Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. (fka TRMPQ)

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Trump Entertainment May Seek Hotel Partner to Upgrade Plaza
By Beth Jinks - Aug 10, 2010 10:27 AM ET

Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., the Atlantic City casino company that emerged from bankruptcy last month, said it may seek a hotel partner to renovate the Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino.

“One of the options is a joint venture, where we would probably donate the real estate,” Chief Executive Officer Mark Juliano said in an interview. The partner would “pump capital into the existing property, to both renovate it and add a new room tower,” he said.

Upgrading Trump Plaza to 1,500 rooms from 940 would help Trump Entertainment win more convention business, as Atlantic City seeks to replace gamblers who are going to new casinos in neighboring states. Trump Plaza’s Boardwalk location, next to Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.’s Caesars Atlantic City, would be attractive to brands seeking a shoreline presence, Juliano said.

“It probably would be a partner that ran a well-known brand. A flag that has name recognition,” Juliano said. While no talks have begun, he listed Hard Rock and Planet Hollywood among examples of the kind of venture partner he may seek.

Juliano also has plans to sell Trump Marina Hotel Casino, one of Trump Entertainment’s three Atlantic City casino resorts. The company is talking to four potential buyers, he said, without identifying them.

Coastal Marina LLC, controlled by Richard T. Fields, agreed in 2008 to buy Trump Marina and turn it into a Margaritaville casino resort. Last year, Fields renegotiated the deal twice before some investors switched sides during the bankruptcy, halting the plan.

‘Stabilizing Operations’

Trump Entertainment emerged from bankruptcy July 16 controlled by former bondholders led by Marc Lasry’s Avenue Capital Group, which now owns 22 percent. Company founder Donald J. Trump got 5 percent of the equity and warrants to buy another 5 percent for continued use of his name. A bankruptcy judge ruled in April that the bondholders’ bid was better for creditors than a competing offer by investor Carl Icahn, who acquired the company’s bank loan.

Lasry, chief executive officer of New York-based Avenue, told New Jersey casino regulators at a July 14 hearing that Trump Entertainment’s new owners plan to spend money updating Trump Plaza, and are trying to sell the Marina.

“We’re coming out of a long, contentious restructuring, which has been kind of wearing on both the employees and the company itself,” Juliano said. “We’re looking forward to actually focusing on the business again, stabilizing operations and getting the cash flows up.”

Trump Entertainment, which also owns the Trump Taj Mahal Resort, last emerged from bankruptcy in May 2005. The properties also went through bankruptcy in the 1990s.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-10/trump-entertainment-post-bankruptcy-may-seek-partner-for-plaza-upgrade.html