REUTERS: Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc, the casino operator named for Donald Trump, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday as recession and declining gambling revenues battered the company and its rivals. The Chapter 11 filing marks the third plunge into bankruptcy for the company, which was created out of a restructuring in 2005. It also underscores the struggles facing the casino business as recession squeezes casino gambling. Trump Entertainment owns and operates three casino hotels in Atlantic City, New Jersey, including the Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza and Trump Marina.
The company did not request debtor-in-possession financing to operate during its restructuring and said it would continue to run as normal. “This filing will result in no immediate change in our daily operations, and we expect to make no changes regarding our operating structure or philosophy,” Trump Chief Executive Mark Juliano said in a statement. Nine affiliates of the casino operator including Trump Plaza Associates, Trump Plaza Associates, Trump Marina Associates and Trump Taj Mahal Associates simultaneously sought protection, according to the filing Trump had assets of about $2.1 billion and total debts of about $1.74 billion on December 31, 2008, it said in its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. MORE