The TrumpStreet application for one of the two Philadelphia slot machine licences is facing competition from four other would-be operators and opposition from the Multi-Community Alliance composed of 27 groups. In Florida this week the judge hearing a lawsuit brought by Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts declared that there must be ‘an attitude adjustment from the plaintiff’. Donald Trump is no stranger to controversy.

The Multi-Community Alliance has produced a 20-page document to show that the Trump venture for the 75-acre former Budd industrial site has purposely underestimated the negative impacts on the community. It accuses the project application of not only failing to address the disadvantages but also of failing to acknowledge them. The Trump venture has countered with an agreement to establish a community development foundation with a US$2 million initial contribution followed by an annual percentage of gross gaming revenue. Local residents’ opinions about the planned slot machine venue are mixed.

At the end of 2004 the Trump company filed a lawsuit seeking millions of dollars in damages over an alleged conspiracy to steal its plans for the Seminole Hard Rock casinos in Florida. The subsequent outstanding success of the ventures has meant that the financial backers, Cordish, and a former business associate, Richard Fields, are making hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Arguments continue over whether the lawsuit was filed too late and whether Trump, at the time of the Seminole deal, had either the finance or expertise for the deal with his Atlantic City casino in bankruptcy.

The judge’s comment about attitude came after the defence team had to wait months to be told that certain key e-mails, which may have upheld the Trump claim, had not been saved owing to no company retention policy being in place at the time. This failure to save corporate e-mails and electronic documents could jeopardise Trump’s chances of winning the case. In Philadelphia the Trump team is initiating a programme to educate local residents on potential benefits of its projects. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board will make the final decision on the locations chosen for slot machine operations, and in the meantime is welcoming all public comment. (E-03.09.06)

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