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March
31 2001
Nevada
Casino Operator Buys Atlantic City Casino-Hotel
TColony Capital LLC,
a private investment firm with $6 billion in assets, won
regulatory approval Wednesday to buy Resorts Atlantic City for
$140 million. Colony also owns Lake Tahoe-based Harveys Casino
Resorts. The state Casino Control Commission voted 4-0 to grant a
temporary casino license to Colony Capital and its chairman,
Thomas J. Barrack Jr., allowing the sale of the 133-year-old
Boardwalk landmark. Unfazed by the casino's struggles under
current owner Sun International, Barrack is counting on former
Trump Hotels CEO Nicholas Ribis and Resorts President Audrey
Oswell to help resurrect Resorts' fortunes. He told regulators he
believes Resorts can effectively compete with the other casinos by
stressing its history and its elegance 'a return to classics,' he
said and by bolstering the confidence of the 2,800-employee work
force. Ribis, 55, who left Trump's organization last June, will be
directly competing against his former employer in his new role as
vice chairman of the Resorts operating committee. He downplayed
any rivalry Wednesday. `I had a great run with Mr. Trump. He's a
great guy. He's still my friend.
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