"It represents something very positive," Trump said last week. "Its going to be terrific for the Taj."
And none too soon. It is the casinos first expansion in 18 years.
When the $1 billion Taj Mahal opened April 2, 1990, it was billed as the must-see property in Atlantic City for its opulence and over-the-top decor: White concrete elephants, purple and pink carpeting, and gold minarets - a gaming takeoff of the real Taj Mahal in India.
But the casino Taj, which was financed primarily by junk bonds with onerous interest payments, put Trump into a financial abyss. The heavy debt - about $1.5 billion worth - plagued him throughout the 1990s and into this decade, and it hamstrung his casino companys ability to make capital improvements on its three aging gambling halls.
Competitors in Atlantic City expanded around him and ate into Trumps market share. When the Las Vegas-style Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa opened in July 2003 and became the towns new 'it" casino, things only got worse for Trump.
By May 2005, Trumps casino company underwent its second bankruptcy restructuring. It secured a $500 million line of credit from Wall Street investment firm Morgan Stanley and hired a new management team that included Juliano and Jim Perry, who was recruited from the former Argosy Gaming Co. as CEO.
In December, Trump Entertainment paid off its loans with Morgan Stanley and obtained a new line of credit for $493.2 million from Beal Bank Nevada.
Half of the companys line of credit went toward the construction of the Chairman Tower, and the rest to refurbish all three Trump casinos.
"They are putting half of their egg - $255 million - into this tower," said Joseph Weinert, senior vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group L.L.C., of Linwood, N.J. "This is going to help the Trump Taj Mahal regain its mojo."
