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A bankruptcy judge Thursday said she would approve an $82 million sale of the Revel Casino Hotel to Florida developer Glenn Straub, ending nearly 10 months of contentious legal combat for control of the Atlantic City, N.J., resort.

The purchase price represents a more than 96% discount from the $2.4 billion is cost to build Revel, which first opened its doors in 2012 but never turned a profit. The sale to Mr. Straub is expected to close Friday.

During Thursday’s hearing, lawyers for Revel’s former tenants as well as its utility provider pleaded with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gloria Burns for more time to complete a potentially more favorable $88 million deal with a duo of veteran real-estate executives. But Revel and Wells Fargo Bank, the resort’s primary lender, said that the time for other potential bidders to reach a deal had long passed and that there was no funding left to continue the case.

“The only one to put his money where his mouth is, is Mr. Straub,” said John Cunningham, a lawyer for Revel.

Ramy Ibrahim, Revel’s investment banker, testified at the hearing that he had recently been in contact with as many as 18 other potential bidders, but that the purchase agreement with Mr. Straub remained “the only real offer.”

“I know there is an unhappiness with the buyer,” Judge Burns said at the conclusion of the hearing. “As of today, there’s nothing else definitive before the court.”

As part of his plans to purchase Revel, Mr. Straub intends to cancel all existing leases and contracts tied to the property, including those with the former tenants and with the operator of the property’s custom-built power plant, its only source of electricity and hot water.

“They have to understand, we can’t have them control our lives,” Mr. Straub told The Wall Street Journal Thursday.

The dispute with tenants and the power plant operator, ACR Energy Partners LLC, has been a major sticking point throughout Revel’s Chapter 11 case, setting off a string of appeals and causing earlier deals to sell Revel to collapse.

In particular, neither Mr. Straub nor any other potential bidders have been able to come to terms with the ACR Energy. Under the existing contract, average payments to the power plant top $3 million a month, court papers show.

While he pursues a more permanent solution, Mr. Straub said Thursday he plans to bring in temporary generators and boilers to power Revel, which could be damaged by mold if its climate control systems are shut down.

Mr. Straub said that he plans to spend as much as $800 million in Atlantic City, including $300 million to construct a second tower at the Revel site and to reconfigure its lobby and entrances.

“This is a resort, and it’s not going to be a small resort,” he said.

His $500 million plan for the surrounding area includes a revamped airport, polo fields, a water park, a soccer franchise and other amenities to turn Atlantic City into a more family-friendly destination.

Mr. Straub said he is already under contract to purchase another casino property in the area.

Revel filed for Chapter 11 protection in June, its second trip to bankruptcy court in as many years.

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