Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 6, 1990 TAG: 9004060958
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A5 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. LENGTH: Medium
But the billionaire real estate developer will need more than electronic miracles for the city's newest and grandest gambling emporium to break even in an industry whose growth has slowed lately, analysts said.
At the grand opening for the billion-dollar, 1,250-room, 51-story casino-hotel, Trump came on stage Thursday night and touched an Aladdin's Lamp, setting off a green laser that shot up to a red ribbon along the hotel's outside, cutting the bow in two.
A Max Headroom-type genie appeared on a giant screen flanking the stage and said Trump was "master" for making this casino of "princes and princesses" and "genies and magic."
Then the fireworks began, watched by thousands of Boardwalk spectators and celebrities including former heavyweight champion Michael Spinks.
Trump was introduced by entertainer Merv Griffin, who in November 1988 swapped the Taj Mahal with Trump for the adjoining Resorts Casino Hotel.
Resorts has since filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of federal bankruptcy laws.
Griffin teased Trump about the gossip swirling around who he would bring to the ceremony - his estranged wife, Ivana, or his alleged paramour, Marla Maples. Trump brought neither.
"He brought his father, he brought his mother. But most of all he brought me along and I'm very appreciative," said Griffin, whose bankruptcy plan includes a $5 million legal kitty for unhappy Resorts bondholders who might want to sue Trump.
Optimists believe Trump's glamorous, gilded casino will attract more gamblers to Atlantic City.
by CNB