Revel: Straub checkmated?; New player in Indiana

By reaching an accord with Revel tenants, East Coast developers Howard Milstein and Carl Goldberg may have aced Glenn Straub for the dubious trophy that is Revel. They’re bidding $88 million for the property, potentially leaving Straub to fall back on sophistry that his $82 million bid is bigger than it looks because of a nonrefundable deposit. Milstein Group says it is “prepared” to put the whole 88 mil into escrow, seeing Straub’s offer and raising him. “The Milstein Group has reached an interim agreement with the Amenity Tenants under which they will not seek a sale free and clear of the Amenity Tenants’ leaseholds at this time,” they added.

Speaking of offers, Izek Shomof‘s vaporous “offer of funds” evaporated when he could come to terms with Revel’s vexatious power plant. The latter may have given Shomof a hard-hat tour, but it apparently took a hard line in subsequent negotiations. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking fast on Revel AC‘s bankruptcy proceeding, which must be wrapped up by April 30. As things now stand, it looks as though the debtor group will be seeking an extension.

* With Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) practicing kamikaze economics, Hoosier State casinos fear losing more business in an already soft market. A gaming-reform bill making its way through the Lege has already been threatened with a Pence veto and Howard Stutz turns up one more factor that may make the governor ixnay the legislation: The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians wants to build a massive casino in South Bend. It’s hardly a done deal but Pence always frets like an old biddy about casino “expansion” (translation: “I’m anti-gambling”) and this could be the excuse he needs.

* StreetAuthority is warning Wall Street speculators away from Caesars Entertainment. “I wouldn’t touch CZR — or its Alpha Score of 28 — with a 10-foot pole … The judge hearing the case recently appointed an examiner to investigate the transfers and any conflicts of interest between the hundreds of legal entities Caesars created. This is an ominous sign for the company and the stock,” it warned.

* Buying Caesars stock won’t shorten your life expectancy … but playing the lottery might.