What once was a star-crossed multi-billion dollar casino called Revel (2012-2014) and then was reborn amid great skepticism as Ocean Resort Casino in 2018 is now an ever-growing force in the Atlantic City casino industry.
And this week, the renamed Ocean Casino Resort has announced its launch of a 2,000-square-foot luxury gaming suite called “The Loft.”
The suite is located on the 44th floor, the better to exploit the advantage of a Boardwalk location by the Atlantic Ocean and the site’s floor-to-ceiling glass facade.
“Our ability to devote coveted hotel real estate to gaming raises the bar for high-limit action in Atlantic City,” Ocean Chief Executive Officer Terry Glebocki said in a statement. “The Loft at Ocean presents a premier casino option for guests seeking an exclusive experience on the East Coast.”
The privileged guests at The Loft will receive private butler service, personal security detail, and a tailored bar. The spot also is designed “with COVID-19 health and safety protocols top-of-mind,” including a thorough cleaning after every visit, thus “ensuring players can focus on their game of choice with confidence.”
Blackjack, roulette, and baccarat will be offered as the initial table games, but other options are expected to be, well, on the table.
The announcement comes just three months after Ocean unveiled “The Cove,” a $2 million, 7,450-square-foot gaming space with dedicated cocktail service, an enhanced beverage selection, private restrooms, and an exclusive casino cage.
Ocean playing for keeps
The two media relations contacts in the Loft press release until recently worked at Borgata, which since its opening in 2003 has set the standard for luxury in Atlantic City.
But since last summer, Ocean has hired away more than a dozen executives — including those two — from Borgata.
Aggressive competition? Or illegal “poaching” of marketing employees who can and will lure the city’s biggest gamblers from Borgata’s Marina District location over to the Boardwalk and Ocean Casino?
That’s something a federal judge is being asked to decide.
In a lawsuit filed in August, Borgata charges that William Callahan, Borgata’s former vice president of relationship marketing, and Kelly Ashman Burke, Borgata’s former executive director of marketing, have been hired to entice Borgata’s biggest spenders to Ocean.
The Cove and The Loft, of course, are just the sort of sites that these affluent gamblers surely would enjoy.
Taking his talents to the beach
Callahan had worked at Borgata since before it opened, and his shift to Ocean — according to Borgata — signals “Ocean’s intention to cripple Borgata’s casino operation and misappropriate both Borgata’s business relationships and its trade secrets and other confidential and proprietary information.”
“Callahan personally oversaw Borgata’s highest-level patrons, including those who spend or gamble $1.5 million to $4 million per visit to Borgata and are collectively responsible for approximately $25 million in revenue to Borgata per year,” per the lawsuit.
“Callahan used Borgata corporate resources to develop and enrich close personal relationships with these patrons, including making the Company’s corporate jet available to them, attending weddings, providing luxury accommodations, attending football and basketball games, and other social activities,” the suit adds. “Ocean’s egregious and willful conduct supports an award of punitive damages in this matter,” Borgata’s attorneys conclude.
Attorneys for Ocean denied the charges, which have been relocated from federal district court in Nevada — where Borgata’s corporate parent is based — to New Jersey.
