Trump Will Keep Control of 2 Casinos
Donald J. Trump got to keep control of his two strongest Atlantic City casinos Thursday, but New Jersey regulators reserved judgment on the Trump Castle until next week, saying they wanted more financial information.
Trump also got a rude shock from Castle bondholders Thursday, with at least a quarter of the debtors saying they would try and push the casino into bankruptcy rather than accept the developer’s terms to stay afloat.
The New Jersey Casino Control Commission ruled 5-0 to allow Trump to keep operating the Taj Mahal and the Trump Plaza casinos. The commission could have taken away Trump’s license to run the casinos if he was found financially unstable.
But the commission pressed Trump for more information on his weakest casino, the Castle, saying it had not yet worked out its debts or met its interest payments.
“The Trump Organization, the Taj Mahal, and the Plaza all succeeded in fulfilling the essential representations made to the commission at prior hearings. The Castle clearly did not,” said Commission Chairman Steven Perskie.
“The Castle plan is clearly too incomplete and too recent,” Perskie said. “The commission is not in any position to reach any conclusion on the long-term financial stability of the Castle.”
Trump, uncharacteristically silent through two days of hearings, was elated.
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