Trump casinos head into bankruptcy

[emad]

David Teather in New York
Wednesday August 11, 2004
The Guardian

SNIP

The casino business owned by US property tycoon Donald Trump has announced plans to file for bankruptcy as it seeks to restructure $1.8bn (£980m) of debt.

The reorganisation will strip Mr Trump of his majority control, cutting his 56% stake to about 25%. He will also step aside as chief executive, a fact much enjoyed by US tabloids. Mr Trump has reached TV celebrity status through The Apprentice, a reality show where his catchphrase is "You're fired".

A division of the investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston will invest $345m in the business and Mr Trump will inject $55m to reduce the debt. Credit Suisse would end up with a 53% stake.

Mr Trump, aged 57, will remain as chairman. He will give up trademark rights to his name and likeness for use in connection with casino operations but retain his interest in the Miss Universe contest owned by the company.
More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1280485,00.html

[demnan]

1. Good!

Someone should tell that asshole that he's fired!

[Tellurian]

8. Trump is a Dem and a BIG Kerry supporter...

I knew when a Texas businessman hired 2nd best, Kwami Jackson, for a bigger paying job than Bill, who won the coveted prize of a protegeship for Trump, there would be storm clouds hovering over Trump very soon.

[emad]

15. Not to late to dump the Trump before he becomes mega liability

This could be kiss of death to any presidential hopeful...

[Tellurian]

20. Trump is an asset no matter what...dumping him would be as foolhardy

as Gore dumping Clinton in 00'

[jdj]

18. He has also spoken out publicly since the get-go against the war in Iraq.

I was amazed when I read that, I just assumed all of the rich are repukes.

[Tellurian]

22. Let's face it...Bush is out to destroy anyone who speaks out against him..

Trump has been fearless in Bashing Bush!

Kudos to Trump for taking a stand when he has so much to lose.

Trump is a big boy and can take care of himself.

[skippythwndrdog]

2. What a mess.

Wouldn't you know it. Indiana approved a new riverboat casino on Patoka Lake near Larry Bird's hometown of Frenc Lick. The gaming commission and local officials took Trump's bid for the boat and left Larry and his group out in the cold. At least Larry's solvent.

The Donald strikes again. Damn!

[aden_nak]

3. How the fuck do you lose money running a Casino?

All of the games are fixed so that you take in far more money than you give out. People literally come into your building and hand you money. That's your business. You let people look at small plastic cards, round spinning things, and huge metal boxes that go "beeeeep!" and they hand you hundreds of dollars each.

Trump should just be embarrassed.

[emad]

5. Maybe Riggs Bank CEO Jonathan Bush was a sleeping partner

That Midas Touch of his has unbelievable powers...

[skippythwndrdog]

11. Not rigged, just odds and player lack of education.

Slots and video poker have payout rates of over 97% statewide in Nevada and Atlantic city. Thay payout rate ranges from 86% to 93% everywhere else in the U.S. Bear in mind the for every $10,000.00 jackpot you see, other folks have lost $10,204.00 and change to the casino. The only table games I'm thoroughly familiar with the odds on are blackjack and craps. When played correctly according to actual odds, both are stil under 1% in the player's favor. Very few folks play either correctly. There are "sucker" bets on a craps table that pay even money; the same wager on a different spot pays you at odds. The Big 6 and Big 8 are two such wagers. Play the same numbers on the inside and you get odds. A $30.00 Big Six or Big Eight pays $30.00 if it hits. Played inside they pay $35.00.

I won't even go into all of the idiotic things I've seen at blackjack tables.

FYI, 99% of all monies taken in in Vegas gaming go back out to the customers as winings. All casino operations and profits are paid out of the 1% remaining. Just remember: that's 1% EVERY time a buck cycles through the system and the same buck will cycle through 30-50 times in 24 hours.

[aden_nak]

12. I didn't mean "rigged" in the respect that the dealers cheat. . .

But the house has better than a 50% chance of winning, and at most games, a much higher chance than that. But if we're also factoring in the stupidity of people. . . isn't it even MORE embarrassing that they went bankrupt?

[skippythwndrdog]

19. Agreed. n/t

[emad]

17. Paying 12% interest on unserviceable loans?

Auditors recently warned that the business might not be a going concern.

As part of the plan to save the company, Mr Trump and Credit Suisse First Boston will invest $400m. The banking and brokerage giant will provide the majority of the money, cutting Mr Trump's holding to 25% from 56%.

Many of the casino's bondholders also have agreed to restructure their current holdings for $1.25bn in new 10-year publicly traded debt and a mixture of cash and stocks.

The company's annual interest rate will drop to just under 7.9% from 12% as a result.

Snip from BBC News:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3550636.stm

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

4. Doesn't mention Trump 29...his venture with CA indians

[skippythwndrdog]

6. He's not an owner, so they're not affected.

his company manages the casino and lends his name for a hefty fee. Harrah's gaming does the same for sever Indian casinos across the country. They have the Harrah's name under license but harrah's has no ownership. The idea is that a known name helps business.

[Red State Rebel]

7. What a jerk!

As a small business owner, I can only imagine how many other business he is going to kill when he does this. There is nothing worse than getting a bankruptcy notice from someone who owes you money. It doesn't take much to sink us little guys and when you look at his other assets and how he lives it's absolutely despicable that he would do this.

[skippythwndrdog]

9. It's not just small businesses.

Look what happened to Fleming Companies when K-Mart went into bankruptcy. Fleming doesn't exist anymore. But then, what company could expect to survive when the got a whole 37 million to satisfy a 1.5 billion dollar debt?

That will happen to a bunch of Trumps creditors, too.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

10. And to think Trump has done this twice

Every time a Bush gets elected Trump files bankruptcy.

[shadu]

13. Grrrrrrrrrrr

This is what ruined my first business.
This is legalized Grand Theft.

[emad]

14. Trump Exec VP: "...our brand could work very nicely in UK"

Snip from Times:

Mr Trump is planning to enter the Las Vegas market in particular. But he has also had talks with potential partners in the UK with a view to taking advantage of the deregulation of gambling. Scott Butera, executive vice-president of Trump Hotels, told The Times: “We’re looking very hard at the UK. We believe our brand would work very nicely there.”

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,8209,00.html
http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,140962,00.gif

[ElsewheresDaughter]

16. WOW this comes on the heels of Trumps TV critism of bushco and his...

announcement that he is a democrat and voting for Kerry...i ahte these facist bastards....same thing they did to Martha Stewart for the same reasons: she supported the democratic party and it canidates with her mouth and money :grr:

[daleo]

21. How do you run a casino into bankruptcy?

I thought those places were licenses to print money.