Flamboyant entrepreneur Donald Trump has resigned from the board of casino company Trump Entertainment Resorts as the company he founded faces bankruptcy.
The casino company is trying to meet a deadline of 17 February to make an $81 million payment to bond holders. If TER cannot meet the deadline – which has already been extended four times – then the company may file for bankruptcy protection.
“I have nothing to do with it. I’m not in it, I’m not on the board,” Trump told Bloomberg News. His daughter Ivana has also resigned from the board.
Trump, who owns 28% of TER, had put forward an offer to buy the rest of the company, but this was rejected by bondholders.
“I strongly disagree with the bondholders’ decisions and actions,” Trump said.
“Part of the reason that these bondholders can’t make a deal is they’ve lost so much money on other deals; they’ve lost so much money on this deal, and they’re probably going to lose so much money on other deals, that my impression is they don’t care.”
Trump’s decision to leave the company comes as the Atlantic City gambling sector – where TER is based – goes into meltdown. Gambling revenue fell by a record 7.6% last year and casinos are falling like nine-pins. One big casino was recently being stripped of its licence and another proposed casino collapsed due to a lack of financing.
“It’s a disaster and I see what’s happened with so many others, and I don’t want to be a part of it,” Trump said.
Of course, bankruptcy might not mean the end of the road for TER. The company’s predecessor, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, sought bankruptcy protection in 2004 and emerged from this state in the following year.
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