Suffolk Downs owner, Trump resolve dispute
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - In Donald Trump's world, it can be a short trip from confidant to defendant to buyer.
Just ask Richard T. Fields, a onetime Trump apprentice (before the TV show) who ran afoul of The Donald over a failed attempt to woo the Seminole tribe for a casino project in Florida for Trump.
Fields, who is majority owner of Suffolk Downs racetrack in East Boston, later did the deal with a different partner, prompting Trump to sue.
That lawsuit went away yesterday as part of a deal in which Fields's company, Coastal Marina LLC, agreed to buy Trump Marina Hotel Casino for $316 million. One stock analyst said the price, which he considers too high, might represent a concession on Fields's part to resolve the lawsuit.
"Any way you slice it, Coastal Marina has overpaid," Morgan Joseph & Co. analyst Justin Sebastiano wrote in a note to investors yesterday. "We believe there is another reason for such a high price tag. The acquisition of the Trump Marina by Coastal Marina has led Trump Entertainment to withdraw its lawsuit against Richard T. Fields."
Fields will be getting his second casino property with the sale. He is the codeveloper of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida and also owns a ranching company, Jackson Land and Cattle in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
The Seminole deal led to his falling-out with Trump.
Trump filed a suit in Florida in December 2005, seeking unspecified damages against Fields, whom he accused of lying. Trump said Fields advised him to abandon the deal that Trump had been cultivating with the Seminoles for three years, the lawsuit said.
Then Fields teamed up with Baltimore-based Cordish Co. and, the lawsuit said, they fraudulently represented themselves as Trump associates to land the deal.
The lawsuit charged Fields with fraud, misrepresentation, and breach of fiduciary duty.
Yesterday, Trump voiced no bitterness over the dispute, and proclaimed the sale agreement "a great deal for both of us."
"Richard worked for me on a number of projects, and he did a good job," Trump said. "He's one of my successful apprentices."
In a statement, Fields said he will re-theme the casino with Margaritaville Holdings LLC, which is owned by singer Jimmy Buffett. It operates a string of tropical-themed restaurants and retail shops and is involved in a casino project in Biloxi, Miss., with Harrah's Entertainment Inc.
Coastal Marina spokesman Charlie Leonard said the company will own all of the Atlantic City project, but will engage in a business venture there with Margaritaville Holdings. The deal is expected to close in six to nine months.
Mark Juliano, Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc.'s chief executive, said cash from the sale will help Trump Entertainment improve its two remaining properties - the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino - as well as look at opportunities outside Atlantic City.
