Trump Taj Mahal Casino Opens with $675 Million Junk Bond Debt Crisis

| Importance: 8/10

Donald Trump opened the Trump Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City in April 1990, financed by $675 million in high-interest junk bonds at 14% rates. Within months, the casino faced severe financial challenges, missing debt payments and signaling the beginning of Trump’s broader Atlantic City casino financial crisis. Analyst Marvin Roffman predicted the casino’s financial instability, noting it wouldn’t generate enough revenue to cover its massive debt load. By October 1990, the casino missed its first debt payment, and by 1991, it filed for bankruptcy.

Key Actors

Donald Trump Trump Taj Mahal Marvin Roffman Carl Icahn

Tags

trump atlantic-city casino junk-bonds debt-crisis taj-mahal bankruptcy financial-mismanagement

Sources (3)

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