Glenn Straub: The Omega Man

Glenn Straub‘s public image as an ADD-afflicted flake won’t be helped by a recent Bloomberg Business story that outlined the latest twist in his ever-shifting plans for Revel: StraubStraub wants to turn it into a hotspot for cryogenics, of which he is an apostle. “I’ll extend your quality of life by an extra 20 years, guaranteed. If we don’t extend your life and you don’t feel more comfortable, don’t pay,” Straub promises. After every polo match he plays, Straub indulges in a session of cryogenic cold-temperature treatments, zapping his body with nitrogen vapor cooled to minus-260 Fahrenheit, augmented by weekly blood transfusions. Straub would like to live to 100 and believes there’s a substantial like-minded clientele. (He’s probably right, too.)

Straub plans to beef up Revel’s betting offerings by handicapping the dressage events envisioned for his to-be-built equestrian center. He’s getting off on the wrong foot with Revel employees, though, telling Bloomberg, “These people get paid too much money.” (Why is it that the individuals who begrudge casino workers a decent wage are usually well-heeled billionaires? Nobody says Straub — a self-made billionaire who runs Revel from his 155-foot yacht — has “too much money.”)

trumpHis other ambitions include a Revel helipad, 24 corporate jets ferrying high rollers in and out of Bader Field, and a marina for “horse patrons and oligarchs with boats too big for Greenwich or the Hamptons.” Unfortunately, he’s turning to Donald Trump for business advice, saying the blowhard has “a great sense of value — he knows when to buy and when not to buy.” Not in the casino industry he doesn’t.

Currently, Straub is going on a “gut feeling” that Atlantic City is primed for recovery, predicated on its location as a midpoint between New York City and Florida. However, Revel_0947he seems to be coming around to the realization that he might not be able to reopen the casino until next year — certainly not if he’s going to tear up the lobby area and revamp it, as planned. His business plan for the $2.4 billion megalith is “It’s for people who want to feel young. With this blood situation, they know … you’re deficient in every minute of every day. You do that every three months, you check in with us, you do a little gambling while you’re here.”

And if that doesn’t work? Straub was the last person to own the Miami Arena. After four years, he decided it was noncompetitive. So he tore it down.

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