Ocean Casino Resort Owner Gets Full License to Run Property

New York-based hedge fund Luxor Capital Group on Wednesday obtained a permanent license to operate Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City after the Boardwalk property was able to prove that it was financially stable and was no longer bleeding money.

After a hearing that took place this past Wednesday, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission granted a permanent license to Luxor to continue to operate the hotel and casino resort.

During the hearing, Luxor partner Michael Conboy and Ocean CEO Terry Glebocki told New Jersey regulators that the resort has not needed financial infusions for the past three quarters and that it has seen a promising growth both in its brick-and-mortar and online gaming and sports betting operations in recent months.

Ocean opened doors in June 2018. The property occupies the building of the former Revel casino resort, which was launched in 2012 only to close doors two years later.

Ocean started bleeding money almost immediately after its opening until February 2019 when Luxor assumed control of its operations. The hedge fund invested an initial $70 million into the ailing hotel and casino, including $50 million to pay down debt.

It also hired a new management team, led by Ms. Glebocki who boasts more than three decades of experience in the Atlantic City gaming market.

Focus on Digital

Ms. Glebocki told regulators during the Wednesday hearing that if in 2019 their focus was on brick and mortar, this year is to focus on iGaming as they see “a lot of growth opportunity there.”

The Ocean CEO went on to explain that they have been working with their marketing department to further bolster their digital operations.

After Luxor took over the Boardwalk casino, the hedge fund invested money into correcting flaws that were believed to have prevented Ocean from turning into a profitable property after its launch in the summer of 2018. Improvements included changing a confusing casino floor layout and addition of safety panels to escalators that bring players to the gaming portion of the resort, among other things.

The Wednesday hearing was the final hurdle Luxor had to overcome in order to be able to permanently assume control of Ocean’s operations and remain part of the Atlantic City gaming market. The New York-based hedge fund received an interim permit to run the casino resort in August 2019.

Ocean, just as the rest of Atlantic City’s casinos, is currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Property officials said Wednesday that when it reopens, they expect it to be soft. As a result, they would focus on “cash flow and profitability and tightening the belt straps and pushing off” for the first six to 12 months.

Ms. Glebocki also pointed out that they have decided to hold off some capital improvement projects because of the impact of Covid-19, including the addition of high-end table game and slot machine areas and reconfiguration of the casino floor. All these were supposed to be done by the summer.

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