It's getting harder not to think of the Revel casino as the American Dream project of Atlantic City. Revel may be prettier to look at than the pile of mismatched bricks in the Meadowlands. But just like that vast retail and entertainment project once known as Xanadu, Revel was dogged by false starts and enabled by generous state subsidies. Unlike that kaleidoscope in the swamp, Revel opened for business in 2012. But it has yet to live up to the high expectations of investors and state cheerleaders.

And now, to make matters worse, Revel is gambling with the trust of consumers. You couldn’t miss the TV and radio spots in recent weeks. The ads trumpet “You Can’t Lose,” a desperate plea for gamblers to come play at the shiny new casino with the promise of a refund for all slot losses in July: “If you win, you win. If you lose, we’ll give it all back.”

Not quite. As The Star-Ledger's Karin Price Mueller explained in her Bamboozled column Monday, anyone who fell for the Revel line wasn't reading the fine print. Make that the very fine print.

If you took out your magnifying glass you might have seen the details on the Revel website. The caveats in the television ad last all of one second. You’d have to replay and pause the video to catch it, as Mueller did. If you heard it on the radio, you were referred to the “Player’s Club” for more details.

The refund is illusory. All you’ll get for the month of July if you lose at least $100 are “free play” slot dollars that allow you to keep playing — but you can’t cash them out. The credits are given over 20 weeks beginning in August, and you won’t get the full “refund” if you don’t play at the casino for each of those 20 weeks.

Of course, when most people hear “refund,” they think they’ll get all their money back, in actual dollars, no questions asked.

Here’s what stinks: The bait-and-switch worked. Earlier this month, Revel reported its first-ever profitable week.

That state won’t say whether it’s investigating Revel’s questionable ads. But consumer law is clear about advertising that uses small print and ambiguous language to pull a fast one on customers. The state shouldn’t let its investment in Revel tie its hands when it comes to holding the casino accountable for deceptive advertising. Revel might profit from this approach in the short term, but the loss of public trust will likely cost the struggling casino much more in the long run.

Correction: An earlier version of this editorial mischaracterized the nature of the state's subsidies for Revel.

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