Morgan Stanley is seeking a $350M bailout to complete their Revel Casino project in Atlantic City, yet compensation at the firm went up substantially last year.

Compensation at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase Investment Bank, which are more diversified than traditional broker-dealers, increased by 31 percent in 2009. Average compensation rose by 27 percent to more than $340,000. (Data is not currently available on the securities operations at Citibank and Bank of America.)

The following articles give a bit of a chronology on the Wall Street firm's investment in the Revel project, including its decision to pursue the investment despite its risks and its attempts to conceal their investment by "chang[ing] the name of the entity that acquired the casino site from Morgan Stanley Gaming Cos. Holdings to Ventura Holdings to avoid being seen as a would-be casino operator."

Why Wall Street Is Placing Its Chips on Casino Investing

Atlantic City Casino Stubbornly Advanced by Revel Entertainment

Morgan Stanley's Albatross: Real Estate (subscription required)

Quacking Like A Duck