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Trump Eyes Possible Return to Atlantic City

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Even as Donald Trump considers buying back two Atlantic City, N.J., casinos that bear his name, the billionaire wants his name removed from the languishing properties as soon as possible, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Trump, who hasn't been involved in management of the Trump Taj Mahal or Trump Plaza for seven years, said that he disagrees with the way the casinos have been run. "We have a very high standard" in the licensing contract, he said, "and they don't operate it to our standards." Trump said yesterday that he is considering making an offer to buy back the two Trump casinos, but meanwhile, he still wants want his name off the buildings. In recent bankruptcy court filings, Trump's lawyers argued a state-court lawsuit filed in August to terminate the naming rights at the Trump Plaza and Trump Taj Majal should be allowed to continue even though the chapter 11 filing of the two casinos technically halted the litigation.

Auction for Atlantic Citys Revel Casino Adjourned Until Tuesday

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Atlantic City, N.J., will have to wait until next week to learn who will emerge as the next owner of the shuttered Revel casino hotel, a sleek resort that closed after just two years in operation, Reuters reported yesterday. An auction began yesterday at a law office but was adjourned until Tuesday, according to Revel spokeswoman Lisa Johnson. Glenn Straub, a Florida developer with a passion for polo, provided the initial bid at $90 million in cash to acquire the complex free of debt. At least two other potential buyers presented bids on Tuesday, a source told Reuters. It is unclear how many parties qualified to join the auction.

Atlantic Citys Revel Casino Heads to Sale as Late Bids Emerge

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At least two last-minute bids were received yesterday for Atlantic City's Revel casino, which closed this month, setting up an auction to challenge an agreed sale to a Florida developer, Reuters reported yesterday. Bidding on the two-year-old casino, which cost $2.4 billion to build, will start at $94 million. Revel's owner obtained a stalking-horse cash bid of $90 million from Glenn Straub, a Florida developer.

Carl Icahn Rakes in His Winnings in Trump Casino Bankruptcy

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As a secured lender who’s owed $285 million plus interest, Carl Icahn’s in a prime position in the Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. Chapter 11 case. The case began on Tuesday and is speeding toward a possible shutdown of the two casinos on the Atlantic City Boardwalk still bearing the name of rival billionaire Donald J. Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Trump Plaza closed on Tuesday, but there’s a chance Trump Taj Mahal, the larger and more successful of the two, can be saved. Court papers pin that hope on concessions from Unite Here Local 54, the union that represents thousands of Atlantic City casino workers.

Atlantic Citys Revel Casino Goes to Auction After Heated Hearing

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The bankrupt Revel casino hotel in Atlantic City will go to auction on Sept. 24, a judge ruled yesterday, after the only bidder clashed with creditors who wanted to slow the rushed sale, Reuters reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Gloria Burns also set Sept. 23 as the deadline for competing bids to top the $90 million offered by Florida developer Glenn Straub and his Polo North Country Club Inc. Revel cost $2.4 billion to construct. Revel also got approval to pay Straub a $3 million break-up fee if his is not the winning bid at the auction. The auction was set for two weeks after Straub's proposal was made public, and creditors complained that potential buyers needed more time to put together competing bids. The hearing was marked by threats of litigation if the auction was postponed, complaints that Straub was being secretive about his plans for the massive complex and the appearance of a potential competing bidder.

Revel Gets 90 Million Offer to Buy Closed Casino

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Revel AC Inc., the bankrupt New Jersey casino operator, reached a deal to sell its shuttered Atlantic City property to Glenn Straub’s Polo North Country Club Inc. for $90 million, absent a better offer, Bloomberg News reported today. Revel, which opened in April 2012 at a cost of $2.4 billion, has filed for bankruptcy twice. After the second filing, in June, it sought a buyer willing to keep the resort open. When no acceptable offers surfaced, it closed this month, becoming the third Atlantic City casino to do so this year. The city’s gambling business has been hurt by competing casinos in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York. Polo North is the stalking-horse bidder, whose offer for the property is subject to higher bids at a Sept. 24 auction, according to filings yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Camden, New Jersey. Other potential buyers have until Sept. 23 to make competing offers. The case is In re Revel AC Inc., 14-bk-22654, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey (Camden).

Trump Entertainment Can Use Lender Cash to Avoid Shutdown

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Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. got court approval to use cash that secures loans from funds affiliated with billionaire Carl Icahn to prevent immediate liquidation, even as a lawyer said the casino operator may shut down if it doesn’t get concessions from unions, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross yesterday granted the company founded by Donald Trump permission to use the money to fund its bankruptcy and operations. Judge Gross also said the company could continue paying employees and vendors and honoring customer programs.

Analysis Franchise Brands With Higher-Than-Average Default Rates

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Franchisees of the 10 brands in the ranking defaulted at more than double the rate for SBA borrowers who invested in all other chains, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of charge-offs of all SBA-backed franchise loans in the past decade. Put another way, franchisees of those 10 brands have left taxpayers on the hook for 21 percent of all franchise-loan charge-offs in the past decade, collectively failing to pay back $121 million in SBA-guaranteed loans from 2004 through 2013. The 7(a) loan-guarantee program is the SBA's most popular loan program by far. It was set up six decades ago to help borrowers who can't qualify for traditional loans obtain funding to start or expand franchises and other small businesses. The SBA guaranteed nearly $18 billion in 7(a) loans, including $2 billion for franchisees, in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 2013. Overall, 18 percent of all SBA 7(a) loans — and 13 percent of all such loans to franchisees — were charged off, according to data from 2004 through 2013. Quiznos franchisees charged off more money than any other brand during the 10-year period that the Journal reviewed. Its franchisees accumulated $38 million in unpaid loans and had a default rate of 30 percent from 2004 through 2013.

Trump Entertainment Resorts Files for Bankruptcy

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Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., which operates two casinos in Atlantic City, joined the list of casino operators in New Jersey that have filed for bankruptcy, Reuters reported today. Trump Entertainment operates the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. The company, founded by Donald Trump, listed assets and liabilities of between $100 million and $500 million in its bankruptcy petition in a Delaware court. The case is In re: Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No:14-12103.

Amusement Park Trustees Hire Bankruptcy Attorney

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The trustees of a 122-year-old amusement park in northwestern Pennsylvania have hired an attorney to file chapter 11 bankruptcy in hopes of preventing a sheriff's sale of the park to satisfy more than $910,000 in overdue county, school and municipal property taxes, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Officials for Crawford County, Pa., and the local taxing bodies have threatened Conneaut Lake Park with a sheriff's sale, though they've yet to formally pursue that option. Mark Turner, the executive director of the Economic Progress Alliance of Crawford County, says that the group still hopes to redevelop, revitalize and expand the park. The bankruptcy filing is needed to freeze the park's assets and prevent the sheriff's sale while the park maps out a plan to repay creditors all or part of the $2.5 million owed to creditors in addition to the delinquent taxes.