By Brenda Flanagan
Correspondent
A tense showdown at Camden Bankruptcy Court where multi-millionaire developer Glenn Straub again called the recent Revel auction unfair. After the $2.4 billion casino went belly-up, Straub offered $95 million during the auction that culminated in a contentious, all-night bidding war.
Straub lost to a better bid from Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management.
“He thought he was going to be the one and no other bidders would show up. Fortunately Brookfield did, and they’re the winning bidder because of it. What it means for Revel is it’s gonna reopen as a casino under the management and control of Brookfield,” said Revel attorney John Cunningham
Brookfield owns the Atlantis Casino in the Bahamas and the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. Revel accepted its $110 million bid — after Brookfield gave them a 6 a.m. deadline — and Straub didn’t offer a topping bid. During court testimony, he claimed they couldn’t reach accountants.
“Everybody went home and went to bed. Now all of a sudden at 5:30 in the morning you gotta have somebody there? They had their consultants. I had the right to have my consultants,” Straub said.
Straub also told the judge, “This was going to be a a rubber stamp — that’s what we were told. And then, suddenly, they had another bidder.” He said, “I didn’t bring enough medication” and ended up “wandering the streets of New York City in a state of high anxiety.” But Straub’s testimony today seemed disjointed, and he even got into an argument with an auction manager.
“To go ahead and say something like, ‘Yeah we know about your mental capacity,'” said Straub.
Straub reportedly shoved the manager — Barak Klein.
“I went like this to go to the elevator and we went, ‘We’re gonna go outside,'” said Straub.
Klein had no comment, and in a blistering commentary, Revel attorney Cunningham called Straub “a disgruntled losing bidder. … Mr. Straub had to put his money where his mouth is. He didn’t do it.” Cunningham claimed the casino’s creditors accepted the strongest bid, but Straub’s attorney says Brookfield’s on shaky financial ground.
“Apparently they owe a billion dollars in back taxes to Las Vegas. This is who they’re bringing in here to close?” asked Stuart Moskovitz.
Brookfield’s lawyers had no comment and its credentials satisfied Judge Gloria Burns, who said, “It’s a very complicated case with so many moving parts, and after 20 hours, everybody’s a little testy. But at the end of the day, the sale was properly conducted and it was fair. Losing bidders do not have standing.”
What happens now? Judge’s decision notwithstanding, Straub may file an appeal, arguing, again, the auction was unfair. But for now, this court fight ended with a legal TKO.