Vol. 3, No. 2, February 2006
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Randal’s New Job
With $110 million as their initial stake, the Trump casinos are finally entering the 21st century. And leading them into the modern era will be Donald Trump's newest "Apprentice," Randal Pinkett.
After winning the 13-week competition for a job with the Trump organization, televised on the latest installment of Donald Trump's reality show The Apprentice, Pinkett was given a choice of two major projects to oversee. He opted to work under Trump Entertainment CEO James Perry and President Mark Juliano, heading up the effort to refurbish and modernize the three Trump Atlantic City casino resorts.
Pinkett will oversee the effort to transform the three casinos bearing the Trump name from the tired, neglected décor that has identified them in recent years into properties that will legitimately compete with glitzy new megaresorts like the Borgata and retail-friendly attractions like the Quarter at Tropicana and the Forum Shops at Caesars.
Last month, Perry outlined the initial changes planned for the three Trump properties, long neglected in the face of expansion and renovations by competitors because of cash problems. With the new management structure of Trump Entertainment arising with the company's emergence from bankruptcy, long-awaited improvements are finally under way.
The flagship Trump Taj Mahal property is getting a new 800-room hotel tower. Slated to open in 2008, the tower will be one of three master-planned in a hotel complex, leaving room for a total of 1,600 more rooms to be added in the future. Along with the hotel rooms will come a refurbishment of the 1980s décor that has marked the Taj—particularly the long promenade between the parking garage and the casino, which is in line for a $25 million makeover. Plans call for that corridor to be transformed into a new retail promenade with restaurants, a new lounge and a new Asian games room, in what will be a shining gateway to the Taj from its parking areas.
At Trump Plaza, renovations have already begun to modernize the décor of that center-Boardwalk property, including re-designing and refurbishments of the casino floor and, soon, a complete makeover of the areas fronting the Boardwalk entrance, including a New York-themed façade.
Trump Marina will receive upgrades to transform its entryway leading from the parking garage from its current cramped and ill-lit status into another bright retail promenade. Perry told a local reporter last month that he hopes to create a design that focuses on the spectacular views of the Farley Marina and the bay that surround the casino.
Pinkett's work may be cut out for him, but his mission is clear—to help take Trump's casinos back to prominence.
