Donald Trump is eager to once again have control of Atlantic City casinos but the road to ownership might be a bit challenging. The Wall Street Journal says that while Trump has reached an agreement with Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., which is in Chapter 11, the deal is fraught with difficulty. Trump's sale must first get the approval from a bankruptcy court judge and he will also have to appease bondholders who the WSJ says hold about $1.25 billion in second-lien debt and could lose that money if Trump's deal goes through. Trump and the firm's top lender, Beal Bank, agreed to invest $100 million in the company and Beal will extend the terms of a $486 million loan until December 2020 from 2012. The question of what the casino company is actually worth may be key to figuring out what its future will be. Trump is a savvy businessman and may have chosen to act now because he thought he could get his company back for a low price.

This small splurge is a one-week-only option. The Borgata in Atlantic City is offering a spa week featuring special deals at their Spa Toccare and the Immersion Spa at the Water Club. The Toccare Package includes a Borgata classic room and your choice of a bamboo lemongrass scrub, almond body buff, or the Grand Master B conditioning wrap for $210 + tax. For a bit more of a splurge you can opt for the Immersion package which includes a room in Borgata's Water Club plus a choice of an aromatherapy massage, personalized facial, or a Shirodara Ayurvedic treatment for $250. The Spa Toccare and Immersion Spa Week runs from May 17th to 22nd.

All is not well in the world of the Donald. As Bloomberg reports, Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka stepped down from the board of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. as the company faces a possible bankruptcy next week. Trump, who was chairman of the board, now says he has no idea whether or not there will be a bankruptcy filing. It seems likely. Trump Entertainment has to make a $53 million bond payment by February 17th. The company has already extended this due date four times sine the grace period was up at the end of last year. If an agreement can't be reached either the company will file bankruptcy or the bondholders could force it into involuntary bankruptcy.

Donald Trump still controls 28 percent of the stock. He offered to buy the rest of the company but was turned down by bondholders. Trump Entertainment's three casinos have already been through bankruptcy twice and Trump is reportedly not too happy about having his name attached to a company that could be going down the tubes. The company which was once worth $842 million is now worth just $7.3 million, a mere pittance in Trump terms.

Also at issue is the continued implosion of the Atlantic City resort economy. Gambling fell by 7.6 percent in 2008 as some gamblers stayed away and others went to casinos in other states. Major casinos in the area have either stalled out mid-construction or had to make deep layoffs. The Borgata cut 400 jobs in November and the $2.5 billion Revel casino project may be delayed for at least a year. Even without massive debt, Trump's three Atlantic City casinos would be facing a tough time. Given the economic climate and the amount of money owed it seems they may be doomed.

Just yesterday I wrote about the troubles facing the Las Vegas Sands and now here comes news about another big casino company, this one in Atlantic City. Businessweek reports that the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, the most lavish and successful casino resort in New Jersey's gambling oasis, has just laid off 400 workers due to the worsening economy. The cuts represent five percent of the Borgata's work force, leaving around 7,000 employees. Spokesman Rob Stillwell says these were the first layoffs the Borgata had made. The company expanded recently, opening The Water Club i a $400 million, 800-room hotel this summer.

Times are tough for casino workers in Atlantic City. The four Atlantic City casinos operated by Harrah's Entertainment Inc. have also laid off employees in recent months Over the past year revenues have been slowly falling and September saw the worst-ever monthly drop in revenues, a decline of 15.1 percent. A bunch of ambitious building projects are slated for the area but some may not make it to fruition if the overall economic picture doesn't improve.

Supercar Life, the program that allows clients to drive some of the world's most exotic automobiles on a racetrack with no speed limit, traffic or police to spoil the fun, has a number of new events scheduled at the New Jersey Motorsports Park near newly hip Atlantic City over the next couple months. Supercar Life's linup of over $1.5 million worth of wheels includes the Ferrari F430, Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche 911 Turbo and Aston Martin DB9. The entry fee is $4,990 for the Track Package, which includes tuition from pro drivers in the Rolex Grand-Am series, catered trackside meals, an in-car DVD of your day and a post-event champagne celebration. The Luxury Package ($5,690) adds area hotel accommodations and all ground transportation. Programs in New Jersey are scheduled for August 26, 27, Sept 9 and 10, and Oct 7 and 8. Check out their site here for more details.

Like Las Vegas, Atlantic City is steadily trying to move from being strictly a gambling destination into turning into more of an overall vacation spot. Two new hotels go a long way toward furthering that aim. The Water Club is a a $400 million, 800-room hotel built by the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa which opened earlier this summer. It was quickly followed by the 330-room Chelsea, a retro-modern hotel which has a 1950s/60s theme and is a $110 million makeover of two older hotels.

Both hotels feature lavish rooms, concierge services, spa treatments and fine dining without a roulette wheel or a slot machine in sight. Both are located near casinos, The Water Club is next to the Borgata and the Chelsea is next to the Tropicana Casino, but the focus is on the vacation not the gambling. Atlantic City also has one major advantage over Las Vegas, attractive beaches and ocean views.

We've mentioned before that there are huge hotel expansions underway in Atlantic City, New Jersey but further down the coast the condo market in Diamond Beach, New Jersey is growing too. The Grand at Diamond Beach is a lavish 12-story project that will include two 12-story structures and a six-story building. The $500 million project will be completed in three phases with the first move ins planned for the end of the year. Amenities will include a concierge, pools, spa, fitness center, private beach club and hotel style amenities. The units range in price from $682,000 to $5.2 million and 25 to 30 percent have already been sold.

[via Press of Atlantic City]

A few weeks ago I mentioned the MGM Grand's big plans for Atlantic City, NJ. Their multibillion dollar resort is far from the only game in town. Another huge project, this one from Revel Entertainment just got preliminary site plan approval from the city planning board. The project includes two towers with almost 2,000 rooms each and a large casino exceeding 168,000 square feet. The project is estimated to cost in the $2 to $2.5 billion range and will welcome visitors with Revel Beach, a sandy area at the far corner of the complex next to the boardwalk that will feature a nightclub, retail space and dining options. The project also includes a 5,000-seat event center and another 600-seat theater as well as a spa and fitness center with indoor and outdoor swimming pools. The first phase is expected to open in 2010.

Atlantic City is on the rise again with a new massive plan from the MGM Mirage. The project, which could run up to $5 billion, includes three hotel towers with more than 3,000 rooms, the largest casino floor in the state, a theater, spa, convention center and retail space. There may be a residential component at a later date. The resort will also be the city's tallest building. Pending state approval, they plan to break ground on the project next year and it should be completed in 2012. This project will likely be called City Center East and it is the companion project to the huge project currently underway in Las Vegas.

In Atlantic City, you can eat dessert or you can eat Dessert. The dessert-centered restaurant Brulee at the Tropicana offers three pricey selections off their crystal menu. Each dessert is the centerpiece of a three part menu that includes an amuse sucree, the dessert and petit fours. The desserts include an arabesque and a mille-nuits each served on Baccarat crystal. The most decadent dish might be the Brownie Extraordinaire with Saint Louis which sells for $1,000. It is a chocolate brownie with Italian hazelnuts, ice cream and a St. Louis crystal atomizer containing 1996 Quinta do Noval Nacional Port. It sells for $1,000 and you get to keep the atomizer. Personally, I'd just rather have a full bottle of the Port which can be found for half that.

[via AP]

The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, the resort that has made Atlantic City popular again has announced the second phase of its two-part expansion project. The  $325 million hotel tower will be called The Water Club at Borgata. The new location has views of both the Atlantic Ocean and the bays and will have four pools. The hotel includes 800 rooms and suites, three residences, retail shops and a two-story, 36,000-square-foot "spa in the sky" with 25 treatment rooms. The tower is planned to open in the fourth quarter of 2007. The first phase of Borgata's expansion is a $200 million extension of the casino, a new nightclub, a food court called The Cafeteria and three fine dining restaurants. The three restaurants are Bobby Flay Steak which will be a Western steakhouse with a Lobster Bar that features a handmade cast glass bar front and lobster tanks. Wolfgang Puck American Grille which will offer Puck's classic comfort good gone luxe including sandwiches, pizza and pasta. Michael Mina will be making his East Coast debut with Seablue, a fish restaurant that will include "whimsical versions of classic American dishes" such as Maine lobster pot pie with truffled lobster cream and seasonal vegetables, lobster corn dogs with whole grain mustard, and desserts like Lemon Pudding Cake with creamsicle float and Chocolate Molten Cake with root beer float (sounds like a strange menu to me). The new restaurants will open later this year.