The idea behind Revel was to open a totally different resort, a seaside pleasure palace that just happened to have a casino as one of its features. When it opened, it was so laden with debt that it couldn't bring in enough revenue to cover it. It ran out of money halfway through construction and had to drop its plans for a second hotel tower while scrambling for the remaining $1 billion or so it needed to finish the project. The casino broke ground just before the Great Recession.
