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Published: Wednesday February 18, 2009 MYT 11:36:00 AM
Updated: Wednesday February 18, 2009 MYT 4:00:36 PM

Trump casinos file for bankruptcy a third time


ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (AP) - The three Atlantic City casinos once run by Donald Trump filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday - for the third time.

Trump Entertainment Resorts made the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey, four days after the real estate mogul whose name remains on the company and its three seaside gambling resorts resigned as chairman of the board.

Trump was frustrated that bond holders and their allies on the board rebuffed his offer to buy the company and take it private.

"Other than the fact that it has my name on it - which I'm not thrilled about - I have nothing to do with the company," Trump told The Associated Press Tuesday morning.

He acknowledged being sad over the end of a venture that was so publicly and relentlessly associated with his name and image. Yet he said the company "represents substantially less than 1 percent of my net worth, and has for some time."

"If I can't manage something, it's not for me," Trump said.

All three of the company's casinos will continue to operate as usual during the bankruptcy proceedings.

It marked the third time that the three Trump casinos have filed for bankruptcy. The current incarnation, Trump Entertainment Resorts, was born of a prior trip through bankruptcy that ended in 2005.

Debt that was still left over from that restructuring was exacerbated by the economic meltdown and cutthroat competition from slots parlors in Pennsylvania and New York that have been hammering Atlantic City for more than two years.

The company has $1.74 billion in total debt and $2.06 billion in assets, according to the court filing.

"It was the only option left to us," said Mark Juliano, the company's CEO. "We will work to get it restructured and come out of this with an appropriate amount of leverage."

The casino company owns three Atlantic City casinos but is in the process of selling the Trump Marina Hotel Casino. Its two other properties are the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, and the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.

Juliano said the bankruptcy filing will have no effect on the planned sale in the spring of Trump Marina to a company led by Richard Fields, a former protege of Donald Trump.

In the meantime, Juliano stressed that all three Trump casinos will be open for business as usual, and customer loyalty programs will remain in effect.

"This is a restructuring, not a liquidation," he said. "Vendors and employees will be paid, customers will have winning bets paid."

The company skipped a biannual $53.1 million payment to bond holders that had been due last Dec. 1, and started negotiating with them on a refinancing of $1.25 billion in debt. Those talks had been extended four times before ending with Tuesday's bankruptcy filing.

Trump acknowledged the company has limited rights to use his name, but hinted he may seek legal action to force them to stop using it.

His daughter, Ivanka, whose image has been increasingly used to market the casinos, also resigned from the board last Friday.

Separately Tuesday, a proposed $400 million New Orleans high-rise involving Trump is on hold until national credit markets start recover from the recession, an attorney for developers said.

Stephen Dwyer, who represents Poydras LLC, said developers have not secured all their funding but still hope to move ahead with the high-end condominium and hotel project by the end of the year. - AP

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