Troubled casino for sale for what could be "a steal"

    By: Tom MacDonald

    A financially troubled Atlantic City casino will soon be on the auction block. An expert in the industry says it could be a deal for a person willing to gamble on the South Jersey city by the sea.

    By: Tom MacDonald
    tmacdonald@whyy.org

    A financially troubled Atlantic City casino will soon be on the auction block. An expert in the industry says it could be a deal for a person willing to gamble on the South Jersey city by the sea.

    Transcript:
    Investor Carl Ichan is starting the bidding on the Tropicana Casino-Resort at $200 million, on a property that owes about $1.4 billion to creditors.

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    New Jersey Casino Control Commission Chairwoman Linda Kassekert says because of the stalled economy, the resort could be a steal when additional bids, if any, are offered after a hearing in bankruptcy court asking for the assets to be sold at auction.

    Kassekert: “If people can’t get credit they obviously can’t make a bid. That’s part of the issue. It’s not that there’s a chill on the gaming industry, there’s a chill on the credit market and if people can’t get money to invest, you’re going to continue to see those issues.”

    Experts say it’s hard to put a price on the property because the gaming industry and real estate values are down.

    Listen:
    Click on the play button below or right click on this link and choose “Save Link As” to download. [audio:reports20090331casino.mp3]

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