'If there had been a range of new attractions and potential customers with enough discretionary income, I think that Atlantic City could have absorbed the new capacity,' said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. High room and restaurant prices hurt, too. By the time those decisions were reversed, it was already too late. That included Atlantic City's only total smoking ban, which alienated many gamblers the lack of a buffet and daily bus trips to and from the casino and the absence of a players' club. The idea behind Revel was to open a totally different resort, a seaside pleasure palace that just happened to have a casino as one of its features.