Morgan Stanley Unit Buys Land for 13th A.C. Casino
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey As Reported by the Inquirer (Philadelphia): "The gambling subsidiary of Morgan Stanley has acquired 20 acres on the Boardwalk to develop what will be Atlantic City's 13th casino.
"The Wall Street firm confirmed it paid about $74 million for the land, which had been controlled by a group of developers and the Atlantic City Housing Authority.
"A Morgan Stanley official said yesterday that the company intended to choose a casino operator to build and operate the previously reported $1 billion casino hotel on the site that abuts the Showboat casino and the Bella Condominiums high-rise tower in the city's rapidly developing South Inlet area…
"He would not name the firm with which MS is negotiating, and the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, which regulates Atlantic City's casino industry, has not received any application for a new casino license.
"But real estate professionals and gambling industry officials familiar with Morgan Stanley's plans say a leading contender is Hard Rock International Inc…
"A housing agency official said MS Gaming was also obligated to produce a condo tower, or casino hotel, or both, at a cost of at least $80 million under the terms of the original agreement made when North Beach Holdings acquired the land…
"With its plans to develop Atlantic City's newest casino, Garrity said MS Gaming would not be in direct competition with Trump's three casinos there."
2006-05-20
