{"slug":"trump-pre-presidency-atlantic-city-casino-bankruptcies","title":"Atlantic City Casino Bankruptcies: Six Failures, Contractors and Bondholders Left Unpaid","date":"1991-01-01","lastUpdated":"2016-06-21","description":"Trump's Atlantic City casino empire went through six bankruptcy filings between 1991 and 2009, costing bondholders, banks, and contractors billions of dollars in losses while Trump retained significant assets, collected management fees, and ultimately sold his stake at a profit. The casinos — Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, Trump Castle Associates, Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, and Trump Entertainment Resorts — repeatedly borrowed money at high interest rates, failed to service the debt, and restructured through bankruptcy proceedings that left creditors with pennies on the dollar.","summary":"Trump's Atlantic City ventures were financed substantially through junk bonds. The Trump Taj Mahal opened in April 1990 carrying $675 million in junk bond debt at interest rates of 14 percent; by December 1990 it was behind on interest payments. The first bankruptcy followed in 1991. Trump subsequently filed bankruptcies involving his casino holdings in 1992, 2004, and 2009. In each restructuring, bondholders and creditors took substantial haircuts. Trump negotiated to retain management fees and significant equity stakes as conditions of restructuring. He ultimately sold his remaining stake in Trump Entertainment Resorts in 2009 and 2010. Trump characterized the repeated bankruptcies as smart use of the legal system; critics noted the losses were borne primarily by investors and creditors, not Trump personally.","category":"corruption","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/11/us/politics/trump-atlantic-city.html","title":"Donald Trump's Deals in Atlantic City Cost Banks and Contractors Billions","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-donald-trump-bankrupted-his-atlantic-city-casinos/2016/06/21/story.html","title":"How Donald Trump bankrupted his Atlantic City casinos but still earned millions","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-atlantic-city-casino-bankruptcies-analysis","title":"Trump's Atlantic City history: six bankruptcies, big personal profits","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-atlantic-city-casino-losses-bonds-bankruptcy-1465596001","title":"Trump's Atlantic City Failures Cost Investors Billions","publisher":"The Wall Street Journal"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Atlantic-City","casino","bankruptcy","pre-presidency","corruption","junk-bonds","creditors"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"1990-04-05","title":"Taj Mahal opens — $675M junk bond debt at 14%","summary":"The Trump Taj Mahal opens in Atlantic City as the largest casino in the world at the time. It carries $675 million in junk bond debt at 14 percent interest — a debt load casino analysts say is unlikely to be supportable by the property's projected revenues. Within months it is behind on interest payments."},{"date":"1991-11-01","title":"Taj Mahal files for bankruptcy — bondholders get 50 cents on dollar","summary":"The Trump Taj Mahal files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Bondholders accept 50 cents on the dollar in the restructuring. Trump negotiates to retain his ownership stake and management fees. It is the first of six bankruptcy filings involving his Atlantic City holdings."},{"date":"1992-03-01","title":"Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino files for bankruptcy","summary":"Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The filing is separate from the Taj Mahal bankruptcy. Creditors again take losses in the restructuring."},{"date":"2004-11-21","title":"Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts files — third Atlantic City bankruptcy","summary":"Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the third time involving Atlantic City holdings. The restructuring results in Trump's stake being diluted but him retaining management fees and a reduced ownership position."},{"date":"2009-02-17","title":"Trump Entertainment Resorts files — fourth Atlantic City bankruptcy","summary":"Trump Entertainment Resorts files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the fourth bankruptcy involving Trump's Atlantic City casinos. This is the final filing. Trump ultimately divests his remaining stake. The casinos eventually close entirely."},{"date":"2016-06-11","title":"NYT analysis: Trump received over $1.1B from casinos that lost over $1.2B","summary":"A New York Times analysis published during the presidential campaign finds that Trump received more than $1.1 billion in income from his Atlantic City casinos through salaries, bonuses, and management fees between 1995 and 2009, even as the casinos collectively lost more than $1.2 billion during the same period and investors lost billions in bond restructurings."}],"location":{"name":"Atlantic City, NJ","lat":39.3643,"lng":-74.4229},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Bondholders and investors who lost billions in the successive restructurings; contractors and vendors who were not paid for completed work; Atlantic City workers who lost jobs when casinos ultimately closed; the city of Atlantic City whose economy was damaged by the successive failures","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Owner and operator of Atlantic City casino empire; oversaw six bankruptcy filings; negotiated to retain personal assets and management fees during restructurings that imposed losses on creditors; described the bankruptcies as strategic use of the legal system","institution":"Trump Organization / Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2016-06-21","summary":"Based on 2016 campaign-era reporting on Atlantic City record."}]}}