I found this draft that I forgot to post last week, and thought it might be topical. Enjoy.
Trop wants to make a comeback in Atlantic City. It’s kind of like asking the girl who dumped you at homecoming to go to the prom. From Newsday:
Tropicana Entertainment LLC, whose corporate affiliates were stripped of their casino license last December, is trying to regain ownership of the Tropicana and prevent it from being sold to someone else.
New CEO Scott Butera told The Associated Press the company hopes to convince state regulators it has purged the elements they found unsuitable to run a casino, including Kentucky-based Columbia Sussex Corp. owner William Yung III.
But if Tropicana Entertainment can’t convince the commission to let it have the casino back, Butera says there are other options in Atlantic City, including making an offer for an existing casino, or trying to build a new one.
"If were not successful, that doesn’t mean we won’t try and come back in another way," he said. "There are going to be assets that will become available."
That could mean making an offer for an existing casino _ several of which are struggling under heavy debt and plunging revenues _ trying to build one from scratch on vacant land including the former Bader Field airport site, or offering to buy out another casino company whose plans may have stalled in Atlantic City.
AP NewsBreak: Ex-Trop owner may eye other casino — Newsday.com.
I hope this is just some kind of posturing, not a real offer to re-enter the market. Because this doesn’t seem to have much of a ground in reality.
In a way, it seems kind of creepy and stalkerish. Like an abusive spouse, Trop Ent is assuring the city that “honey, I’ve changed.” From what I’ve heard, those situations don’t work out well. Strange.
I really get a kick out of the Stalinist overtones of the management shakeup–the counter-revolutionary elements have been “purged” from the company, and it is ready to move forward.
Like I said, strange.