Trump Marina

ATLANTIC CITY - A casino's size and freshness often equate to market success. Yet two of the smallest and oldest gambling halls here, Resorts and Trump Marina, are banking on old themes to bring them new glory. At Resorts, gaming-industry veteran Dennis Gomes - who with JEMB Realty Corp., of New York, bought Atlantic City's first casino from its lenders in December for $31 million - envisions a return to the Roaring Twenties, complete with flapper dresses (designed by him) for cocktail waitresses and period uniforms for bellmen, butlers, valet staff, and table dealers.

The Trump Castle Casino Hotel will undergo a $125 million face-lift, courtesy of a West Coast real estate investment trust. The project is expected to give the property a "more youthful feeling" when it is renamed Trump Marina as early as this summer. Under an agreement announced yesterday between Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc. and Colony Capital, the Los Angeles property investment firm will hold a 51 percent stake in the Castle property. Trump Hotels will retain a 49 percent interest and will continue to manage the marina-front resort.

It won't be easy for him, but casino mogul Donald J. Trump may soon take his name off his Trump's Castle and turn it into a Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Or will he? While Hard Rock Cafe officials were insisting yesterday that their pending deal with Trump would require him to part with one of his larger-than-life logos on the Atlantic City skyline, Trump himself seemed increasingly uneasy about the idea. "That's wrong," he said in a telephone interview from Scottsdale, Ariz.

Atlantic City will be going upscale this summer. The much-ballyhooed Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, scheduled to open in July, will cater to the bluebloods as opposed to the bluehairs. The Las Vegas-style establishment is setting the pace, as a number of other casinos are expanding, updating rooms, and adding four-star restaurants. Despite the alterations many casinos are making, the variety of entertainment remains fairly constant. Atlantic City standards such as Tom Jones and Smokey Robinson will return, and a few noteworthy acts who seldom come to town, such as Mariah Carey and Justin Timberlake, will grace local stages.

Even the arrival of the peak summer season didn't boost Atlantic City's woes, as casino revenue fell 3.7 percent last month compared with a year ago. The 11 gambling halls generated $276.2 million in revenue, with nearly 73 percent of that coming from slot machines, or $200.5 million. The rest came from table games. Borgata led the pack, generating nearly $57 million, while the former Trump Marina - now a Golden Nugget - came in last place at $10.8 million. Though June is considered one of the most profitable months for Atlantic City as large crowds visit the Shore, seven of the casinos posted revenue declines.

Donald Trump's struggling casino company yesterday won a two-week reprieve to continue talks with lenders and bondholders as it fights to avoid bankruptcy. "We're glad we are continuing to talk, and that we have until [Feb. 4] to make more progress," said Mark Juliano, chief executive officer of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., which owns the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza, and Trump Marina casinos in Atlantic City. "We've been involved in ongoing discussions for a while, and things are continuing to be discussed.

Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts Inc. yesterday began a cash offer to repurchase $242 million in debt securities as part of a refinancing at its Trump Marina hotel and casino in Atlantic City. The offer is for all of its mortgage notes due in 2003, which pay 11.75 percent annual interest. Holders of the notes, if they accept the deal, would receive 94 percent of the face value, plus accrued and unpaid interest. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Germany's Deutsche Bank AG has agreed to refinance the troubled casino company at a substantially lower interest rate than 11.75 percent.

In what has otherwise been a tough year, casino operator Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., owner of three casinos in Atlantic City, yesterday reported a jump of nearly 14 percent in its third-quarter profit despite a small drop in revenue. The company reported a quarterly profit of $6.6 million versus $5.8 million in the previous year. Net income per share was 21 cents, up from 19 cents a year ago. Net revenue for the Trump combined properties decreased to $281.1 million from $288.

Reflecting the challenges facing Atlantic City's gambling market, Donald Trump's casino company is faced with dropping revenue and is trying to dodge another trip to Bankruptcy Court. The deadline for Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. to reach agreement with its lenders and note holders on restructuring $1.25 billion in debt is today. The company, which owns the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza and Trump Marina in Atlantic City, missed a $53.1 million bond payment on Dec. 1, and got a 30-day extension.

A lingering air-conditioning problem forced the temporary closure of Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino on Friday as temperatures outdoors swelled into the low 90s during Atlantic City's most profitable season. Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., which owns Trump Plaza and two other casinos in Atlantic City, announced the closure just after 2:30 p.m. today. The company said Trump Plaza would reopen for business at 10 a.m. Sunday, with hotel guests let in by 1 p.m. the same day. "We have decided to temporarily close both our casino and hotel because the utility issue that has shut down our air-conditioning has brought the quality of experience in our hotel below the standards to which we consistently hold ourselves," Trump Entertainment chief executive officer Mark Juliano said in a statement.

In the Region A.C.'s June casino revenue drops Even the start of the peak summer season didn't boost Atlantic City's woes, as casino revenue fell 3.7 percent last month compared with a year ago. The 11 gambling halls had $276.2 million in revenue, with nearly 73 percent of that coming from slot machines, or $200.5 million, New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement said Monday. The rest came from table games. Borgata led the pack, generating nearly $57 million, while the former Trump Marina - now a Golden Nugget - came in last place at $10.8 million.

Even the arrival of the peak summer season didn't boost Atlantic City's woes, as casino revenue fell 3.7 percent last month compared with a year ago. The 11 gambling halls generated $276.2 million in revenue, with nearly 73 percent of that coming from slot machines, or $200.5 million. The rest came from table games. Borgata led the pack, generating nearly $57 million, while the former Trump Marina - now a Golden Nugget - came in last place at $10.8 million. Though June is considered one of the most profitable months for Atlantic City as large crowds visit the Shore, seven of the casinos posted revenue declines.

ATLANTIC CITY - The scene at Resorts Casino Hotel Friday was circus-like, with the unveiling of its Roaring Twenties theme taking the center ring, so to speak, just in time for the busy Memorial Day weekend. Seven vintage cars from the 1920s were parked on the Boardwalk outside the casino, and cocktail waitresses modeled their new black "flapper" dresses. There was even a high-wire act involving trapeze artists and a motorcycle. But as it turns out, Resorts also plans to bring the real circus to the Shore.

ATLANTIC CITY - The scene at Resorts Casino Hotel Friday was circus-like, with the unveiling of its Roaring Twenties theme taking the center ring, so to speak, just in time for the busy Memorial Day weekend. Seven vintage cars from the 1920s were parked on the Boardwalk outside the casino, and cocktail waitresses modeled their new black "flapper" dresses. There was even a high-wire act involving trapeze artists and a motorcycle. But as it turns out, Resorts also plans to bring the real circus to the Shore.

THE FORMER Shell showroom at Trump Marina will once again be alive with the sound of music. That's the word from Tilman Fertitta, CEO of Landry's Restaurants Inc. which on Tuesday assumed ownership of the Marina, which will now be called Golden Nugget Atlantic City. Fertitta told us that entertainment will play a significant role in his new gaming hall's marketing strategy - a 180-degree turn from the recent past when the Shell had only been in regular use during the summer because of the Marina's ongoing financial problems.

ATLANTIC CITY - The financially troubled Trump Marina Hotel Casino officially changed hands Monday, as the New Jersey Casino Control Commission gave unanimous approval to its sale to Houston-based Landry's Restaurants Inc. And with that, Landry's chairman, CEO, and sole owner, Tilman J. Fertitta, let out a Texas-size sigh of relief, saying he was looking forward to transforming the 26-year-old casino into the Golden Nugget Atlantic City in...

ATLANTIC CITY - The financially troubled Trump Marina Hotel Casino here officially changed hands after the New Jersey Casino Control Commission gave its approval early this afternoon. Houston-based Landry's Restaurants Inc.'s chairman, chief executive officer and sole owner, Tilman J. Fertitta, testified before the commission before it issued a 3-0 vote. (There are two vacancies on the commission.) The sale was announced Feb. 14, between Landry's and Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. for about $38 million.

ATLANTIC CITY - A casino's size and freshness often equate to market success. Yet two of the smallest and oldest gambling halls here, Resorts and Trump Marina, are banking on old themes to bring them new glory. At Resorts, gaming-industry veteran Dennis Gomes - who with JEMB Realty Corp., of New York, bought Atlantic City's first casino from its lenders in December for $31 million - envisions a return to the Roaring Twenties, complete with flapper dresses (designed by him) for cocktail waitresses and period uniforms for bellmen, butlers, valet staff, and table dealers.

The weakest link of the Trump casino triumvirate in Atlantic City - Trump Marina - was sold Monday to the restaurant-and-retail company Landry's Inc., of Houston. The underperforming casino was sold for $38 million, about one-eighth of its fetching price less than three years ago, when it was being touted as a Margaritaville-themed casino. "I'm very happy about it," Donald Trump said by phone Monday from his office in New York. Trump owns 10 percent of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., which still owns the Trump Taj Mahal and Trump Plaza Casino at the Shore resort.