Ocean Casino Resort’s new Chief Executive Officer says the venue is set for a brighter future after bouncing back from a variety of issues.
Terry Glebocki was appointed permanent CEO during early December having spent the past three months serving in the role on an interim basis.
With more than 30 years’ experience in the Atlantic City casino industry behind her, Glebocki clearly possesses the know-how to take the business forward.
She has previously worked for Bally’s, Trump Entertainment Resorts and Revel, and is renowned for having a shrewd eye for detail in respect of casino finances.
Read on as we look at Ocean Casino Resort’s troubled past and assess how Glebocki has already set about turning things around.
Ocean Beset by Problems from the Start
The site, formerly known as Revel Casino Hotel Atlantic City, was impacted by major issues even before construction was completed.
Global financial company Morgan Stanley, the main owner of Revel Entertainment Group, walked away from the project and its $932 investment back in April 2010.
A financing package was subsequently put together by Revel that allowed the construction to be completed, but things didn’t go to plan thereafter.
Substantial financial losses led to Revel twice filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy which eventually led to the closure of the resort in September 2014.
After months of legal disputes Revel was eventually sold to Glenn Straub’s Polo North Country Club for $82 million in April of the following year.
However, despite numerous promises that the property would reopen for business nothing came to fruition and it was sold to AC Ocean Walk for $200 million in January 2018.
New Beginnings at Ocean
The new owners rebranded the venue as Ocean Resort Casino and set about securing link-ups with respected names in the gambling and hospitality industries.
Online casino supplier GAN announced soon after the Ocean’s takeover that it would power an online gambling arm of the resort.
In April 2018 a deal was agreed with Hyatt Hotels to join its unbranded Unbound Collection, while the following month William Hill teamed up with Ocean to offer sports betting.
The resort eventually opened during June, but just six months later it was sold to Luxor Capital Group LP, a New York-based hedge fund.
The property was renamed Ocean Casino Resort in April 2019, with trustee Eric Matejevich eager to focus on the venue’s casino business.
Glebocki had joined Ocean a few months earlier as Chief Finance Officer and her work in this role undoubtedly helped to get the resort back on an even keel.
New CEO the Driving Force Behind Ocean’s Turnaround
Glebocki was appointed as interim CEO in August, before securing the role on a permanent basis at the start of December.
Her impact on the business has been staggering, with Ocean recording six successive profitable months up to the end of November.
Glebocki says that significant changes were implemented across the business to create a platform for Ocean Resort to flourish.
“We needed to grow the revenues while reducing expenses – certainly not the easiest thing to do, but that’s exactly what we did,” she said. “We increased marketing offers to drive visitation, examined every expense and changed the fixed cost structure.”
Despite enjoying success over the past few months, Glebocki insists that Ocean’s management team will not be resting on their laurels over the coming year.
“We’ve seen tremendous volumes online through our sports betting platform (William Hill NJ),” she said. “We are looking to replicate that success with our online casino.
“We have no plans of slowing down, and we are excited to carry our momentum into 2020.”
