Atlantic City's Revel project being shopped to banks Thursday for financing

ATLANTIC CITY - It looks as if the $2 billion Revel Casino project on the Boardwalk has found a new lifeline.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 10 a.m. call with a group of banks Thursday to sell them on the Revel project. This move suggests the development may be close to raising money to complete construction, say gaming analysts.

Kevin DeSanctis, Revel Entertainment Group L.L.C.'s chief executive officer, told The Inquirer last week that he was pitching the project to Wall Street banks and was confident he could secure the $1 billion needed to complete the project.

If successful, Revel could be open by mid-2012, he said.

The conversation with the bankers will be significant, according to those familiar with such calls. Among the things to be discussed will be how to structure first- and second-lien term notes, as well as the junior debt to allow the casino to get up and running without putting too much of a drain on near-term cash flow.

Construction of the casino and hotel next to Showboat on the northern end of the Boardwalk came to a halt in January 2009, when money ran out.

For struggling Atlantic City, Revel's completion is critical. It would be the only major development to move forward at a time when lending is tight and the town is being battered by competition.

In April, Morgan Stanley, Revel's former majority investor, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it planned to sell its $1.2 billion stake in the project at a loss. Late last month, it said it had written off the investment.

Roughly $1 billion is still required to complete the casino. All the remaining work is on the interior, including the restaurants, retail shops, and spa.

"This is one of several key steps in the process," DeSanctis, who has been informally shopping the deal to investors in recent weeks, said Wednesday. "We are making progress."