Tropicana Bankruptcy Filing Details Downfall

LAS VEGAS-The owner of the Tropicana casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and nine other gaming properties, has filed for protection from creditors under Ch. 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code while it restructures. The move by Kentucky-based Tropicana Entertainment LLC comes five months after it lost its license to operate the Atlantic City property, creating cash flow problems. The company listed in its bankruptcy filing assets of $2.8 billion and liabilities of $2.4 billion (as of the end of February).

A subsidiary of hotel owner Columbia Sussex Corp., which is not directly involved in the bankruptcy, Tropicana Entertainment and its affiliates own 11 properties, nine of which are covered by the bankruptcy filing. One of the properties not included is the Atlantic City Tropicana, which as a result of the licensing issue is no longer under the company’s control. Of those properties included in the filing, five are in Nevada, two are in Mississippi and one is in Indiana.

Tropicana president Scott Butera, who will lead the restructuring, says the company has secured $67 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Silver Point Finance, LLC of Greenwich, CT that should allow it to continue operations while maintaining current staffing levels and paying vendors for current services. In court documents, Butera lays out the series of events that led to the bankruptcy filing.