Trouble on the Las Vegas Strip: Tropicana Files For Bankruptcy

One of the icons of the Las Vegas Strip is in big trouble. The owner of Tropicana casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It's been a rough year for the Tropicana, in December the New Jersey Casino Control Commission said that the company wasn't capable of running the operation in accordance with state law and the Tropicana in Atlantic City lost its license. That decision led to a funding crisis which eventually led to the bankruptcy filing. The company has reported assets of $2.8 billion and liabilities of $3.3 billion. Tropicana Entertainment has said it will keep their properties running throughout the country and Scott C. Butera, the company's president, has urged people to continue to patronize Tropicana's properties which include The Tropicana Casino & Resort in Las Vegas; Bayou Caddy's Jubilee Casino in Greenville, Miss.; Casino Aztar in Evansville, Ind.; Horizon Casino Hotel in Vicksburg, Miss.; Horizon Casino Resort and the MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa, both in Lake Tahoe, Nev.; the Tropicana Express Hotel & Casino in Laughlin, Nev.; River Palms Resort & Casino in Laughlin, Nev.; and the Sheraton Hotel and Belle of Baton Rogue Casino in Baton Rouge, La.

The Tropicana in Atlantic City isn't part of the filing because it has to be sold by a state-appointed conservator which was mandated when the former owners lost their license in December. The company will get the money from that sale but it's not the best time to be selling real estate and so the price may be lower than would usually be expected. The company may also sell other properties as the restructuring process continues. The Las Vegas casino is the property with the most value, it occupies a nice chunk of prime Strip real estate. I'm sure developers will eagerly snap it up if the Tropicana is unable to save itself.