Revel Huge Mistakes

Revel is opening this week in AC and no matter how beautiful it looks, it is making huge mistakes as far as the regular all year AC gamblers, especially to those who already have a home base casino like The Borgata.
Instead of keeping what works in AC and adding what is lacking in AC, Revel is lacking much of what people expect and adding stuff that will not attract as much business as they believe, like a beach party but not on the beach at a beach bar. Breathtaking views are nice but same can be seen from the boardwalk or even from the pier mall and Revel actually stole the view from half of the Showboat's hotel rooms. Better yet, a walk outside on the beach or boardwalk when weather is agreeable is better than any view but Revel doesn't seem to have any direct access to the boardwalk or beach. There are plenty of beautiful beaches to visit in NJ without a surrounding inner city providing an obstacle to the beach. OK there's plenty of places to talk and sit inside and outside the Revel but what's the point if the chairs aren't comfortable? The outside areas are built in such a way that there will be a constant wind which will make the fire pits less enjoyable. Some folks have been told the inside sitting areas are for decoration, not sitting???
I do like their No Smoking policy but it will definitely cut hugely into their bottomline. The Smokers will come and try to do their thing, making it uncomfortable for the nonsmokers as well as a real challenge for the security at Revel. All other AC resorts have more or less given up trying to enforce a partial smoking ban. If I could have a buck for every butt found in nonsmoking areas, I would be a multimillionaire. There will be walls of smoke to penetrate at the first point of the end of the Revel property, even if their security is successful.
The list of many other dumb business decisions which will deter business seems to grow while what the resort is bringing to the table seems to diminish.
No buffet which I believe is a real HUGE mistake.
No Tiered Players card and therefore, no special players lounge, exclusive lines, etc. for higher tiers and worse of all, no free parking.
No Horseracing Simulcast betting, even though off track betting parlors called Favorites are a huge hit in NJ and NJ voters approved future sports betting.
No direct casino entrance on the boardwalk.
Will be interesting to see if smoking will be allowed on the walkways from the boardwalk to the resort's entrance which will become a giant ashtray.
Regular video poker players do not seem impressed with Revel's poker slots so will keep playing at their current home base casinos.

Results:
Most Borgata Black Label Players will be staying Black Label.
Most CET Diamond will be staying Diamond and can always get upgraded to Borgata Black Label.
Most CET Platinum will stay Platinum for the free parking at Showboat (or Total Rewards bus to Showboat) and play at CET casinos for free buffet coupons.
For lower AC rollers, The Atlantic Club may be a diamond in the rough as well as the Gold Nugget. Both have been making some attractive changes.

Revel's timing would have been perfect to pick up the disgruntled CET Diamond players dropped football but instead of picking up the CET dropped ball like The Borgata did, Revel decided to let The Borgata continue to score touchdown after touchdown.
The Borgata will remain the only profitable casino in AC.

About the only thing Revel may do better than The Borgata is perhaps music selection. The Borgata continues to play some of the worse music soundtracks I have ever heard.

ETA: More info as updates are reported
Something positive! Revel has some free stuff to do while sitting around like games, reading, and puzzles. Wonder how they will keep the invasion of kids under control? Actually, they have already made it clear the resort is not for kids and kids are not allowed in the sitting areas.
Revel Parking is like a municipal lot where you pay a machine to get a ticket before you leave. Also have to remember to get the extra receipt for same day parking at other parking lots from the machine.
Player card signup is not offering an initial bonus download or any other type of bonus which all other casinos have always done.

Revel supposedly still has rooms available even for their first weekend even though only 500 rooms were up for grabs for their *soft* opening. Their policy of having to book both nights on a weekend may be greatly hurting them.
Plus no truly comped rooms!! Players can pay for the room with their earned comped dollars but the rooms will not be *free*.
Another mistake Revel made is ignoring potential bus business. It is day trippers and bus commuters that have kept ShowBoat in business.
So folks have fewer transportation choices to and from Revel:
drive and pay for parking
or take a jitney/cab
or walk a bit more outside from the boardwalk
(note: The stairs leading to the entrance closest to the boardwalk is past the center of the complex when walking from Showboat)
from whatever boardwalk hotel provided free parking or transportation and will therefore, continue to receive play to keep the free parking, comped room, free buffet, etc.
Showboat gave up its view to the Revel behemoth but in return Showboat will have lots of hungry customers eating, parking, staying and most importantly, playing there.

ETA:
Here are my own direct impressions:
Walkway from boardwalk was tricky to find but found it.
HATE the long escalator into the casino which is a real safety hazard.
Most penny slots had higher minimums than I prefer
and seemed pretty tight.
Casino was much darker inside than expected.
Music was too loud and not any better than Borgata's
(much prefer Showboat and Caesars music)
Place felt cold, uninviting, and liveless.
Very confusing layout.
Hard to find bathrooms, etc.
No mobile phone signal inside Revel
Good thing it was empty enough for my husband and I to find one another without our phones!
Not fun to visit at all like the Taj or Wildwest when first opened.
Very glad they didn't offer upgrades or gambling incentives so I do not have to return!
Overall, felt like a large racino.
Speaking of racinos, too bad our governor didn't pump the tax dollars into NJ's racetracks instead.

Predictions ....
It will feel more like a ghost town than the CET AC Diamond Lounges off season and will have trouble paying its utility bills. Lots of huge areas needing heating and cooling. The bonds providing the finances to finish its construction will never be paid. It is supposed to be like a cruise ship but on land without interesting ports to visit. Last I checked cruise ships had food and shows included and most had buffets.

What is really sad is that Revel's failure will be blamed on its *No Smoking* policy instead of all of their other terrible decisions.