Casino Fortune offers $400M for stake in Trump Resorts

[rav29]

An obscure offshore Internet gambling company yesterday proposed spending $400 million for a 31 percent stake in Donald Trump's casino company.

Press Clippings

Internet casino offers $400M for stake in Trump Resorts

Tuesday, September 28, 2004 BY BETH FITZGERALD Star-Ledger Staff
An obscure offshore Internet gambling company yesterday proposed spending $400 million for a 31 percent stake in Donald Trump's casino company, which is regrouping following the collapse last week of an unrelated bailout deal.

Trump, the chairman and chief executive of Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, said yesterday he hadn't seen the offer from Casino Fortune, a private company that claims 2 million online gambling customers in the United States as well as land-based casinos in the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Africa.

"I have not seen anything from them. I know nothing about it, and so obviously, we can't comment," Trump said.

Trump's casino company, which owns three of the 12 casinos in Atlantic City, is struggling to keep up the interest payments on $1.8 billion in debt. In August, Trump announced a plan to restructure the company with fresh investment from DLJ Merchant Banking, a private equity group affiliated with Credit Suisse First Boston. The casino company agreed to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to complete the restructuring.

Last week, however, Trump and DLJ issued a statement saying the deal had been canceled.

Casino Fortune, based in Trinidad, said yesterday it hopes to open negotiations with the Trump organization, and figures its offer of a $400 million investment for a 31 percent stake should be attractive. DLJ had proposed investing $400 million for a 55 percent stake.

"Right now, we are just declaring our interest," said Dennis Rose, senior vice president and general manager of Casino Fortune. "This is a preliminary contact we are making, and I hope we will be able to put some meat on the bones of a deal."

But Casino Fortune faces a critical legal hurdle, since Internet gambling is illegal in the United States, said Tom Auriemma, director of the state Division of Gaming Enforcement.

"Offshore companies are taking bets illegally from U.S. citizens," Auriemma said.

Casino Fortune would need to be investigated and licensed before buying a piece of Trump's casino company. "Any online company that operated in what we would think was an unlawful situation certainly would be subjected to intense scrutiny if they applied for licensure in New Jersey," Auriemma said.

Casino Fortune spokesman Kevin Mercuri said the company might be willing to give up its online gambling operations in order to do a deal with Trump.

"This is a matter of government regulation not keeping pace with technology; sooner rather than later, online gaming will be sanctioned by state and local governments," he said. "But if we have to sell off our Internet gaming business in order to work with the Trump organization, then it would be worthwhile to take a small step backward in order to take a giant step forward."

Casino Fortune

[Casinomeister]

Ho hum, another "press release" from Sunny

Some points to be made:

"I have not seen anything from them. I know nothing about it, and so obviously, we can't comment," Trump said.

What he didn't say - which was reported by the Associated Press written in another article that appeared at USA Today:

The company may just be out for publicity, according to one industry observer.

"A lot of these Internet gaming companies go to extraordinary lengths to get publicity, whether it's putting a tattoo on a streaker at the Super Bowl or buying advertising space on Danny Bonaduce's back in celebrity boxing," said Joe Weinert, vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group, a casino consultancy. "They're very innovative that way."

http://1010wins.com/topstories/winst...272145835.html

[caruso]

That they have $400,000,000 in "spare cash" to put aside for an investment boggles my mind. Assuming four years in business, that's $100,000,000 in yearly profits thus earmarked. Can they possibly earn that much? I don't believe even CON claims figures like that.

[Casinomeister]

This is a little simular to last week's press release where they boasted about being the third largest online casino:
http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/...ead.php?t=5609

I wrote to their press agent asking where these figures came from, but he never responded.

[Vesuvio]

Again, they sent this out to their players too. I received a bonus offer in the same e-mail and have to say my first instinct is not to risk depositing money at a casino which seems so desperate for publicity at any price. That and the 16xd+b wr on a sticky bonus was a bit high

[cipher]

That they have $400,000,000 in "spare cash" to put aside for an investment boggles my mind. Assuming four years in business, that's $100,000,000 in yearly profits thus earmarked. Can they possibly earn that much? I don't believe even CON claims figures like that.

These people are absolutely nuts to even think that they'd get five minutes with the New Jersey Gaming Commission. Nothing but a publicity stunt that will back fire on them big time. Have a good one.

[jerseyguy11]

yeah nj division of gaming is very hostile towards online gaming. never mess with the goverments money. they are losing taxes to online gambling.

[mary]

So not going to happen.

1. These casinos have marketed to, accepted as players, and taken money from New Jersey residents. That is illegal. End story.

2.Probably some underage New Jersey residents. See point #1.

3.Back when they had a falling out with Microgaming, their casinos were hosted on the Kahnewake Reserve.

4.Kahnewakes had developed their regulations with the aid of consultant Frank Catania.

5.Frank Catania is a former regulator for New Jersey.

6.Sunny publically asked Catania what was going on at an industry conference, as he sat on a panel, in front of like just everybody, about their computers being stolen.

7. Frank was not happy.

[Macgyver]

Anyone else notice that the link, though it's to a press release, is an affiliate link?

[Casinomeister]

6.Sunny publically asked Catania what was going on at an industry conference, as he sat on a panel, in front of like just everybody, about their computers being stolen.

7. Frank was not happy.

I was there with Mary. And this episode was uncomfortably embarrassing. The Sunny spokewoman was trying to grill Frank Catania in front of about 200+ people about their servers. Frank repeated several times that this was an inappropriate time and place to deal with such a thing, that he would answer her questions personally when he had time to review whatever the problem was.

She walked away from the mike gloating as if she were the victor - the feeling that I got was that most everyone in the room thought differently.