| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Gambling Entertainment & Hospitality |
| Founded | Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Formerly |
| Headquarters | Trump Taj Mahal Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Key people | Robert F. Griffin, Director, CEO, General Manager of Trump Taj Mahal[1] David R. Hughes, Chief Financial Officer Donald J. Trump, Founder & Former Chairman Avenue Capital Group, holding company |
| Products | Trump One Rewards Card |
| Website | Trump Entertainment Resorts |
Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc. is a holding company that owns and manages two casinos/hotels in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States. Formerly known as Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, it was founded by Donald J. Trump, who was Chairman of the Board of Directors until his resignation in 2009.[2] Bob Griffin is currently Director and Chief Executive Officer. The organization runs two properties: Trump Taj Mahal and Trump Plaza. Together the properties have 6,600 slot machines, nearly 350 gaming tables and over 3,600 hotel rooms. [3] It sold the Trump Marina to Landry's Restaurants, which also operates the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.[4] Trump is not on the group's board, but was given stock in the company for its use of his name and likeness.
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Trump began purchasing properties along the Atlantic City boardwalk in the early 1980s and received a gaming license from New Jersey's Casino Control Commission (CCC) on March 15, 1982. [5] He had planned to build his own casino on the boardwalk, but was stalled on the project when Mike Rose, then CEO of Holiday Inn and Harrah's approached him to manage construction of a Holiday Inn Casino-Hotel. It opened in May 1984 and two years later Trump bought out Holiday Inn's shares in the property and renamed it the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.[6]
In 1985, Trump purchased the nearly-complete Atlantic City Hilton hotel and casino property at the Atlantic marina from Hilton Hotels for $325 million. The hotel chain sold the property after its application for a gaming license was turned down by the CCC.[7] Trump originally opened the property as Trump's Castle Hotel Casino, and later renamed it the Trump Marina.
In 1988, Trump purchased the unfinished Taj Mahal property from Resorts International for $230 million after negotiations with Merv Griffin in which the two men divided the assets of the failing company.[8] The casino, at the time the largest in Atlantic City, would eventually cost almost $1 billion by the time it opened in 1990. Trump completed the project using junk bonds, a decision that hurt the company afterward as the gaming industry struggled in a recession and interest rates became unmanageable.[9]
In 1995 Trump created Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts (DJT) and began issuing public shares in his Atlantic City holdings. [10]
Trump Entertainment Resorts has filed for corporate bankruptcy three times, in 1991, following construction of the $1 billion Trump Taj Mahal and in 2004 and 2009.
In 2004, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts explored various options for restructuring its debt, amid speculation that it might file for bankruptcy. A possible arrangement with Credit Suisse First Boston was not completed because the bondholders rejected it.[11]
On October 21, 2004, the company announced a preliminary agreement with its investors. Trump, who has been the majority owner, would reduce his stock ownership from 56 percent to 27 percent. Bondholders would surrender some of their debt in exchange for stock. On October 27, the company announced that Morgan Stanley would be the joint lead arranger for a financing of $500 million financing as part of the restructuring plan. On November 21, the company filed for bankruptcy. Trump said the filing was "really just a technical thing" as the best way to implement the restructuring plan.[12] The plan was submitted to the Bankruptcy Court on December 16, 2004.
After the 2004 bankruptcy filing, the company changed its name from Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts to Trump Entertainment Resorts.
On May 18, 2007, the company announced that it was in the preliminary stages of negotiating a buyout with several public and private firms. On July 2, 2007 Trump Entertainment Resorts announced that they could not make a deal with any company that they were in talks with and decided to take itself off the market. The company planned to lay off employees in order to cut costs.[13]
The casino group filed for bankruptcy for the third time in February 2009 [14] owing $1.2 billion. Two sets of debt holders eventually proposed reorganization plans for the group in U.S. bankruptcy court.
Trump initially made an agreement with banker/high-stakes poker player Andrew Beal, owner of Beal Bank, which held $500 million in the group's debt, to take over the resorts. However, citing concerns about the bank's experience with gaming, he dropped them in favor of the hedge fund Avenue Capital Management, a plan favored by other bond-holders. Beal then partnered with investor, Carl Icahn, who had worked on restructuring another Atlantic City casino, the Tropicana. [15] In court, Trump argued that he would fight the Icahn/Beal team if they sought to use his name and likeness on the group's properties. [16] Instead he signed an agreement with Avenue Capital in which he would receive 5% stock in the reorganized company and another 5% in exchange for the use of his name and likeness in perpetuity.
Judith H. Wizmur, Chief Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, eventually sided with the Trump/Avenue partnership, favored by bond holders who believed that Trump's brand would result in a stronger company after reorganization. [17]