It’s been a long time coming but there’s finally a deal on the table. Since going bankrupt and being taken over by bondholders last year, Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc has agreed to sell the Trump Marina Hotel Casino to Golden Nugget owner Landry’s Inc. for $38 million. The sale and the transfer isn’t expected to be made official until the second quarter.
Landry’ is a restaurant group that operates Golden Nugget casinos in downtown Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nevada. This marks one of their biggest acquisitions since management took the group private last year. Landry’s specializes in destination style resorts and that’s exactly what the group plans to turn the Marina into.
As Business Week reported, owner and Chief Executive Officer Tilman Fertitta said today in a separate statement that Landry’s plans to renovate the Marina and rebrand it a Golden Nugget resort. The process won’t be cheap. According to a phone interview Fertitta had with Business Week, the first phase of transforming the property into a “destination resort” will cost about $150 million and include new restaurants, spa, pool and updated rooms.
The move should help attract more tourists to the venue, which needless to say, is exactly what Atlantic City needs. My hope is that they spice it up a little bit too, make it fun, make it edgy and I hope they make it a place where young people would like to frequent, because let’s face it, that’s what AC really needs.
