$2.4B Revel casino shuts down after just 2 years

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Revel Casino Hotel closed its doors Tuesday morning, a little more than two years after opening with high hopes of turning around Atlantic City's struggling casino market.

The 5:25 a.m. casino shutdown followed the closure of its hotel on Monday.

By mid-September, four of Atlantic City's 12 casinos will have closed, but none will be a costlier failure than Revel.

It started construction just before the Great Recession hit and had to take on so much debt it never could turn a profit.

The Showboat closed on Sunday, Trump Plaza is closing Sept. 16, and the Atlantic Club closed in January.

The consolidation is a reaction to the saturated northeastern U.S. casino market, which continues to add new gambling halls to markets without enough demand to support them all.