WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump has promoted his casinos as historically successful and profitable, done in only by the economic decline of Atlantic City.
“Every building in Atlantic City is in trouble. OK? This isn’t unique to Trump,” he said in 2010 deposition taken as part of a casino bankruptcy.
But in the years when other Atlantic City casinos were growing, casinos carrying the Trump name weren’t.
When his gambling rivals in Atlantic City were adding staff, Trump casinos were laying off employees. When Trump’s publicly traded company, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts Inc., went bust in 2004, Atlantic City’s casino revenues were on their way to an all-time high. In fact, two of his casinos’ three bankruptcies occurred in years when overall Atlantic City gambling revenue was rising.
Presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was appearing in Atlantic City Wednesday to attack Trump’s business record there. But even before her speech, Trump sought to blunt her criticisms, saying on Twitter: “I made a lot of money in Atlantic City and left 7 years ago, great timing (as all know). Pols made big mistakes, now many bankruptcies.”