Atlantic City casino to retain Trump branding

The Trump name will remain associated with an Atlantic City land casino following a deal this week between the enterprise’s main debt holder, Carl Icahn, and US businessman Donald Trump.

The troubled Trump Taj Mahal casino is not owned by Trump but carries his name in a franchise agreement signed some time ago. Recently Trump and his daughter Ivanka launched litigation seeking to compel the removal of his name from the run-down casino, which Icahn is trying to save from bankruptcy after extending a $20 million loan to keep it going (see previous reports).

Reuters reports that the two men have reached a compromise deal, which has still to be approved by the bankruptcy court, and calls for casino owner Trump Entertainment to pay Trump about $172,000 to satisfy an outstanding ground lease claim.

One of the conditions in the agreement is that if the casino stops operating for longer than 90 days, the Trump name and brand can be withdrawn.

Ivanka Trump said the deal with Icahn allows the Trump family company to retain its rights to monitor the hotel to make sure it’s brought up to Trump standards.

Trump has in the past successfully had his name stripped off the Trump Plaza – another failed Atlantic City casino.

Icahn is acquiring Trump Entertainment by swapping its debt that he owns in return for ownership of the company.