Tropicana Entertainment LLC has asked to be given the reins back in the running of the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City. The company believes that it would have more success in running the operation, which has seen a 48% fall in gross operating profit, than the trustee appointed by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. It bases this assumption on the property being reintegrated back into the larger gaming organization with assets and human resources to invest in the Tropicana’s future.

CEO of Tropicana Entertainment Scott C Butera holds a New Jersey casino key employee licence and has stated that a highly competent and strong new management team has been assembled and that William J Yung will have no influence or control. "The need for this action has been made more urgent by the decision of the New Jersey Supreme Court to hear Tropicana's appeal to regain its status. The conservator's sale process for the property, which we continue to support as a way to determine the credibility of current indications of interest, could be delayed for several months, far too long for the casino to be without the benefit of well-financed, professional casino management."

Tropicana Entertainment, LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Tropicana Casinos and Resorts, is one of the largest privately held gaming entertainment providers in the United States. The company operates 540,000 square feet of casino space with 15,000 slot machine positions. With more than 11,000 employees and 8,300 hotel rooms at its properties, it produces in excess of $1.2 billion annual revenue.

Butera wants the New Jersey Tropicana placed under Tropicana Entertainment’s corporate umbrella where it will have Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The new management group and financial investment would improve casino profits so that the property could be sold for a higher price or become a long-term going concern within the Tropicana corporate structure, avoiding employment losses and cutting city revenue. (E-10.23.08)

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