As bids start to roll in for the troubled Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., the state appointed trustee managing the hotel has reportedly tapped Bear, Stearns & Co. and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP to oversee an auction, according to The Associated Press.
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New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Gary Stein, the trustee overseeing the troubled Tropicana Casino and Resort, selected the pair only days after he reportedly received an $850 million offer from Colony Capital LLC and affiliate Resorts International, which owns the neighboring Hilton AC and Resorts, located further down on the Boardwalk. By law, Stein must sell the casino by April. According to TheDeal.com, other likely bidders include Mohegan Sun, a casino run out of Uncasville, Conn., and Baltimore developer Cordish Co. Both would be newcomers to Atlantic City gaming.
Stein was put in charge of the casino in December when the Casino Control Commission withdrew Columbia Sussex Corp.'s license because of unsanitary conditions at the Tropicana, thereby giving Columbia Sussex the ignominous historical footnote of being the second company to ever lose its gaming license in New Jersey. Also notable is Columbia Sussex had only managed the casino for 11 months after it closed on the purchase of Aztar. - Matthew Wurtzel
See story from The Associated Press via NJ.com
See earlier story from TheDeal.com
