ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The Kentucky-based former owners of the Tropicana Casino and Resort are trying to regain control of the Atlantic City landmark.
Tropicana Entertainment LLC of Crestview Hills told a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Delaware on Thursday that the company will ask the New Jersey Casino Control Commission to allow it to retake control of the struggling casino-hotel.
New Jersey stripped the former owners of their casino license in December after nearly a year of poor performance and job cuts that drove customers away. That triggered the appointment of a trustee to oversee operations while a new buyer is sought.
The casino license had been held by Kentucky businessman William Yung III, who owns the Columbia Sussex chain of hotels and casinos.
Yung lobbied last winter to bring casino gambling to Kentucky, even purchasing land in Northern Kentucky for a possible casino. Yung, normally a Republican backer, gave more than $1 million to political funds that supported Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear's campaign.
Tropicana Entertainment says it is a different entity now that owner Yung has relinquished control of it. The company has appointed a new board with no ties to Yung, and it says it now has the ability to run the Tropicana the right way.
"This is a totally new company," Tropicana Entertainment CEO Scott Butera said. "We're confident we've put together the type of company that could be approved by the commission. Except for the name, everything about Tropicana Entertainment has changed."
Dan Heneghan, a spokesman for the casino commission, said it would review Tropicana's application once it is filed, declining further comment.
Last week, the New Jersey trustee selected Baltimore-based Cordish Co. as a potential buyer. It offered $700 million for the Tropicana. Tropicana Entertainment says it is worth no less than $950 million.
"Our creditors, our employees and our neighbors in Atlantic City cannot afford to have this marquee Atlantic City property purchased at a severely depressed price," Butera said.
"Instead of engaging in a forced sale in the midst of an unprecedented financial crisis, we want to reinvigorate the management of the property, make significant investments in needed upgrades, and assess the options," he said. "It just seems like the prudent thing to do for everyone involved."
But Tropicana Entertainment has no power to force its way back into the picture in Atlantic City. It can regain its casino license only from the same people who took it away — the Casino Control Commission.
If Tropicana Entertainment cannot persuade the casino commission to let it regain control of the property, Butera indicated it will try to block the proposed sale in court.
