Glenn Straub to turn Revel casino into refugee camp

Developer Glenn Straub has offered Atlantic City’s former Revel casino as a temporary shelter for refugees from the civil war in Syria. Here’s how he would do it.

Straub, who purchased the property for $82m in April, figured that he can provide temporary shelter for 3,000 Syrian refugees inside the hotel’s open areas while he’s dealing with a number of lawsuits and fines from different parties such as the casino’s former power supplier ACR Energy Partners.

According to Straub, refugees can stay as long as 18 months, during which they’ll hopefully be managed by the Red Cross. The resort’s Broadway Theater, which can seat 5000 people, will serve as the reception area for documentation before refugees proceed to conference rooms that will be converted into living rooms. Sorry, but the use of the hotel’s rooms is not included in the offer.

Straub added that refugees can use the laundry facilities of the resort, as well as dry cleaning and tailoring, multiple industrial kitchens and dining areas.