ATLANTIC CITY (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The former operators of the Tropicana in Atlantic City are fighting to get their casino back from a state appointed conservator who appears to be close to completing the sale of the property.
Gary S. Stein, a retired New Jersey Supreme Court justice has been serving as conservator to the property since it was stripped from Tropicana Entertainment LLC in December of 2007. Stein says that he is close to closing a deal with the Baltimore-based Cordish Company and has asked for another extension.
Former owners, Tropicana Entertainment contend that Stein is selling the property at less than its real value. Cordish has offered $700 million in cash and notes or an alternate $575 million cash offer, while Tropicana Entertainment contends that the site is worth at least $950 million the Press of Atlantic City reported.
Tropicana Entertainment is preparing to make their own bid to regain control of the casino and is reportedly on the verge of filing a petition with the Casino Control Commission, reporting that they have undergone a transformation and are virtually a new company.
"We are essentially a new company. We have the financial and managerial resources to come in and turn this thing around," said Scott C. Butera, Tropicana Entertainment's new chief executive officer.
Tropicana Entertainment lost control of the property in 2007 by regulators after the firm faced declining profits, mass layoffs, regulatory violations and customer complaints of filthy hotel rooms and overflowing toilets. The blame for this was largely laid at the feat of the former CEO William J. Yung III who favored a "bare-bones" operating strategy.
"We are essentially a new company. We have the financial and managerial resources to come in and turn this thing around," Scott C. Butera, Tropicana Entertainment's new chief executive officer told the AC Press. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
