Donald Trump is once again in control of the Atlantic City casino empire that bears his name.Mr. Trump, his daughter Ivanka, and the Dallas-based Beal Bank bought the company out of bankruptcy late Monday, August 3rd for $100 million, vowing to make his company great once again and to make Atlantic City hot.He plans to bring in lots of entertainment to bring focus on Atlantic City.Something he feels Atlantic City lost when he left.
Donald Trump gave up control of his empire after a second Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in 2005.Still, he remained the largest stockholder and chairman of the board.Both he and Ivanka resigned from the board after they turned down his offer to buy the company shortly before they filed their third bankruptcy.With the debt restructured, he is now looking to a successful future of renovations and entertainment.
A former Trump associate named Richard Fields wanted to purchase Trump Marina.Last month he filed suit against the company claiming that the property had deteriorated beyond the point where anyone would finance the purchase.Trump said the allegations were not true, but did acknowledge that some upgrades were needed.
The plan is to invest $100 million in the upgrades to get the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, and Trump Marina Hotel Casino back to the standards needed to compete with the other luxury resorts in Atlantic City.
The bankruptcy this year let Trump Entertainment Resorts get rid of over 66% of their $1.7 billion debt.The huge debt had kept them from competing with other big name facilities such as Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.Trump Entertainment now owes just $486 million to Beal Bank Nevada and has been give an extra 8 years to pay.It is now due in 2020 instead of 2012.
The company CEO, Mark Juliano, hopes the bankruptcy process will be complete by the end of October.