Trump's Casino Sales Plans Falter

PENNSYLVANIA -- As reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer: "The deal to sell Donald Trump's casino company has hit several snags, including price, according to people involved in the negotiations.

"While
Donald Trump's plans to sell his casino properties have hit a snag  the stock is now trading at less than $14 a share, an independent Wall Street firm says the company should fetch about $11 a share.

"...Several people involved in both sides of the negotiations to sell Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. to a private-equity partnership headed by Dennis Gomes and Morris Bailey agreed to discuss the talks only if they were not identified.

"An announcement last week by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, which regulates the Atlantic City gambling market, did not help Trump, according to the person close to the Gomes-Bailey partnership.

"Last Wednesday, the commission ruled that as a condition of the Trump casinos' getting their five-year licenses renewed, each had to submit a monthly earnings report, instead of a quarterly report, as do the city's other casino operators. The commission said the company's revenue projections for the year were overly optimistic when compared with what they had been generating this year and had underestimated the impact of slots competition from Pennsylvania and New York and new smoking restrictions in Atlantic City's casinos.

"...[Barbara] Cappaert, of KDP Investment Advisors Inc., of Montpelier, Vt., said that if Trump got no deal, it would put the company in an even more precarious situation. Trump and his board of directors fired chief executive officer James Perry earlier this month for reportedly opposing a sale to Gomes and Bailey. On June 18, Perry announced he was resigning, effective July 1..."