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mahatmakanejeeves (23,710 posts)
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."
I recently ran across an article in which this story was recounted. Here's what that's about.
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.
The Analyst Who Gambled And Took On Trump (Original post)
mahatmakanejeeves Jun 15 OP
The real Taj Mahal is a mausoleum.
murielm99 Jun 15 #1
I don't think rump came up with the original Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City...some other ...
SWBTATTReg Jun 15 #3
As I said,
I agree with you 100%.
Aristus Jun 15 #7
FYI...Mr. Roffman did win $700,000 in a wrongful termination lawsuit too from his old...
Nice to know people can win against Trump.
trev Jun 15 #5
Really!! Can't wait until the Nov. 2020 elections are here and done with, but I got a ...
And he VOTED FOR TRUMP in 2016!
VMA131Marine Jun 15 #8
Response to mahatmakanejeeves (Original post)
murielm99 (23,760 posts)
1. The real Taj Mahal is a mausoleum.
Doesn't fucking trump know that?
You name your casino after a mausoleum? Even if he didn't come up with the name, it might a good idea to change the name.
Response to murielm99 (Reply #1)
SWBTATTReg (6,969 posts)
3. I don't think rump came up with the original Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City...some other ...
entity did and then rump came in afterwards...
Response to SWBTATTReg (Reply #3)
4. As I said,
he should have changed the name. Who names a casino for a mausoleum?
Aristus (46,817 posts)
7. I agree with you 100%.
Among those likely ignorant of the purpose of the real Taj Mahal, it has become a synonym for a highly elaborate construction.
During my first year in the Army, I worked in the battalion operations section, and one of my field duties was to help set up and run the field command post. This consisted of from one to four tracked command post vehicles lined up to provide space for the battalion officers to plan operations.
The simplest and most easily-mobile version was just all the vehicles parked side-by-side with their cargo ramps lowered.
The most intricate version, meant for longer stays in the field, involved the above, plus canvas tent-extensions with tables, chairs, and easels set up inside, with map-making articles, coffee pots, wooden floor boards, electric lighting, camouflage netting over everything, a long-range collapsible antenna to facilitate radio communication, etc.
We dubbed this the 'Taj Mahal'.
Orders to set it up always elicited groans from the staff personnel.
2. FYI...Mr. Roffman did win $700,000 in a wrongful termination lawsuit too from his old...
employer too...due to his termination at rump's ignorant demand...
Good for Mr. Roffman, who was right all along...
trev (1,274 posts)
5. Nice to know people can win against Trump.
Let's do it now....
Response to trev (Reply #5)
6. Really!! Can't wait until the Nov. 2020 elections are here and done with, but I got a ...
feeling that we're in for the ride of our lives!! I love to see rump's ass get stomped!!
VMA131Marine (2,398 posts)
8. And he VOTED FOR TRUMP in 2016!
Wonder if he will still vote for him in 2020?
That's unbelievable! He knew Trump was a total con-job from personal experience and still voted for him for President.