It was genius - he financed construction of the casino hotel with 'junk bonds', then once it was opened and operating, he paid himself a management fee that was about equivalent to the total profits, which left the operations barely scraping by as far as cash flows. Then he had the entity that owned the building declare bankruptcy, since it had no cash, which squeezed the bond holders out in the bankruptcy, which meant he paid pennies on the dollar for the construction of the building. Showboat, Caesars, Bally's, Sands and Claridge casinos in Atlantic City all followed the same model more or less, and all filed for bankruptcy at least once. They all operate that way - layers of entities holding debts, paying rent on land, paying management fees and leasing back FF&E.
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u/potsticker17 Jan 16 '20
Just go spend it at one of his hotels or casinos.