"The rebranding of Trump Marina to Golden Nugget will help regain the property's niche as a destination luxury casino resort," she added.
Trump Marina first opened June 19, 1985. For nearly 26 years, it was operated under the Trump brand, using several images of Donald J. Trump in the casino's interior. Last week, the large Trump moniker on the outside of the building was removed in preparation for the casino's six-month, $100 million transformation into a Golden Nugget Atlantic City Casino.
That is the projected amount for the first of three phases, Fertitta said, and workers were standing by earlier today waiting word that they could resume the transformation process.
The purchase marks the return of the Golden Nugget brand to the Shore resort. The Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort was formerly a Golden Nugget from 1980-1987, before being renamed.
"We think the facility that we're going to put in is going to be extremely competitive," Fertitta said last week during an interview at his Houston headquarters. "Hopefully, we bring in new business, and we don't have to steal market share.
"But we're going to do whatever it takes."
In all of Fertitta's 250 restaurants and shops nationally, and at his two other casinos - Golden Nugget Las Vegas and the Golden Nugget in Laughlin, Nev. - Landry's employees operate everything. There are no outside vendors. All of his GMs have been groomed in-house - which he says will be the case with Golden Nugget Atlantic City.
Fertitta told the commission that he will retain most of the current casino's staff, but said that "there are some people that will no longer be at the property."
