Trump Still Fighting: Part III of III

Donald Trump has the three properties that are the subject of discussion: Trump Taj Mahal – which is doing well, and then Trump Plaza and Trump Marina which aren’t. Some say that they feel sorry for Trump, that he is obviously trying to solve the problems but to seemingly no avail. Many think he will not be successful in pulling it off.

Over the past several months, the company has spent about $140 million revamping the properties, with another $110 million still to come. But experts say that it may be too little too late. He is now competing with casinos like the Borgata, which is the most recent casino to open – and yet it has already spent $200 million expanding its gambling floor.

Trump has a reputation though, which many others are gaining but do not have yet. Over the course of 22 years – 1980 to 2002 – only four casinos opened in Atlantic City and three of them were Trump’s. It hurt him of course, as he ended up with huge debts and those debts have hurt him when it came to updating and running the properties.

With newer, fancier casinos coming in and trying to compete with what Trump had built, Trump’s debt made it almost impossible for him to keep up what he had basically started. First he sold shares in his casino; then in 2004 the company had to file for bankruptcy protection in federal court. They came out of it with a new name and management team, with Trump now in the Chairman’s seat only. James B. Perry took over as Chief Executive, and tried to turn it around.

The company and its new executives have been working hard to see that the future of the company looks a little brighter than it has been as of late – for a company that started strong when no one else did is bound to have some ups and downs, but no one goes up better than Trump.



Back to May Archive or Slot Machines