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The Golden nugget takes over trump marina

Posted on May 24th, 2011

It was like a symbolic exclamation point to The Donald’s withdrawal from the race to become the Republican party’s presidential nominee. The Golden Nugget Las Vegas announced that it was starting the makeover of the Trump Marina in Atlantic City and turn it into the Golden Nugget under its new owners. A huge Trump Marina sign on the facade of the property was removed, as were practically all other signs bearing the Trump name. Only one Trump Marina sign will be retained for a few months on the hotel tower to call attention to the transition.

Hilton Hotels Corp. first built the casino in the 1980’s. However, it was refused a gaming license because of its association with a lawyer who was alleged to have ties with organized crime. Purchased from Hilton in 1985 for $320 million, Donald Trump renamed it Trump Castle. In 1996, as part of a restructuring operation, he sold it to Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, Inc. for $485 million. After more corporate restructuring, the company became Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc., and owned the property before selling it to Landry’s Inc. for $38 million. The bargain basement price is a reflection of the depressed real estate market in Atlantic City and the financial problems of Trump Marina. Of the three Trump Entertainment casinos, Trump Marina is the weakest. In 2010, the company declared a loss of $8.3 million and already has a $2.3 million loss in the first quarter of 2011. Approval of the sale by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission is expected on Monday, to take effect on Tuesday morning.

Landry’s Inc. is a gaming, restaurant and entertainment company based in Houston, Texas. It owns the Golden Nugget resort-casinos in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada. The company plans to invest $150 million for the renovation of the Trump Marina into a high-class establishment, using the much-admired renovation of its Las Vegas resort-casino as a model. Tilman Fertitta, chairman and CEO of Landry’s says, “You will never know you were in Trump Marina. The Trump Marina is a very nice box to begin with. It’s not all chopped up like some of the properties on the Boardwalk. It’s going to convert into the glitzy Golden Nugget in a very beautiful way.” Using the slogan “Watch the Transformation” to flag the change, Landry’s will renovate the aging exterior, remodel 735 hotel rooms patterned after its Las Vegas Rush Hotel tower, build new restaurants, bars, retail store spaces and a luxurious spa. The renovation will also include the gaming area with the addition of new poker and keno rooms and a simulcasting parlor of gaming table action. A Chart House seafood restaurant will replace the old Trump Marina Harborview restaurant. Fertitta states that the company is trying to put some entertainment value even into the reconstruction process saying, “We’re trying to make this deal a fun deal, so people can watch this transformation from Trump to Golden Nugget over the next six months.”

Renovation activity is expected to last for months. However, Landry’s is getting ready to open up parts of the complex for the Memorial Day weekend when Atlantic City’s peak summer season begins. Temporary bars and a Red Room nightclub are also being readied for the holiday. This marks the return of the Golden Nugget to Atlantic City. The Golden Nugget first opened in Atlantic City in 1980, on the site now occupied by the Atlantic City Hilton Casino-Resort. It was then part of the gaming empire of Steve Wynn. In 1987, he sold it to Bally Manufacturing Corp. for $440 million and the Golden Nugget name disappeared.

The opening of the Golden Nugget may signal renewed hope for the prospects of the gambling industry in Atlantic City. The recession and out-of-state competition have taken a toll on the city’s gambling revenues for the last four years. Fertitta thinks, however, that things will look up on the long run. He says, “I’m a long term player. I don’t flip things. This is a place I want to own for many years.”

With the changes, the Golden Nugget hopes to keep the Trump Marina’s loyal customers, to the extent of honoring the rewards points accumulated under the old hotel’s loyalty program. Trump Marina patrons are excited and eagerly looking forward to the changes. A tourist from Dallas, after a sneak preview of the new hotel was impressed by the makeover and said, “I think it will be excellent to come back and visit when it is the Golden Nugget.”