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The Analyst Who Gambled And Took On Trump
Hat tip, DetlefK:
WaPo: Unearthed letters show Trump attacking journalists for telling the truth since the 1980s.
"Trump got one of them fired for (correctly) doubting his casinos’ ability to pay off their debts."
"Trump got one of them fired for (correctly) doubting his casinos’ ability to pay off their debts."
I recently ran across an article in which this story was recounted. Here's what that's about.
The Analyst Who Gambled And Took On Trump
October 10, 20164:32 PM ET
The Trump Taj Mahal casino took its final bets on Monday, and it's been through bankruptcy more than once in its troubled history. ... However, even before the Taj Mahal opened its doors in 1990, there were signs of trouble. One financial analyst predicted — correctly — that the casino would flop. He was promptly fired, under pressure from Donald Trump. ... But Marvin Roffman didn't back down.
....
In order to buy the unfinished Taj Mahal casino and get it open, Donald Trump raised $675 million, mostly from junk bonds. Roffman was skeptical that any casino could make enough money to cover the interest payments on those bonds. So when reporters from The Wall Street Journal called, that's exactly what Roffman told them. ... "I said that when the Taj opened, it would break every record in the book. And that strong business would continue during May, June and July," Roffman recalls, "but when the cold winds of October came, it wasn't going to make it."
A few weeks later, the story ran in the newspaper. Trump was not happy. He faxed a letter to Roffman's boss at Janney Montgomery Scott with an ultimatum: The firm had to dismiss Roffman immediately or issue a public apology. If not, Trump threatened "a major lawsuit against your firm," Roffman says. ... Then Roffman's boss wrote a letter of his own. It was an apology to Trump, which Roffman signed. But Trump wasn't satisfied. He wanted changes to the letter, saying the Taj Mahal would be successful. Roffman said no. "And of course," he says, "they fired me on the spot."
The Trump Taj Mahal opened for business in April 1990. "We've broken every record," Trump told CNN's Larry King at the time. "You're seeing numbers that nobody's ever seen before. It's a great building." ... The Taj Mahal brought in enormous piles of money that summer. But when the cold winds of October came, the casino missed its first debt payment. By 1991, the Taj Mahal was in bankruptcy court.
....
October 10, 20164:32 PM ET
The Trump Taj Mahal casino took its final bets on Monday, and it's been through bankruptcy more than once in its troubled history. ... However, even before the Taj Mahal opened its doors in 1990, there were signs of trouble. One financial analyst predicted — correctly — that the casino would flop. He was promptly fired, under pressure from Donald Trump. ... But Marvin Roffman didn't back down.
....
In order to buy the unfinished Taj Mahal casino and get it open, Donald Trump raised $675 million, mostly from junk bonds. Roffman was skeptical that any casino could make enough money to cover the interest payments on those bonds. So when reporters from The Wall Street Journal called, that's exactly what Roffman told them. ... "I said that when the Taj opened, it would break every record in the book. And that strong business would continue during May, June and July," Roffman recalls, "but when the cold winds of October came, it wasn't going to make it."
A few weeks later, the story ran in the newspaper. Trump was not happy. He faxed a letter to Roffman's boss at Janney Montgomery Scott with an ultimatum: The firm had to dismiss Roffman immediately or issue a public apology. If not, Trump threatened "a major lawsuit against your firm," Roffman says. ... Then Roffman's boss wrote a letter of his own. It was an apology to Trump, which Roffman signed. But Trump wasn't satisfied. He wanted changes to the letter, saying the Taj Mahal would be successful. Roffman said no. "And of course," he says, "they fired me on the spot."
The Trump Taj Mahal opened for business in April 1990. "We've broken every record," Trump told CNN's Larry King at the time. "You're seeing numbers that nobody's ever seen before. It's a great building." ... The Taj Mahal brought in enormous piles of money that summer. But when the cold winds of October came, the casino missed its first debt payment. By 1991, the Taj Mahal was in bankruptcy court.
....
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