Luxor authorized to operate Ocean Resort Casino in Atlantic City

The State of New Jersey Casino Control Commission issued last week an ICA (Interim Casino Authorization) license to Luxor Capital Group, which enables it to run the Ocean Resort Casino pending the issuance of a permanent authorization.

The purchasing group became the new controlling owner of the Atlantic City casino when it took over from Bruce Deifik in January.

“We would like to thank the State of New Jersey Casino Control Commission for granting Luxor Capital Group the ICA license. We are excited to be of a part of Atlantic City’s future and Ocean Casino Resort’s continued success. We look forward to working with the employees and management team,” said Mike Conboy, Partner, and Director of Research.

As the previous owners failed to stop the rapid decline of the casino, the firm will be closely watched, while the authorities try to assess whether it has what it takes to turn things around, TUNF reports.

The Atlantic City casino has changed hands several times in recent years. Originally known as Revel, the casino’s construction cost $2.4 billion. Two years later, the resort casino closed in 2014, and Straub bought the property for $82 million in 2015.

Under Deifik, investors had hoped the property would net over $384 million in gross gambling revenue (GGR) in its first full year. But the Ocean Resort won less than a third of that with $101.1 million from the time of its June opening through the end of 2018.

Ocean Resort brings in just 5.6 percent of New Jersey’s land-based gaming economy.

When it reopened in June 2018 along with Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City there was hope the two additional casinos would bolster the city’s gambling and entertainment-based economy.