Trump Resorts

This week the organization said it lost $8.1 million or $0.26 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 compared to a net loss of $9.7 million or $0.32 per share for the three months ended March 31, 2006.

For operators of the organization, the loss marks another stage in the financial recovery of the only company that seems to not be able to mint money in the lucrative Atlantic City gaming market. During the last two years, Trump Entertainment execs have been implementing new strategies to increase revenue while also refinancing much of the company’s debt.

“The operational improvements that we have focused on executing over the past 18 months are showing positive effects. While our first quarter results were certainly impacted by the introduction of new regional competition, our plan to decrease promotional costs, eliminate unprofitable business and run our operations more efficiently allowed us to keep EBITDA flat year over year,” said Mark Juliano, Chief Operating Officer Trump Resorts. “The benefits of these efforts are clear because, although gaming revenue declined, our cash room, food and beverage revenues increased 12% over the first quarter of last year, and our property level payroll expense declined by over $4 million or nearly 5%.”

The Company’s EBITDA for the first quarter of 2007 was consistent with first quarter 2006 levels despite a decrease in net revenues. The Company attributed the decrease in net revenues to a $3.8 million decrease in gaming revenues. The gaming revenue decline was primarily due to increased competition from gaming in Pennsylvania and New York as additional gaming capacity was added in these primary feeder markets. For the quarter ended March 31, 2007, gross gaming revenues in the Atlantic City market (as reported to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission) decreased 2.1% overall, while slot revenues decreased 4.9% from the first quarter of 2006. The Company experienced a 1.0% decrease in overall gross gaming revenue and a 4.6% decrease in slot revenue. The decline in the Company’s gaming revenue for the quarter eased in the latter part of the quarter.

James B. Perry, Chief Executive Officer and President stated, “The programs that were put in place last year to improve our operating margins showed positive results for the third consecutive quarter. The revenue decline due to new competition provided a minor setback, and our management team continues to work hard in a very competitive promotional environment to lower marketing and general administrative expenses in order to bring our margins closer in line with our Atlantic City competitors.

Property level EBITDA of $42.3 million in the first quarter of 2007 was $0.6 million less than the $42.9 million reported in 2006, primarily due to the decrease in net revenue which was mostly offset by lower labor costs and promotional allowances.
Successful operating results for the Company during the first quarter included an increase in year-over-year revenues and EBITDA at the Taj Mahal; a 12% increase in rooms, food and beverage revenue from cash paying customers; continued decreases in payroll expense; and stable marketing and promotional costs.

The Company’s capital improvement program during 2007 has included the opening of a variety of new venues at the Taj Mahal and the debut of Finestra, a new gourmet Italian restaurant, at Trump Marina. Specifically, at the Taj Mahal, the restaurant portion of the Spice Road promenade redevelopment project is nearly complete, and new outlets Burger, Freeze and Candy are open for business. Plate, a new 24 hour restaurant, opened April 30th and, Go, a new quick service eatery is expected to open by mid-May. We expect Starbucks, as well as new specialty flower and retail outlets to open during the second quarter, which will complete the Spice Road project.

Also at the Taj Mahal, the casino floor renovation is in progress, and the Company expects approximately half of the floor to be complete by the end of the second quarter. The remainder of the Taj Mahal casino floor renovation is scheduled for completion by the end of 2007. In addition, the newly renovated super suites at the Taj Mahal are expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter.

The redevelopment efforts at all three properties are designed to capture market position and appeal to our target customers. At the Marina, the Company will debut several capital improvements during the second quarter, including a new high end slots area, a new 24 hour restaurant and a new steakhouse.

Additionally, Trump continues to improve its slot product on the casino floor through an aggressive replacement and machine conversion program.

Mr. Juliano continued, “We will launch Trump One, our new unified players’ club, in June of this year. We are particularly excited about this debut as we have specifically designed this program to encourage more frequent visitation from existing customers and to attract new, more profitable business through the introduction of a compelling rewards program, which will introduce new features for club members and by jointly marketing the assets of our three properties.”

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