Little Caesars Pizza-Empire Acquiring Half of Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City

Ilitch Holdings, the moms and dad business of Little Caesars, is the latest owner in the Atlantic City video gaming market.

The New Jersey Gambling Establishment Control Commission (CCC) authorized Ilitch Holdings are obtaining as much as 50 percent ownership in Ocean Gambling establishment Resort. Ilitch and Ocean-Casino majority owner Luxor Capital revealed their objectives to end up being partners in April.

Ilitch-Holdings is paying $175 million for its piece of Ocean. Representatives from Ilitch and Luxor said $70 million would be used to finish 464 hotel rooms that were never completed when the towering blue-Boardwalk structure opened as Delight in 2012.

With CCC approval, Luxor and Ilitch are anticipated to close on the transaction within one month. On Thursday, the video gaming firm likewise extended Ilitch a short-term casino license, an essential acquisition condition. Ilitch will end up being a substantial stakeholder following the conclusion of the sale.

Mike and Marian Ilitch established Little Caesars in 1959. The franchise, the third largest pizza chain in the world, made the Ilitchs extraordinarily rich. Today, the Ilitch household, worth some $4.4 billion, owns the MLB Detroit Tigers, NHL Detroit Red Wings, and the MotorCity Casino Hotel in downtown Detroit.

Unpleasant Past

Ocean Casino opened as ‘Revel’ in 2012. The integrated resort was $2.4 billion to build but was a monetary disaster from its opening. Revel failed to generate adequate profits to cover its loans after a gamer spun the first slot machine.

Moody’s and Basic and Poor’s reduced Revel’s credit rating to levels that recommended the gambling establishment would be able to pay-back its debts “upon the favorable company, monetary, and financial conditions.”

Atlantic City, NJ in 2012-13 did not present such situations, and Revel declared bankruptcy and closed on September 2, 2014. Florida entrepreneur Glenn Straub acquired Revel in personal bankruptcy for simply $82 million.

Straub floated numerous redevelopments to prepare for the previous casino. But his contentious relationship with Atlantic City officials– which concerned a boiling point in 2015 when he said New Jersey business owners “need to take all their clothes off” because the state doesn’t “know how not to rape you”– caused Revel to stay idle.

Straub sold the defunct casino-resort to Colorado based real estate developer Bruce Deifik in 2018 for $200 million. Deifik, who purchased the residential or commercial property without ever seeing it in person, reopened it as Ocean Resort Gambling Establishment on June 27, 2018– the same day the former Trump Taj Mahal reopened as Acid rock Atlantic City.

Deifik’s Ocean, however, discovered a similar fate as Revel. Not able to make good on his debts, Deifik was required to turn over Ocean Resort Casino– since rebranded as Ocean Gambling establishment Resort– to his primary loan provider Luxor Capital in early 2019.

Prosperous Future

Luxor generated video gaming market veteran Terry Glebocki to assist reverse ‘Ocean’s’ fortunes. After a loss of $2.5 million operating through the first three-quarters of 2019, under her management as CEO, which began in December 2019, Ocean turned lucrative.

The gambling establishment reported operating revenue of $21.9 million in 2020, the best performance of the nine gambling establishments in Atlantic City. Glebocki shocked the industry this week– and Luxor and Ilitch execs– by announcing her resignation. No word has been provided for her departure, but Luxor thanked her for leading the gambling establishment through a most challenging time.

“Terry signed up with Ocean on the brink of bankruptcy and is leaving the residential or commercial property as a leading gambling establishment resort in Atlantic City,” a company statement read.

During the CCC meeting, Luxor principal Michael Conboy discussed that an interim CEO would quickly be named while performing an irreversible CEO search.