“All contracts, leases or other agreements shall be unenforceable unless and until they are signed by Polo North Country Club, Inc,” said the document, which was not signed by Polo North. The Press of Atlantic City reported that Straub said he had “no idea” about the sale and that “They are doing this just so they can tie up our property.”
Revel’s owner Glenn Straub last year leased the property to a group of developers who rebranded it as TEN. Plans to reopen the property this year foundered, however, when the Casino Control Commission denied Straub a casino license.
It was not immediately clear whether the sale would clear the way for TEN to get a license. The documents show Deifik as the manager of Mile High Dice MGR, LLC, which is the manager of TEN RE ACNJ, LLC and which entered the sale agreement with Polo North Country Club, LLC. Deifik is founder and president of Denver-based developer Integrated Properties. His bio says the company has purchased 103 commercial properties since 1990, including large hotels such as the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort in Palm Springs. Deifik did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TEN was founded in December last year by Connecticut-based developer Robert Landino, according to business records. Landino is chief executive of Centerplan Companies. Landino said he could not comment on the Revel deal yet.
Landino’s Centerplan has been caught up in litigation with Hartford over the construction of a minor-league baseball park. Landino said that Centerplan was wrongfully terminated from the project. The Hartford Courant reported in February that federal criminal investigators were probing the project. Landino said that there was no criminal investigation and stressed that the ongoing litigation is related to a civil suit filed by Centerplan, related to its wrongful termination.
A separate report by Casino Connection AC in August connected casino executive Mark Juliano’s departure from Sands Bethlehem to a possible Revel sale. Juliano would be brought in by would-be Revel buyers to run the property, sources told Casino Connection AC.
The Agreement of Sale: