March 18: Donald Trump may no longer be an executive at the bankrupt casino empire bearing his name. But his presence was still felt when Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. headed to court March 17, seeking access to some postpetition cash. - Ben Fidler

March 6: Gambling industry goes bust: Gambling concerns Magna Entertainment, Trump Entertainment and others are succumbing to the pressures of the recession and filing for bankruptcy. - Carolyn Okomo

Feb. 17: Trump Entertainment runs out of luck: It looks like the house doesn't always win after all. Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. filed for Chapter 11 for the third time as the recession has driven gamblers away from the company's Atlantic City, N.J. casinos. - George White

Donald Trump also said Friday he would resign from the board over disagreements with bondholders, Reuters reported. 

Meanwhile, refinancing talks were again extended last week, the AP reported, and the move wasn't altogether surprising, John Blakely noted Jan. 21, when it looked as if Trump wasn't dealt a good hand by creditors, his casino company would likely once again file for protection. Back in December, Gerald Magpily noted that taking Trump Entertainment private to turn it around, something the Financial Times reported he had considered, would be a risky bet.

Back in May 2008, nearly seven months after the latest attempt to sell Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. fell apart, Trump Entertainment had another deal in place: plans to sell the Trump Marina Hotel Casino in Atlantic City to Coastal Marina LLC, an affiliate of Coastal Development LLC, for $316 million.

Affiliated with Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville," Coastal Marina said it would "rebrand and refurbish" the property under the brand. Trump Entertainment, its chief executive said, is also weighing other options to improve its financial footing, including cutting debt, as well as further development in Atlantic City and elsewhere.

The news comes weeks after the Newark Star-Ledger reported any of the Atlantic City casinos could be sold if the right deal came along, according to comments from CEO Mark Juliano.

CLEANING HOUSE

In a Deal newsweekly article Nov. 19, 2007, The Deal's Matt Miller checked in with what The Donald had been up to lately, including a new take on the smelliest of projects. While the housing slump does offer a slight reprove from the continued build out of outlying suburbs as housing closer to cities has become somewhat affordable, some developers still see fresh opportunity. He writes: "Developers are bound to grab land from desperate banks and gullible governments and resurrect ridiculous developments. Consider New Jersey and California, where another force is at work: The Donald."

Trump has also been active on the other coast. After a Fresno, Calif., golf and residential development called Running Horse went belly up in April 2007, followed by the loss of its automatic stay in bankruptcy protection and subsequent foreclosures, Trump put forth an offer. Miller writes:

Under a proposed plan hatched by Trump's lawyers, the city would acquire all the land from the new owners, levy eminent domain to gain any disputed parcels and sell it off to Trump. The Donald has promised he'll build a golf course worthy of his name. We can't wait.

FALSE START

The latest effort to sell Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. fell apart, The Star-Ledger said Nov. 2. Trump Resorts had been in talks with Baltimore developer Cordish Co. until Goldman, Sachs & Co., its lender, balked, the paper said. The last attempt went bust in July. Trump Entertainment, which operates the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza and Trump Marina, said in a statement it had called off talks with potential acquirers, which published reports pegged to be a private equity partnership headed by Atlantic City casino exec David Gomes and real estate developer Morris Bailey and another bidder, hedge fund Dune Capital Management LP. Reports said the company sought offers in the $2.2 billion range, or $22 per share, while the Gomes team reportedly offered less than $17 per share.

TER, which has over the years weathered several financial storms, announced in March that it had hired Merrill Lynch & Co. to review its strategic options. TER decided against selling the casinos this summer and instead, set out to focus on its previous strategic plan in an effort to shed expenses, the company's interim CEO told The Deal's Ben Fidler.

Analysts at the time chalked up the deal's failure to several factors, including TER's complex ownership, timing and competition from New York and Pennsylvania and smoking restrictions in Atlantic City, as well as other Atlantic City heavyweights like Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa and Harrah's Entertainment Inc.'s properties. One suggested that as it reviews options, TER will eventually need more capital either through a joint venture or equity infusion.

And aside from recent credit market turmoil, The Star-Ledger points out, the buy is an expensive proposition, with $1.5 billion in debt.

HOT PROPERTY

The failed sale this summer came at a time when casino M&A activity had been particularly hot.

• Texas Pacific Group, Apollo Management LP won a $27.8 billion deal for Harrah's in December 2006.
• Station Casinos Inc. agreed in February to an $8.8 billion management-led buyout that included an affiliate of private equity firm Colony Capital LLC.
• The latest offer for Riviera Holdings Corp., which has been a target since a review kicked off in February 2005 and fielding several offers, including one that was agreed to before talks fell apart, came in May and values the company at nearly $589 million.
• Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. said in May it was in talks with MGM Mirage Inc. to purchase the casino company's Bellagio resort and City Center project, but it said one month later the talks were over.
• Fortress Investment Group LLC and Centerbridge Partners LP agreed to acquire casino and horse-racing track operator Penn National Gaming Inc. for $8.9 billion in June.

KEEPING ON

News of the stalled auction came days after Trump submitted a new letter of intent to pay $40 million for unfinished, bankrupt California development Running Horse LLC, days after saying on a California radio show he was no longer in the bidding. Running Horse filed for Chapter 11 on April 27 in Fresno, where its property spans about 435 acres and has been mentioned as a possible venue for a PGA event in October. Financial constraints by the land's original owners left the property unfinished. The two have reportedly been in talks for weeks, since Trump put forth a $10 million bid, though the property's attorney told The Deal an open auction will ensue.

Earlier this year, Trump, whose holdings range from golf clubs and resorts to casinos, luxury properties and skating rinks, many of which carry his name, announced his latest international development, at the Dominican Republic's Cap Cana in February; unveiled plans to expand his Trump Ocean Resort in Baja in April; and broke ground on a luxury condominium complex in downtown Stamford, Conn., in May.

In 2005, Trump and his Hong Kong-based partners sold TV City, a residential property on Manhattan's Upper West Side, for $1.76 billion to Extell Development Co. and the Carlyle Group, marking the then-largest residential real estate transaction in the city and flipping a property they paid a mere $82 million for 11 years earlier.

• At the time, the deal was the largest ever for a residential Manhattan real estate property -- nearly one-third of the $5.4 billion sale of MetLife Inc.'s Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town apartment complex to Tishman Speyer Properties and BlackRock Realty in October 2006.
• Trump later accused the partners of selling 77 acres of Manhattan real estate for less than it was worth, filing a preliminary injunction against the investors July 11, 2005, a day that also included a golf game with former President Bill Clinton, Billy Crystal and Joe Torre. It was rejected.
• The next month, the investors and Trump used proceeds from the TV City sale toward a $1.05 billion deal for San Francisco's Bank of America Center from Toronto-based IPC US REIT.

A FAMILIAR TUNE

The TV City sale and subsequent Bank of America Center deal came just months after Trump's New Jersey casinos emerged from bankruptcy protection for the second time. Laden with debt, Trump's Atlantic City casinos first filed for Chapter 11 protection in 1992. Trump later regained control of the properties, and twelve years later, the company again sought protection.

• The company filed a prepackaged bankruptcy filing on Nov. 21, 2004, after suffering through years of losses.
• The filing came two months after talks with DLJ Merchant Bank fell apart. Credit Suisse Group, then-Credit Suisse First Boston's private equity arm, walked away from plans for a $400 million recapitalization of the company.

Trump Hotels & Casino Inc. emerged from bankruptcy protection on May 20, 2005, with $1.4 billion in debt and a new name: Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc.

• Trump Entertainment sliced only $400 million of debt while in bankruptcy, and that number may increase as the company looks for a loan to help refurbish its casinos.
• Trump himself kept a 30% stake and a $2 million salary as chairman, but he ceded majority control to holders of $1.2 billion of first-priority mortgage notes.
• Ahead of the exit, Trump Hotels & Casinos agreed to pay $17.5 million to shareholders that fought the casino operator's every move in court.
• Four months later, BET Investments Inc., a Bruce Toll-controlled Huntingdon Valley, Pa., company, picked up the former site of Donald Trump's World's Fair Casino for proceeds of $25.15 million.

  • Trump Boardwalk Partners, another Trump-owned company, missed out on winning the auction when its $25 million bid was bettered by BET Investments' only slightly sweeter $150,000 offer.