“I keep waiting for the elevator doors to open and somebody to walk out carrying bags of money. We keep hearing about people with money wanting to make bids. I haven’t seen 
them yet.” So said Glenn Straub, who continues to suffer an agonizingly slow bankruptcy-sale process for Revel. His tormentors are the phantom bidders who might be out there but, with two exceptions, refuse to manifest themselves. With $82 million in escrow, Straub is the only one who has skin in the game. Los Angeles-based developer Izek Shomov has made “an offer of funds,” which isn’t too impressive in this context. New to the game is private-equity financier Jeffrey Keating. The latter says he’s assembling a consortium of buyers. He would reopen Revel with an emphasis on gambling, plus arcade rides and a Ferris wheel.
Moelis & Co. Senior Vice President Ramy Ibrahim said his firm had vetted 19 interested parties but had found seven of them to be just smoke and mirrors: “None of them were able 
to validate who they were, who they were representing. In our opinion, at the end of the day, they were not real buyers.” An attorney for the contested Revel power plant claims there are five more suitors out there of whom Moelis is unaware.
Even if Judge Gloria Burns gavels in favor of Straub’s bid, he still has to keep his fingers crossed through March 31. That’s because Revel AC was able to negotiate an escape clause that voids Straub’s purchase agreement if a better off comes along before month’s end. The unanswered question in this remains, If Revel is so desirable and has so many interested parties then where are they and why haven’t they ponied up?
* Carl Icahn owns Trump Taj Mahal … almost. If Unite-Here Local 54 wins its court challenge to Trump Entertainment Resorts‘ evisceration of pension and health 
benefits, all bets are off. If TER prevails, Icahn wins the casino by exchanging his debt for equity, plus $3.5 million to its unsecured creditors. The Taj for $290 million might not seem like such a great swap in today’s depressed real estate market on the Boardwalk, but it’s a trade Icahn is willing to make. He’s also changed his tack on state and local subsidies, saying he thinks he can get the money by disputing and appealing recent property-tax levies on the Taj.
* Approval of a two-casino package squeaked through the New Hampshire state Senate by a two-vote margin and now goes to the even-less-certain House, which killed casino legislation by just one vote last year. Also uncertain is whether Gov. Maggie “One Casino” Hassan will veto the Legislature’s two-pack. Each casino would have to pay $60 million in upfront fees in order to be licensed. Even with casinos looming in Massachusetts, Granite State legislators are deeply divided as to whether gaming is a desirable or reliable revenue source.
* Can’t find a good game of Sigma Derby in Las Vegas? Regulators have approved virtual horse racing, which is basically a horse-race video game that will fill the lacunae between live 
meets on the screens of Vegas sports books. Westgate Las Vegas and Caesars Entertainment, both of which have massive sports books, were supportive of the concept, developed by William Hill PLC. Hill’s CEO, Joe Asher, made his sales pitch thusly: “This is not in any way, shape or form designed to replace live horse racing,” Asher said. “The idea with virtual is to put it in that gap where there’s nothing else happening. So if it’s a Tuesday and there’s two tracks running, it might be 20 minutes between races. Maybe you throw in a virtual race or two in that gap.”
CG Technology, while in favor of virtual racing, wants to take it a step farther and get Nevada approval for “historical racing,” which has proven successful in flyover country, although it’s currently under siege in Idaho. In any event, it’s more of a product for the slot floor than the sports book.
* The old guard continues to be thinned out at MGM Resorts International. Buried in a semi-related press release was the news that Luxor and Excalibur President Renee West will be stepping down on April 24. It’s getting pretty lonely around the campfire for veterans of the Terry Lanni years.
I bet Wells Fargo regrets ever getting involved with this. The mystery bids are a joke. The next bids will be around $50 mil, and with all the problems over power and leases, they might not work. I think Wells will throw in the towel and liquidate to get what they can.
Does this “serious” bidder know that Revel already has a view of “arcade rides and a Ferris wheel” at the Steel Pier? They are also building their own observation wheel similar to the High Roller.