As I predicted, Trump Entertainment Resorts (NASDAQ: TRMP) is filing for bankruptcy in the wake of Donald Trump's firing himself from the company's board. Did Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone have anything to do with the bankruptcy filing? I sincerely doubt it. But that doesn't mean casinos aren't worried about the iPhone showing up at their blackjack tables.
How so? In Nevada, where card counting is legal but card-counting devices are not, gambling regulators are warning casinos about a card-counting program on the iPhone and iPod Touch. The program can help its users predict their odds of winning a hand at blackjack so they can adjust their bets accordingly. In Nevada, it's legal to do what the iPhone program does, as long as you can keep it all in your head. Get a little help from Apple and you could be charged with a felony.
Meanwhile, the Donald is going through his once a decade bankruptcy filings -- this time with the wipe out of his equity in his New Jersey casinos. There's no evidence that the iPhone card counting program had anything to do with it. But it turns out that while Las Vegas casinos will toss you out for card counting successfully, New Jersey casinos will not. So Trump's failure probably comes from his own inability to make the $53 million bond payment. And with the recession in full swing, it's unclear how much Trump bondholders will get when they try to liquidate.
Too bad there's not an iPhone program to help them with that gamble.
Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. His eighth book is You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-17-2009 @ 10:40AM
GARNISH said...
PISSE ON TRUMP.
2-17-2009 @ 10:44AM
GreatBigGiantBrain said...
Classic "a question mark at the end means it is ok" reporting.
TITLE: Did Little Debbie Snack Cakes bankrupt Trump?
BODY: There is no evidence that Little Debbie Snack Cakes bankrupted Trump, but the casinos refuse to serve them. Coincidence?
TITLE: Did Rick Astley bankrupt Trump?
BODY: There is no evidence that Rick Astley bankrupted Trump, but he played in Las Vegas recently. Coincidence?
2-17-2009 @ 11:10AM
Beltway Greg said...
I wonder if Apple had a hand in the demise of the Trump Shuttle?
2-17-2009 @ 11:19AM
BHarrison said...
RE: "Meanwhile, the Donald is going through his once a decade bankruptcy filings." ===== > Donald Trump is merely a Barnum and Baily con man, living off of skimming the monies (not necessarily "profits") from his wheeling and dealing projects that naive suckers continue to "invest" in.
In these dire times, he may have a much more difficult time finding "investors" for future scams. Over the years, Trump has left a trail of investors who have lost substantially on his projects, many of which only carry the "Trump" name at a fee paid to Donald.
A big difference between Madoff and Trump is that Madoff did not have an exposed history of "losses" like Trump has had. It appears that Trump may have finally exhausted his marketability of his "name", even for the niave fools who were gullible enough to buy into that phony facade.
At long last, hopefully Donald will fade into obscure oblivion where he belongs.