Brookfield Scraps Big Casino Buy
Casino industry turbulence shows no sign of abating after Brookfield Asset Management's announcement yesterday that the company had scrapped plans to buy Atlantic City's shuttered Revel. Spokesman Andrew Willis said fixed costs for air conditioning, electricity and water that Brookfield would have to shoulder were to blame for the company's exit. A judge approved Brookfield's $110M acquisition of the troubled complex last month. The $2.4B hotel and casino opened in 2012 to great hype—and a Beyonce concert—as the latest project that just might reverse AC's fortunes. It closed in September following two Chapter 11 filings in as many years. Five of the dozen casinos by the Jersey Shore boardwalk have closed or will close this year. In better news for gambling aficionados, Philadelphia is moving forward with its fourth casino.
