December 4
Donald Trump got
fired. Now he wants
$500 million.
The recent TV star
and real estate
magnate is willing
to drop his breach
of contract lawsuit
against the Eastern
Pequot tribe and the
casino investors who
replaced him. In
return, he wants a
mighty $500 million.
Trump's
representatives feel
that the asking
price is likely the
amount of revenue
that would have been
generated had the
Trump organization
continued with the
Eastern Pequot
casino.
The
representative for
the tribes announced
that the tribe wants
no part of this
deal.
Trump put in more
than $10 million
from one of his
secondary companies
in an attempt to
help a division of
the tribe open the
would-be casino.
Resources for the
auxiliary are listed
as $0 in last
month's Chapter 11
bankruptcy filing by
Trump Hotels &
Casino Resorts Inc.,
which is basically
the compilation of
a riverboat casino
in Indiana and
3 Atlantic City
properties.
Trump along with
Amalgamated
Industries of
Windsor completed a
deal with the
Paucatuck Eastern
Pequots, the smaller
of two divisions of
Eastern Pequots, to
finance the tribe's
bid for federal
approval and to, in
due course, yield a
profit from the deal
with the casino.
The U.S. Bureau
of Indian Affairs
accepted both
divisions of the
tribe as a single
tribe in 2002, and
last year the
unified council,
dominated by the
larger faction,
voted to retain
their backer,
Eastern Capital
Development.
Trump and
Amalgamated filed
suit last year, and
the same judge is
ruling on both cases
in the state
Superior Court's
division.
Also, Amalgamated
has made an bid to
the tribe and its
existing financiers.
The bid reportedly
states that the
company wants $250
million from the
Eastern Pequots,
$250 million from
Eastern Capital
Development, $250
million from the
Paucatuck division
and $10 million each
from the many
specific defendants
that are implicated
in the casino
financing deals.
Two additional
Indian casinos close
to the Pequots' base
in southeastern
Connecticut are
reporting that they
are making millions
of dollars each
year. The Mohegan
Sun and Foxwoods
Resort Casino both
report annual
revenue to be $1
billion. Both
casinos also report
average monthly slot
machine earnings to
be between $60- $70
million.
Because the state
and three local
towns have filed a
appeal of the
federal recognition,
the tribe has been
unable to move
forward with their
casino.
