Just as on the track, it’s horses for courses in business. And Donald J. Trump should know this, as he tries once more to make an inroad into the gaming industry, having obtained a third time lucky result on the control of his bankrupt Trump Entertainment Resorts. This after Chapter 11 bankruptcy half house, Judge Judith Wizmur, favoured The Donald and the company’s bondholders instead of Carls Icahn’s fresh bid for the beleaguered Atlantic City casinos.

It’s not difficult to understand Judge Wizmur’s broad interpretation of the value of the Trump brand when she adjudges it to be worth millions of dollars, but in the gaming industry it’s certainly not in the Wynn, MGM Mirage, Sands, Harrah’s league. The fact that the company’s front now dons the Ivanka Trump image will do very little for the casinos unless very sound gaming management is in place.

A bonus for Trump is the reduction of company debt down from US $2 billion to less than US $500 million. Ivana Trump said: “We’re going to have a large influx of new capital and we’re positioning ourselves for future growth. It’s a great time to be a gaming company without much debt and a very healthy capital structure. Few gaming companies are currently in that position.”

Yes? Well, surely, because the Trump properties need new investment, improvement and repositioning in the Atlantic City gambling market, where falling revenues, though lightly improved in March, are still on a negative trend, and the new gambling offers in Florida at the Seminole casinos and in Pennsylvania will up the ante with Las Vegas type gambling, further eroding the East Coast gambling market that will prefer sunny Florida to AC, anytime of the year.

The fact the Trump made his millions on property deals and raised his profile with a TV programme seems to have caught Judge Wizmur under the mesmerising lights of an oncoming image train. As property deals go sour the world over and Trump seeks to make use of his good name in new markets such as Latin America, the Atlantic City casinos seem like the best vehicle for immediate dynamic cash flow for the property magnate, and the good judge has failed to see this.

Maybe daughter Ivanka will do a better job than The Donald did in three previous attempts at running casinos, but the company does not need a young and beautiful new face, as Trump is likely to use his persuasive powers to control the destinies of the business. Tragically, Trump has done this before and the company has become an assiduous client of Chapter 11 judges.

After Trump’s victory over Icahn, he said that the company would fare better than it has in the past: “We’re very happy, it’s a great victory. Icahn wanted the name, but we made the deal with bondholders.”

It was third time lucky for The Donald, who had better learn his numbers fast to stave off Chapter 11 a fourth time. In Chinese numerology, 4 is the number of death, and these days, with the Chinese gambling market holding the key to break even in most jurisdictions, Trump’s face or name will not have the impact on the Chinese that it had on the bankruptcy judge. For the Chinese a name is worthless unless it shows plus dollars. (E-04.14.10)

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