Tropicana Casino and Resort

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Latest News

Sold! Icahn group gets AC Tropicana on the cheap

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is back in the Atlantic City casino business.

A bankruptcy court judge in Camden approved the sale of the Tropicana Casino and Resort on Friday to a group of creditors led by Icahn. The group is swapping $200 million worth of debt in the Tropicana that it bought at a steep discount in return for ownership of the casino.

When it first went on the market a year and a half ago, the Tropicana was expected to fetch about $1 billion. That was before the economy crashed and Atlantic City was battered by competition from slots parlors in other states.

Perfect timing helps Icahn group land AC Tropicana

Who says you can't time the market? When the Tropicana Casino and Resort was put up for sale in Jan. 2008, it was expected to fetch about $1 billion. But after the economy tanked, a group of investors including billionaire Carl Icahn offered to swap $200 million of debt they had already bought at a steep discount in return for ownership of the casino. And it worked. "This bargain-basement price for what had been one of the city's heavyweight casinos is a sign of the troubling times, both in the world at large and Atlantic City in particular," said Joe Weinert, a casino analyst with Spectrum Gaming Group. "The Tropicana is an attractive asset that, with the proper focus, has a good upside when the economy rebounds."

NJ approves Tropicana Atlantic City auction

New Jersey regulators on Wednesday approved plans to auction the Tropicana Casino Resort in Atlantic City through a bankruptcy court, with a $200 million offer from a group of its lenders, including billionaire investor Carl Icahn, serving as a floor for bids.

"This bankruptcy filing is not the result of financial distress, but it is one that will allow the conservator to sell the casino hotel complex free of all liens and encumbrances," Linda Kassekert, chairwoman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, said in a statement.

The deadline for selling the property was extended to the end of this year.

Tropicana Entertainment asks for casino back

Tropicana Entertainment CEO Scott Butera told New Jersey regulators on Thursday that he believes his company should be allowed to regain control of the Tropicana casino in Atlantic City, N.J.

Crestview Hills-based Tropicana Entertainment, which filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May, was once part of Columbia Sussex Corp., a Northern Kentucky-based hotel operator. Tropicana Entertainment lost control of the Atlantic city casino last December after the New Jersey Casino Control Commission voted to not renew the casino's license and hired a trustee to sell the property.

According to Reuters, Tropicana Entertainment has now filed a petition with the commission, claiming it is better able to stop the casino's drop in gross operating profits and get a better sale price. Baltimore-based Cordish Co. is the leading bidder in a $700 million deal to buy the 14-acre casino and resort.

Ex-Tropicana owner may try to block NJ casino sale

Fearing a "fire sale" price would leave nothing left for it after debts are paid, the former owner of the Tropicana Casino and Resort says it will sue to block the proposed sale of the casino to a Baltimore developer.

Tropicana Entertainment LLC said Wednesday the proposed $700 million sale to The Cordish Company is less than the property is worth.

A state-appointed trustee tapped Cordish on Tuesday as a potential purchaser of the Tropicana in a bankruptcy court auction. Other parties can still submit higher bids for the property, which was stripped of its casino license last December after problems with cleanliness, service, and compliance with state gambling rules.