1 1 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 2 CASINO CONTROL COMMISSION 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4 5 PUBLIC MEETING NO. 11-04-06 6 7 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8 9 Wednesday, April 6, 2011 10 Atlantic City Commission Offices 11 Joseph P. Lordi Public Meeting Room - First Floor 12 Tennessee Avenue and Boardwalk 13 Atlantic City, New Jersey 08401 14 10:48 a.m. to 11:40 a.m. 15 16 17 Certified Court Reporter: Darlene Sillitoe 18 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 19 20 ATLANTIC CITY COURT REPORTING, LLC 21 CERTIFIED COURT REPORTERS AND VIDEOGRAPHERS 22 1125 ATLANTIC AVENUE, SUITE 700 23 ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY 08401 24 (609) 345-8448 www.accourtreporting.com 25 2 1 B E F O R E : 2 CASINO CONTROL COMMISSION: LINDA M. KASSEKERT, CHAIR 3 EDWARD J. FANELLE, VICE CHAIR SHARON ANNE HARRINGTON, COMMISSIONER 4 5 PRESENT FOR THE CASINO CONTROL COMMISSION: DARYL W. NANCE, ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYST 6 DANIEL J. HENEGHAN, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER 7 OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL: DIANNA W. FAUNTLEROY, GENERAL COUNSEL/EXECUTIVE 8 SECRETARY MARY WOZNIAK, ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL 9 CLAIRE FRANK, PROGRAM SUPERVISOR 10 DIVISION OF GAMING ENFORCEMENT: DEPUTY ATTORNEYS GENERAL 11 JAMES C. FOGARTY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 3 1 A P P E A R A N C E S : 2 ITEM NO. 6 CLAIRE FRANK, PROGRAM SUPERVISOR JAMES C. FOGARTY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL 3 FOX ROTHSCHILD, LLP NICHOLAS CASIELLO, JR., ESQ. 4 PATRICK MADAMBA, JR., ESQ. FOR: TRUMP ENTITIES 5 ITEM NO. 7 CLAIRE FRANK, PROGRAM SUPERVISOR 6 JAMES C. FOGARTY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL FOX ROTHSCHILD, LLP 7 NICHOLAS CASIELLO, JR., ESQ. PATRICK MADAMBA, JR., ESQ. 8 FOR: TRUMP ENTITIES 9 ITEM NO. 8 CLAIRE FRANK, PROGRAM SUPERVISOR JAMES C. FOGARTY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL 10 FOX ROTHSCHILD, LLP NICHOLAS CASIELLO, JR., ESQ. 11 PATRICK MADAMBA, JR., ESQ. FOR: TRUMP ENTITIES 12 ITEM NO. 9 CLAIRE FRANK, PROGRAM SUPERVISOR 13 JAMES C. FOGARTY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL FOX ROTHSCHILD, LLP 14 NICHOLAS CASIELLO, JR., ESQ. PATRICK MADAMBA, JR., ESQ. 15 FOR: TRUMP ENTITIES 16 ITEM NO. 10 MARY WOZNIAK, ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL JAMES C. FOGARTY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL 17 FOX ROTHSCHILD, LLP NICHOLAS CASIELLO, JR., ESQ. 18 PATRICK MADAMBA, JR., ESQ. FOR: TRUMP ENTITIES 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 4 1 AGENDA PUBLIC MEETING NO. 11-04-06 2 April 6, 2011, 10:40 a.m. ITEM PAGE VOTE 3 1 Ratification of the minutes of the 8 8 March 16, 2011, public meeting 4 2 Approval of revised Annual Meeting Schedule 9 9 3 Proposed adoption of resolution concerning 9 10 5 closed sessions for revised public meetings scheduled for the year 2011 6 4 Applications for initial casino key employee licenses: 7 a) Angelo Concepcion, Jr. 009156-11 10 10 b) Joseph P. Hooker 009155-11 10 10 8 c) Joseph D. Muskett, Jr. 009160-11 10 10 d) Joshua A. Torres 009205-11 10 10 9 Resubmitted casino key employee licenses: a) Cheryl Balerno 008031-11 11 13 10 b) John M. Grasso 008090-11 11 13 c) Aqal Khan 008808-11 11 13 11 d) Pawel M. Ledwold 008100-11 11 13 e) Mark A. Lemma 0088221-11 11 13 12 f) Joseph Luca 007964-11 11 13 g) Anna Marino 008091-11 11 13 13 h) Sonal S. Patel 007213-11 11 13 i) David Polizzi 006453-11 11 13 14 j) Daniel P. Spagnoli 008826-11 11 13 k) Robert F. Wagner 008084-11 11 13 15 Applications for casino key employee 13 14 license and for qualification: 16 Samuel F. Dillard, Vice President of IT Operations for Bally's Park Place, 17 Inc., Boardwalk Regency Corporation, Harrah's Atlantic City Operating Company, 18 LLC, and Showboat Atlantic City Operating Company, LLC 19 Jennifer H. Weissman, Regional Vice 14 15 President of Marketing for Bally's Park 20 Place, Inc., Boardwalk Regency Corporation, Harrah's Atlantic City Operating Company, 21 LLC, and Showboat Atlantic City Operating Company, LLC 22 5 Petition of DGMB Casino, LLC, (d/b/a 15 16 Resorts Casino Hotel) for the issuance of 23 a temporary casino key employee license of Paschal Barnard pursuant to NJSA 5:12-89(e) 24 (PRN 0801101) 25 5 1 CONTINUED AGENDA PUBLIC MEETING NO. 11-04-06 2 April 6, 2011, 10:40 a.m. ITEM PAGE VOTE 3 6 Consideration of the qualification of 16 18 Sonia Gardner to serve as Managing Member 4 of Avenue NJ Entertainment Holdings, LLC, a holding company of Trump Entertainment 5 Resorts, Inc., Trump Taj Mahal Associates, LLC, Trump Plaza Associates, LLC, and Trump 6 Marina Associates, LLC 7 Consideration of the qualification of 19 21 7 Marc Lasry to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trump Entertainment 8 Resorts, Inc., and Managing Member of Avenue NJ Entertainment Holdings, LLC, a 9 holding company of Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc., Trump Taj Mahal Associates, 10 LLC, Trump Plaza Associates, LLC, and Trump Marina Associates, LLC 11 8 Consideration of the qualification of 21 23 David Licht to serve as Chairman of the 12 Board of Directors of Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc., and Senior Portfolio Manager 13 of Avenue Capital Management II, LP 9 Consideration of the qualification of 23 25 14 Robert Symington to serve as a Member of the Board of Directors of Trump Entertainment 15 Resorts, Inc., and Senior Portfolio Manager of Avenue Capital Management II, LP 16 10 Application of Avenue NJ Entertainment, 25 67 LLC, and Avenue NJ Entertainment Holdings, 17 LLC, for Plenary Qualification as holding companies of casino licensees Trump Marina 18 Associates, LLC, Trump Taj Mahal Associates, LLC, and Trump Plaza 19 Associates, LLC Robert T. Symington, sworn 34 20 Robert F. Griffin, sworn 53 11 Proposed publication of amendments to 67 71 21 NJAC 19:43-5.1, 5.2, 5.3 and 5.5; Proposed repeal of NJAC 19:43-5.4 and 22 Proposed new rule NJAC 19:43-12.1 23 24 25 6 1 E X H I B I T S : 2 NO. 2 DESCRIPTION ID EVD 3 4 EL-1 Grant for hearings 4 licenses X 5 EL-2 Grant 11 licenses X 6 7 NO. 10 8 C-1 Draft Resolution X 9 D-1 DGE Report, 3-10-11, on Plenary X 10 Qualification of Avenue Capital Group as it Relates to Trump Entertainment 11 Resorts, Inc., and its Casino Licensees, DAG James C. Fogarty 12 (Sealing request) 13 D-2 Letter Amendment, 3-28-11, to DGE Report X DAG James C. Fogarty 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 (Exhibits retained by Commission.) 25 7 1 (Public Meeting 11-04-06 was commenced 2 at 10:40 a.m.) 3 MR. NANCE: Good morning. I'd like to 4 read an opening statement: 5 This is to advise the general public 6 that in compliance with Chapter 231 of the 7 public laws of 1975 entitled the "Open Public 8 Meeting Act," the New Jersey Casino Control 9 Commission on November 1, 2010, filed with the 10 Secretary of State at the State House in 11 Trenton, New Jersey, a notice of this hearing. 12 On November 3, copies were mailed to 13 subscribers. 14 Members of the press will be permitted 15 to take photographs, and we ask that this be 16 done in a manner which is not disruptive or 17 distracting to the Commission. 18 The use of cell phones in the public 19 meeting room is prohibited. 20 Any member of the public who wish to 21 address the Commission will be given the 22 opportunity to do so before the Commission 23 adjourns for the day. 24 Please stand for the Pledge of 25 Allegiance. 8 ITEM NO. 1 1 (The flag salute was recited.) 2 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Good morning. 3 MR. NANCE: Good morning. 4 FROM THE FLOOR: Good morning. 5 MR. NANCE: The matters discussed in 6 closed session were: Employee license matters. 7 The Commission approved the March 16, 8 2011, closed-session minutes. 9 Litigation update regarding Edwards 10 versus Adamar of New Jersey, et al. 11 Personnel matters were discussed as 12 follows: Approve the appointment of 36 13 individuals to fill the Commission's approved 14 Revised Table of Organization, subject to the 15 approval of the Governor's Office. 16 Item No. 1, ratification of the minutes 17 of the March 16, 2011, public meeting. 18 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Move we adopt 19 the meeting -- the minutes. 20 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Second. 21 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion has been 22 made and seconded. All in favor? 23 (Ayes.) 24 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Opposed? 25 (No response.) 9 ITEM NO. 2-3 1 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion carries. 2 MR. NANCE: Item No. 2, approval of 3 Revised Annual Meeting Schedule. 4 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Move that were we 5 approve the 2011 Revised Annual Meeting 6 Schedule. 7 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Second. 8 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion has been 9 made and seconded. All in favor? 10 (Ayes.) 11 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Opposed? 12 (No response.) 13 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion carries. 14 MR. NANCE: Item No. 3, proposed 15 adoption of resolution concerning closed 16 session for Revised Public Meeting Schedule for 17 the year 2011. 18 Presented for adoption is a proposed 19 resolution which will permit the Commission to 20 hold a closed session prior to the commencement 21 of each revised scheduled 2011 public meeting. 22 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: I move that we 23 adopt the draft resolution. 24 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Second. 25 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion has been 10 ITEM NO. 4 1 made and seconded. All in favor? 2 (Ayes.) 3 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Opposed? 4 (No response.) 5 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion carries. 6 MR. NANCE: Item No. 4, applications for 7 casino key employee licenses and for 8 qualification. This agenda item will be 9 entered as Exhibit List 1 and 2. 10 Exhibit List 1 consists of four 11 applications for initial and casino key 12 employee licenses for: Angelo Concepcion, Jr., 13 Joseph P. Hooker, Joseph D. Muskett, Jr., and 14 Joshua A. Torres. 15 Staff and the Division have recommended 16 that these licenses be granted. 17 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Move we grant the 18 initial applications. 19 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Second. 20 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion has been 21 made and seconded. All in favor? 22 (Ayes.) 23 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Opposed? 24 (No response.) 25 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion carries. 11 ITEM NO. 4 1 MR. NANCE: Exhibit List 2 consists of 2 the following 11 resubmitted casino key 3 employee licenses: For Cheryl Balerno, John 4 M. Grasso, Aqal Khan, Pawel M. Ledwold, Mark A. 5 Lemma, Joseph Luca, Anna Marino, Sonal S. Patel, 6 David Polizzi, Daniel P. Spagnoli, and Robert 7 F. Wagner. 8 Staff and the Division have recommended 9 that these licenses be granted. 10 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Is there anyone here 11 from the Division's Employee Licensing Unit? I 12 don't think so. 13 Mr. Fogarty? 14 MR. FOGARTY: I don't think so, Chair. 15 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Okay. 16 MR. FOGARTY: May I help you in some 17 regard? 18 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Just some questions I 19 wanted to put on the record, and I'll ask our 20 staff to follow up with your -- with the staff 21 there. 22 I know that these are resubmitted casino 23 key employee licenses, so I think we're caught 24 in the pipeline, so to speak. You know, 25 between the transfer between what the Mandatory 12 ITEM NO. 4 1 Act did and the current procedures -- the prior 2 procedures. And I just want to know basically 3 what the Division's expectation of this was in 4 terms of how many were there, if these -- you 5 know, I know these came out of a delegation of 6 authority. In the past, authority was 7 delegated to the Commission staff in order to 8 process these. So I just wanted to get some 9 background information and put that on the 10 record. 11 And I would ask maybe if you ask Mr. 12 Kimmel to contact us. I think he'd be the 13 appropriate person. 14 MR. FOGARTY: And I think you're right. 15 I think DAG Kimmel would be the person. 16 I don't know. 17 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Yeah. Because you do 18 casino licensing not -- 19 MR. FOGARTY: And I don't want to 20 misspeak, but I will reach out for Chuck -- Mr. 21 Kimmel, and have him get ahold of you. 22 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Great. Good. Because 23 I just would want to make sure that -- I'm not 24 sure how many of these are in the pipeline, but 25 that we, you know -- that we handle these 13 ITEM NO. 4 1 correctly. 2 MR. FOGARTY: Gotcha. Sure. 3 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 4 MR. FOGARTY: Uh-hum. 5 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: I will move we 6 grant resubmitted key licenses -- 7 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Second. 8 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: -- as listed. 9 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion has been 10 made and seconded. All in favor? 11 (Ayes.) 12 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Opposed? 13 (No response.) 14 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion carries. 15 MR. NANCE: For consideration is the 16 application of Samuel F. Dillard for casino key 17 employee license and for qualification of Vice 18 President of IT Operations for Bally's Park 19 Place, Inc., Boardwalk Regency Corporation, 20 Harrah's Atlantic City Operating Company, LLC, 21 and Showboat Atlantic City Operating Company, 22 LLC. 23 Staff and the Division have recommended 24 that this application be granted. 25 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Move we grant the 14 ITEM NO. 4 1 application. 2 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Second? 3 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Second. 4 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Motion is made and 5 seconded. This is a roll call vote. 6 MR. NANCE: Commissioner Harrington? 7 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Yes. 8 MR. NANCE: Vice Chair Fanelle? 9 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Yes. 10 MR. NANCE: Chair Kassekert? 11 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Yes. 12 MR. NANCE: The record will reflect that 13 the motion is unanimous. 14 For consideration is the renewal 15 application of Jennifer A. Weissman for a 16 casino key employee license and for the 17 qualification as Regional Vice President of 18 Marketing for Bally's Park Place, Inc., 19 Boardwalk Regency Corporation, Harrah's 20 Atlantic City Operating Company, LLC, and 21 Showboat Atlantic City Operating Company, LLC. 22 Staff and the Division have recommended 23 that this application be granted. 24 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: I'll move that 25 we grant key license and for qualification. 15 ITEM NO. 5 1 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Second. 2 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion has been 3 made and seconded. All in favor? 4 (Ayes.) 5 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Opposed? 6 (No response.) 7 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion carries. 8 Oh, this is a roll call vote. 9 MR. NANCE: This is a roll call vote. 10 CHAIR KASSEKERT: I'm sorry. 11 MR. NANCE: Commissioner Harrington? 12 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Yes. 13 MR. NANCE: Vice Chair Fanelle? 14 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Yes. 15 MR. NANCE: Chair Kassekert? 16 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Yes. 17 MR. NANCE: The record will reflect that 18 the motion is unanimous. 19 Item No. 5, petition of DGMB Casino, 20 LLC, for issuance of a temporary casino key 21 employee license to Paschal Barnard pursuant to 22 NJSA 5:12-89(e). 23 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: I'll move that 24 we approve the petition and issue a temporary 25 casino key employee license to Paschal Bernard 16 ITEM NO. 6 1 and permit him to assume the duties of 2 Surveillance Supervisor for DGMB Casino, LLC, 3 pursuant to 5:12-89(e). 4 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Second. 5 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion has been 6 made and seconded. All in favor? 7 (Ayes.) 8 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Opposed? 9 (No response.) 10 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion carries. 11 MR. NANCE: Item No. 6, consideration of 12 the qualification of Sonia Gardner to serve as 13 Managing Member of Avenue New Jersey 14 Entertainment Holdings, LLC, a holding company 15 of Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc., Trump Taj 16 Mahal Associates, LLC, Trump Plaza Associates, 17 LLC, and Trump of Marina Associates, LLC. 18 Miss Frank? 19 MS. FRANK: Good morning, Chair and 20 Commissioners. 21 A draft resolution on the plenary 22 qualification of Sonia Gardner has been 23 circulated to the parties. 24 We have Nick Casiello and Pat Madamba 25 here for Avenue Capital and Jim Fogarty here 17 ITEM NO. 6 1 for the Division. 2 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Good morning, Mr. 3 Casino. 4 MR. CASIELLO: Good morning, Madame 5 Chair and Commissioners. 6 We are in receipt of the draft 7 resolution dated March 25th -- or the draft 8 dated March 25th. It is acceptable to us in 9 form and substance. 10 And, of course, we have also received 11 the Division's report dated March 7th, which 12 recommends that she been found qualified, and 13 we request that she be found so qualified. 14 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 15 Mr. Fogarty? 16 MR. FOGARTY: Yes. As Mr. Casiello 17 indicated, we filed a report to the Commission 18 on the qualifications of Ms. Gardner, and we 19 recommend that you qualify her. 20 I'd just like to point out that Ms. 21 Gardner of the -- of the four you're going to 22 consider, the next three, Mr. Lasry, Licht, and 23 Symington, Ms. Gardner is the only one of those 24 four who doesn't occupy a spot, if you will, on 25 the -- in the Trump companies. She's being 18 ITEM NO. 6 1 qualified because she is a control owner with 2 her brother, Mr. Lasry, of the Avenue capital 3 group entity that you're later going to 4 consider. 5 Thank you. 6 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 7 Any questions? 8 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: No questions, 9 Chair. 10 I'll move that we adopt the draft 11 resolution and find Sonia Gardner qualified to 12 serve as Managing Member for Avenue NJ 13 Entertainment Holdings, LLC, in accordance with 14 NJSA 5:12-85.1(c). 15 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Second. 16 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Motion is made and 17 seconded. This is a roll call vote. 18 MR. NANCE: Commissioner Harrington? 19 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Yes. 20 MR. NANCE: Vice Chair Fanelle? 21 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Yes. 22 MR. NANCE: Chair Kassekert? 23 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Yes. 24 MR. NANCE: The record will reflect that 25 the motion is unanimous. 19 ITEM NO. 7 1 Item No. 7, consideration of the 2 qualification of Marc Lasry to serve as 3 Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trump 4 Entertainment Resorts, Inc., and Managing 5 Member of Avenue New Jersey Entertainment 6 Holding, LLC, a holding company of Trump 7 Entertainment Resorts, Inc., Trump Taj Mahal 8 Associates, LLC, Trump Plaza Associates, LLC, 9 and Trump Marina Associates, LLC. 10 Miss Frank? 11 MS. FRANK: Marc Lasry was temporarily 12 qualified by the Commission on July 14th of 13 last year. A draft resolution on his plenary 14 qualification has also been circulated to the 15 parties. 16 Again, Nick Casiello for the casino 17 licensees and Mr. Fogarty for the Division. 18 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Mr. Casiello? 19 MR. CASIELLO: And we are in receipt of 20 the Division's report dated March 10th on Mr. 21 Lasry, and we have reviewed the draft 22 resolution, and it is acceptable to us in form 23 and substance. 24 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 25 Mr. Fogarty? 20 ITEM NO. 7 1 MR. FOGARTY: Yes. We recommended in 2 our report to you dated March 10, 2011, that 3 Mr. Lasry also be qualified. Mr. Lasry of the 4 four, I guess, is the main geek, for want of a 5 better term. And I don't mean any derogatory 6 comment about the other two gentlemen. I think 7 they would agree. 8 Mr. Lasry, I think, you met. He 9 testified back in July, I think it was. 10 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Yes. Uh-huh. 11 MR. FOGARTY: When we had the ICA of 12 these particular matters. 13 We recommend Mr. -- I've seen the draft 14 resolution, and I have no objection to its 15 entry. 16 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 17 Any questions? 18 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: No questions. 19 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Madame Chair, I'll 20 move that we adopt the draft resolution and 21 find Marc Lasry qualified to serve as Chairman 22 of the Board of Directors for Trump 23 Entertainment Resorts, Inc., and Managing 24 Member of the Avenue NJ Entertainment Holdings, 25 LLC, in accordance with NJSA 5:12-85.1(c). 21 ITEM NO. 8 1 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Second. 2 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Motion is made and 3 seconded. This is a roll call vote. 4 MR. NANCE: Commissioner Harrington? 5 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Yes. 6 MR. NANCE: Vice Chair Fanelle? 7 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Yes. 8 MR. NANCE: Chair Kassekert? 9 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Yes. 10 MR. NANCE: The record will reflect that 11 the motion is unanimous. 12 Item No. 8, consideration of the 13 qualification of David Licht to serve as a 14 member of the Board of Directors of Trump 15 Entertainment Resorts, Inc., and Senior Vice 16 President of Avenue Capital Management II, LP. 17 Miss Frank? 18 MS. FRANK: Mr. Licht was also 19 temporarily qualified by the Commission on July 20 14th of last year. A draft resolution has been 21 circulated on his plenary qualifications of the 22 parties. 23 And we have Mr. Casiello and Mr. 24 Fogarty. 25 MR. CASIELLO: Again we're in receipt 22 ITEM NO. 8 1 the Division's report dated March 7th which 2 recommends that Mr. Licht be found qualified, 3 and we ask that you find him so qualified. 4 And the draft resolution is acceptable 5 to us. 6 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 7 Mr. Fogarty? 8 MR. FOGARTY: Yes. Mr. Licht, we 9 recommend that you please qualify. We just 10 simply point out that among his Avenue duties 11 he also sits as a member of Trump Entertainment 12 Resorts Board of Directors. 13 I've seen the draft resolution. I have 14 no objection to its entry. 15 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 16 Any questions? 17 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: No questions. 18 I move that we adopt the draft 19 resolution and find David Licht qualified to 20 serve as a member of the Board of Directors for 21 Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc., and Senior 22 Vice President of Avenue Capital Management II, 23 LP, in accordance with NJSA 5:12-85.1(c). 24 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Second. 25 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Motion is made and 23 ITEM NO. 9 1 seconded. This is a roll call vote. 2 MR. NANCE: Commissioner Harrington? 3 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Yes. 4 MR. NANCE: Vice Chair Fanelle? 5 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Yes. 6 MR. NANCE: Chair Kassekert? 7 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Yes. 8 MR. NANCE: The record will reflect that 9 the record is unanimous. 10 Item No. 9, consideration of the 11 qualification of Robert Symington to serve as a 12 member of the Board of Directors of Trump 13 Entertainment Resorts, Inc., and Senior 14 Portfolio Manager of Avenue Capital Management 15 II, LP. 16 Miss Frank? 17 MS. FRANK: Mr. Symington was 18 temporarily qualified by the Commission also on 19 July 14th of last year. 20 A draft resolution has been circulated. 21 And, again, we have Mr. Casiello and Mr. 22 Fogarty. 23 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 24 MR. CASIELLO: I'm tempted to say 25 "ditto." 24 ITEM NO. 9 1 (Laughter.) 2 MR. CASIELLO: We are also in receipt of 3 the report dated March 7th of the Division of 4 Gaming Enforcement which recommends that Mr. 5 Symington be found qualified. Ask that do you. 6 And the draft resolution is acceptable 7 to us. 8 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 9 Mr. Fogarty? 10 MR. FOGARTY: Yes. Mr. Symington also 11 sits on Trump Entertainment's Board of 12 Directors. We have recommended that you 13 qualify him. 14 And I've seen a copy of the draft 15 resolution and have no objection to its entry. 16 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 17 Any questions? 18 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: No questions. 19 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Madame Chair, I 20 move that we adopt the draft resolution and 21 find Robert Symington qualified to serve as a 22 member of the Board of Directors for Trump 23 Entertainment Resorts, Inc., and Senior 24 Portfolio Manager for Capital Avenue II, LP, in 25 accordance with NJSA 5:12-85.1(c). 25 ITEM NO. 10 1 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Is the a second? 2 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Second. 3 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Motion is made and 4 seconded. This is a roll call vote. 5 MR. NANCE: Commissioner Harrington? 6 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Yes. 7 MR. NANCE: Vice Chair Fanelle? 8 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Yes. 9 MR. NANCE: Chair Kassekert? 10 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Yes. 11 MR. NANCE: The record will reflect that 12 the motion is unanimous. 13 MS. FRANK: Thank you. 14 MR. NANCE: Item No. 10, application of 15 Avenue New Jersey Entertainment, LLC, and 16 Avenue New Jersey Entertainment Holdings, LLC, 17 for plenary qualification as holding companies 18 of the casino licensee Trump Marina Associates, 19 LLC, Trump Taj Mahal Associates, LLC, and Trump 20 Plaza Associates, LLC. 21 Miss Wozniak? 22 MS. WOZNIAK: Good morning, Chair, 23 Commissioners. 24 I would ask counsel to enter their 25 appearances, please. 26 ITEM NO. 10 1 MR. CASIELLO: Nick Casiello and Pat 2 Madamba of Fox Rothschild appearing on behalf 3 of the Applicants. 4 At some point in time, Madame Chair, I'd 5 also like to introduce some of the 6 representatives of Avenue and Trump Entrainment 7 who are here. Would you -- 8 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Sure. Why don't we 9 let Mr. Fogarty enter his appearance, and then 10 I'll give you the opportunity to make any -- 11 MR. FOGARTY: Thank you, Chair. 12 James Fogarty, Division of Gaming 13 Enforcement, on behalf of the State. 14 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 15 MR. CASIELLO: Thank you. 16 With me here today from Avenue Capital 17 is, first of all, Rob Symington who is the 18 Senior Portfolio Manager of Avenue Capital 19 Management II, LP. 20 Thank you, Rob. 21 MR. SYMINGTON: Good morning. 22 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Good morning. 23 MR. CASIELLO: David Licht, who is 24 Senior Vice President of Avenue Capital 25 Management II, LP, and a member of the Board of 27 ITEM NO. 10 1 Directors of Trump Entertainment Resorts. 2 And I neglected to mention that Mr. 3 Symington is also a member of the board of TER. 4 We have the Hon. Richard Williams who is 5 currently serving as ICA Trustee for Avenue. 6 And I hate to use this trite phrase, but 7 last but not least, we have Bob Griffin, who is 8 CEO of Trump Entertainment Resorts and a member 9 of its Board of Directors. 10 MR. GRIFFIN: Good morning. 11 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Good morning. Any 12 additional remarks you want to make, Mr. 13 Casiello, in terms of an opening? 14 Or Mr. Fogarty? I'm just giving you 15 that opportunity. 16 MR. CASIELLO: I'd be happy -- 17 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Actually, let me do my 18 statement first. 19 MR. CASIELLO: Sure. 20 CHAIR: I'm sure that we're going a 21 little out of order but -- 22 MR. CASIELLO: All right. 23 CHAIR KASSEKERT: On July 14th last 24 year, this Commission granted interim casino 25 authorization to the Avenue New Jersey 28 ITEM NO. 10 1 applicants as holding companies of the Trump 2 casino licensees, and the Applicants are before 3 us again this morning seeking their plenary 4 qualification. 5 To that end this morning we will hear 6 testimony from the Applicants and the arguments 7 of the Division, and we've also received the 8 Division's written report, which Mr. Nance will 9 admit into evidence. 10 MR. NANCE: Yes. The Division of Gaming 11 Enforcement has two exhibits. They'll be 12 entered as D-1 and D-2. 13 D-1 is a report dated March 10, 2011, 14 regarding plenary qualification of Avenue 15 Capital Group as it relates to Trump 16 Entertainment Resorts, Inc., and its casino 17 licensee. 18 And D-2 is a letter amended dated -- 19 excuse me -- a letter amendment dated March 20 28th, 2011, to the March 10th, 2011, DGE 21 report. 22 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 23 Is there a sealing request, Mr. 24 Casiello? 25 MR. CASIELLO: Thank you. 29 ITEM NO. 10 1 No objection to the entry of either one 2 of these exhibits. 3 And there's a sealing request dated 4 March 24th with respect to D-1. 5 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 6 Mr. Fogarty? 7 (Conferring.) 8 MR. FOGARTY: I've seen the sealing 9 request, and I reviewed that. I -- we usually 10 leave these matters to the sound discretion of 11 the Commission, and we do so with this one. I 12 would just point out that we think it's a 13 reasonable request. 14 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you very much. 15 Any objections to the admission of these 16 exhibits? 17 MR. CASIELLO: No objection. 18 MR. FOGARTY: No. 19 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 20 I'll therefore, move them into evidence 21 and put them on the record. 22 Are there any other procedural matters 23 which need to come before us? 24 MR. FOGARTY: Not from the Division, 25 Chair. 30 ITEM NO. 10 1 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Okay. Mr. Casiello, 2 would you care to make an opening statement 3 now? 4 MR. CASIELLO: Against my better 5 judgment, yes. 6 (Laughter.) 7 MR. CASIELLO: I don't want Fogarty to 8 hog this -- the limelight. 9 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Is that the old adage 10 that the lawyer knows when to... 11 MR. CASIELLO: Yeah. On July 14th, 12 2010, this Commission granted ICA to Avenue NJ 13 Entertainment, LLC, as a holding company of 14 Trump Entertainment Resorts, Inc., which was 15 the parent company of three casino licensees. 16 It also approved a trust agreement and 17 the Hon. Richard Williams to serve as Trustee. 18 That same day, this Commission approved 19 a plan reorganization of Trump Resorts. Upon 20 consummation of that plan, Avenue NJ 21 Entertainment, LLC, became the holder of 22 approximately 21.7 percent of the issued and 23 outstanding stock of Trump Entertainment. 24 Since then, the Division has been 25 conducting the required investigation of Avenue 31 ITEM NO. 10 1 NJ Entertainment, its holding company, Avenue 2 NJ Entertainment Holdings, LLC, it's four 3 individual natural person qualifiers who you 4 just found qualified, and 18 entity qualifiers, 5 including Avenue Capital Management II, LP, 6 which is the manager of several funds that hold 7 the stock of Trump Entertainment. 8 The culmination of the Division's 9 investigation is contained in its March 10th 10 report which recommends that the Avenue 11 entities be found qualified. 12 Shortly you will hear the testimony from 13 Rob Symington, Senior Portfolio Manager of 14 Avenue Capital Management, II, LP, who will 15 provide some background on the Avenue entities. 16 Based on that testimony and the information in 17 the DGE report, I will request that you find 18 the Avenue entities qualified and authorize the 19 dissolution of the ICA trust. 20 Thank you. 21 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 22 Mr. Fogarty? 23 MR. FOGARTY: Yes. I'll be very brief. 24 We indeed filed our report with you 25 dated March 10, 2011, which will form the basis 32 ITEM NO. 10 1 for your decision today as to whether you 2 should plenarily qualify the various entities. 3 I say "various" entities because there's a 4 total of 20. I'm not going to repeat their 5 names because they're two complicated for my 6 head. I actually have to look at them. But 7 they are certainly set forth in the -- in the 8 report. 9 The key portion of which, by the way, I 10 would suggest to you is Exhibit A, that pretty 11 chart. Pictures are worth a thousand words, 12 and I think that is -- that helps us navigate 13 the complexities of the Avenue entities. 14 And even though it's worth a thousand 15 words, as you can see, I went ahead and wrote 16 the thousand words, anyway. 17 (Laughter.) 18 MR. FOGARTY: Just in case. And I 19 needed something to do, I suspect. 20 Mr. Casiello, in his opening, did 21 spotlight what I would consider to be the three 22 most important of those entities, if I may. 23 And they would Avenue New Jersey Entertainment 24 LLC, which is designated as a holding company. 25 Because that is the entity that will, in fact, 33 ITEM NO. 10 1 hold the 21.7 percent of TER common stock. 2 The other entity that's of -- the total 3 of 20 that's important that Mr. Casiello noted 4 is the Avenue New Jersey Entertainment 5 Holdings, LLC, which will get -- and has 6 assigned to it the voting interest that go 7 along with that TER stock. So that is a 8 holding company, and rightfully so, I might 9 add, in this conglomerate of entities. 10 The other is the investment manager, the 11 Avenue Capital Management II, LP, another key 12 entity that -- at least of all the others, 13 their decision there that could be made 14 relative to that investment that we all are 15 concerned about that brings us here, and that 16 is in TER. 17 I fully expect at the conclusion of 18 today's proceedings, when given the opportunity 19 to stand up, to ask you to please recommend all 20 these entities for plenary qualification. 21 Thank you. 22 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 23 Mr. Casiello, are you prepared to call 24 your first witness? 25 MR. CASIELLO: Yes, I am, Madame Chair. 34 Robert T. Symington - direct - Casiello 1 Rob Symington, please. 2 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Mr. Symington, Mr. 3 Nance will swear you in. 4 MR. SYMINGTON: Great. 5 6 ROBERT T. SYMINGTON, having been first 7 duly sworn, testified as follows: 8 9 MR. NANCE: Please state your name for 10 the record. 11 THE WITNESS: Robert Thomas Symington. 12 MR. NANCE: Thank you. You may be 13 seated. 14 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 15 You may proceed, Mr. Casiello 16 MR. CASIELLO: Thank you. 17 18 DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. CASIELLO: 19 Q. Good morning, Rob. Comfortable? 20 A. Yes. Thank you. 21 Q. By whom are you employed and in what 22 position? 23 A. Avenue Capital Group. I am the Senior 24 Portfolio Manager for the US funds. 25 Q. And do you also hold a position with 35 Robert T. Symington - direct - Casiello 1 Trump Entertainment Resorts? 2 A. I am currently a member of the board. 3 Q. But you're not an executive officer? 4 A. Correct. 5 Q. Okay. And, briefly, what is the Avenue 6 Capital Group? 7 A. Well, my -- from a legal point of view, 8 fall under the Avenue Capital Management II 9 designation, but for the purposes of how I just group 10 it all together, Avenue Capital Group is a US based 11 money management firm that primarily invests in 12 distressed securities and value-oriented investment 13 opportunities. It's a global firm. So while our 14 headquarters are in New York, we have offices in 15 London, Munich, and several offices in Asia. We 16 manage approximately $15 billion. Again, globally 17 with a little over nine of that here in the United 18 States. 19 Q. And approximately how many employees 20 does the company have? 21 A. I believe it's about 300 globally. 22 Q. Okay. And what kind of areas does 23 Avenue invest in? 24 A. Areas? Across -- 25 Q. Types of investments. 36 Robert T. Symington - direct - Casiello 1 A. Types of investments, pretty much any 2 sector. So it could include gaming and leisure. But 3 pretty much any sector that would go through a 4 distressed -- give us a distressed opportunity. So it 5 could be resale. It could be healthcare. Interstate 6 autos and financials were a big space for us recently. 7 But it pretty much goes across the gambit [sic], and 8 that includes our European and Asia operations as 9 well. 10 Q. And are any of the Avenue entities 11 registered investment advisors under the US Investment 12 Advisors Act? 13 A. They are. 14 Q. Do you know how many? 15 A. I don't. 16 Q. Okay. When was Avenue capital founded? 17 A. 1995? 18 Q. And who founded Avenue Capital? 19 A. Marc Lasry and Sonia Gardner. 20 Q. And what positions does Marc Lasry hold 21 in the company? 22 A. Chairman and CEO. 23 Q. And what positions does Sonia Gardner 24 hold? 25 A. President and Managing Member? 37 Robert T. Symington - direct - Casiello 1 Q. Correct. 2 (Laughter.) 3 A. That would be my boss. 4 Q. I won't tell her. 5 What is Avenue's current position in 6 TER? That is, how much stock does it hold? 7 Percentage wise. 8 A. Approximately 22 percent. 21.7 percent 9 of the outstanding stock. 10 Q. Has that amount changed since the plan 11 of reorganization was consummated? 12 A. No. 13 Q. And how did Avenue acquire that 14 investment? 15 A. Really two -- through two currencies. 16 Some pre-petition claims that we own by virtue of 17 buying those claims in the secondary market, coupled 18 with a rights offering that we backstopped which 19 included another 52 -- a little over $52 million that 20 was part of the plan for reorganization to satisfy the 21 liquidity requirements that we envisioned the company 22 might need post-reorg. 23 Q. So you got some stock as part of the 24 exchange of debt -- 25 A. Uh-huh. 38 Robert T. Symington - direct - Casiello 1 Q. -- for equity? 2 A. Correct. 3 Q. And other stock you paid for, and that's 4 the 52 -- 5 A. Correct. 6 Q. -- approximately million dollars. 7 A. Correct. 8 Q. Okay. Are you familiar with Avenue 9 Capital's structure for holding the investment in 10 Trump Entertainment Resorts? 11 A. In terms of the entities that own it 12 internally, yeah. 13 Q. Yes. Okay. And which entity directly 14 holds the Trump Entertainment stock? 15 A. Well, it's across several funds in the 16 US funds. So I'm not sure I can answer your question. 17 MR. CASIELLO: May I? 18 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Surely. 19 Q. I'm going to show you what's the last 20 page, Exhibit A, of the DGE report that's in evidence 21 as D-1. 22 A. Is this the thousand words? 23 MR. FOGARTY: That's the picture. 24 MR. CASIELLO: That's the picture. 25 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The colored one. 39 Robert T. Symington - direct - Casiello 1 MR. CASIELLO: I'd give you the whole 2 report, but this will be faster. Trust me. 3 Q. So at the bottom of the chart -- and, 4 again, this is Exhibit A -- is Trump Entertainment 5 Resorts, Inc. 6 A. Uh-huh. 7 Q. What entity directly holds the stock? 8 A. Avenue New Jersey Entertainment, LLC. 9 Q. Correct. 10 Now, the chart indicates that there are 11 two owners of Avenue NJ Entertainment, LLC. And 12 which-- 13 A. Avenue New Jersey. 14 Q. Which entity holds its voting interests? 15 A. That would be Avenue New Jersey 16 Entertainment Holdings, LLC, owns the voting interest. 17 Q. And who owns Avenue NJ Entertainment 18 Holdings, LLC? 19 A. Marc and Sonia. Marc Lasry and Sonia 20 Gardner. 21 Q. Okay. And then there are nonvoting 22 economic interests in Avenue NJ Entertainment, LLC? 23 A. Uh-huh. 24 Q. Who holds those interests, generally? 25 A. This? Or just the Avenue funds? 40 Robert T. Symington - direct - Casiello 1 Yeah. It's the Avenue funds. 2 Q. Okay. And some of those funds are 3 managed by the company that employs you; is that 4 correct? 5 A. All those funds are. Yes. 6 Q. All those funds? Thank you. 7 A. Uh-huh. 8 Q. Okay. In addition to you and Mr. Lasry, 9 are there any other employees of Avenue that serve on 10 the board of Trump Entertainment Resorts? 11 A. Yes. David Licht. 12 Q. And who is David Licht? 13 A. David Licht is the Senior Vice President 14 and member of the US investment team and covers, among 15 other sectors for our team, the gaming and leisure 16 sectors. 17 Q. Okay. How many persons in total serve 18 on the board of TER? 19 A. Total of seven. 20 Q. And are there any shareholder or voting 21 agreements regarding the election of Trump 22 Entertainment Resorts' Directors? 23 A. Not that I'm aware of. They were put on 24 the board as part of the plan of reorganization. 25 Q. And who is currently the largest 41 Robert T. Symington - direct - Casiello 1 shareholder of Trump Entertainment Resorts? 2 A. Avenue. 3 Q. Okay. Now, recognizing that you're not 4 an officer of Trump Entertainment Resorts, I'm going 5 to ask you some questions about Trump Entertainment 6 Resorts. First question is how active is Avenue in 7 the management of Trump Entertainment Resorts? 8 A. Well, on a day-to-day basis, we don't 9 have any operating activities. We're just members of 10 the board. 11 Q. Okay. As a member of the Board of 12 Directors, does the -- well, what kind of matters does 13 the Board of Directors review with respect to the 14 operations of Trump Entertainment? 15 A. Well, like any other Board of Directors, 16 we have active role in oversight of recruiting 17 management, employment arrangements, oversight of any 18 of the financial activity of the company both from the 19 P & L basis, balance sheet basis as it relates to the 20 outstanding debt. Really helping make sure that from 21 a shareholder's perspective. So from a -- as a board 22 member, a fiduciary for the shareholders, just making 23 sure the company is stabilized and, hopefully, in a 24 position to grow. 25 Q. Okay. What major changes have occurred 42 Robert T. Symington - direct - Casiello 1 since the plan of organization became effective? You 2 mentioned, for example, one of the responsibilities of 3 the board is recruiting management. 4 A. Correct. So -- lovely segue. 5 One of the major changes was subsequent 6 to the plan of reorganization being confirmed and 7 consummated, a number of executives that I suspect you 8 are very well aware of elected to leave the company. 9 And as a result, our board was put in a position to -- 10 really necessitated going out, recruiting a new 11 management team. David Licht and I took a prominent 12 role in that as well as the independent directors in 13 interviewing -- felt like countless, probably at least 14 a dozen different management teams. And we were 15 fortunate enough to get Bob Griffin and another former 16 partner of his, David Hughes, to join the firm. Or, 17 excuse me, the company. 18 Other material changes that the 19 Commission is probably aware of that jump to mind, one 20 is the announced sale, which is yet to close, of the 21 Marina facility. So that would be the two most 22 prominent, sort of high profile, activities that the 23 board has been involved in. 24 Q. Okay. Has the company been making its 25 debt payments? 43 Robert T. Symington - cross - Fogarty 1 A. Well, I'm not going to steal Bob 2 Griffin's thunder. He can give you, you know, 3 activities that he's been involved in. But, yes, 4 categorically we've been making payments. And, in 5 fact, in addition to making required interest 6 payments, we have retired some of that debt in 7 anticipation of the proceeds of the Marina sale, that 8 the additional outstanding debt will be paid. 9 MR. CASIELLO: I have no further 10 questions. 11 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 12 Cross-examination, Mr. Fogarty? 13 MR. FOGARTY: Just a -- thank you. 14 15 CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. FOGARTY: 16 Q. Just to finish up the last point you 17 made about the Marina sale. You're going to pay -- 18 utilize those funds to pay down some of the debt? 19 A. Correct. 20 Q. Are you required to do that under the 21 terms of the debt? 22 A. Yes. 23 Q. Or is that -- 24 A. Use the proceeds -- 25 Q. Or is the payment of a choice you make? 44 Robert T. Symington - cross - Fogarty 1 A. It's not a choice we're making. It's a 2 use of proceeds required in the debt contract. 3 Q. And how big -- I assume the debt that 4 you're referring to is the debt owed to entities 5 related to Carl Ichan? 6 A. I believe -- a hundred percent. 7 Q. Correct. Do you know about how big that 8 debt is? 9 A. I think post the balance -- the payment 10 of the Marina debt will be about -- I'm looking out at 11 my two numbers guys. 12 Q. I have a number in my head. 13 A. Three hundred million. 14 Q. Say again? 15 A. Around 300 million. 16 Q. You recently had a transaction with the 17 Toll Brothers? 18 A. Correct. 19 Q. Or an entity? 20 A. An entity associated with them. 21 Q. With the Toll Brothers. 22 And that was with regard to that piece 23 of property on the southerly side of Boardwalk Hall 24 that used to be the Atlantis. You may not remember 25 that. Trump Regency, and even going way back, 45 Robert T. Symington - cross - Fogarty 1 Playboy. 2 A. Okay. I don't remember any of those. 3 Q. You remember a transaction -- 4 A. It's not that because I'm young. 5 (Laughter.) 6 A. It's because I didn't -- I wasn't here. 7 Probably old enough to be. 8 Q. And the nature of that transaction with 9 the Toll Brothers to eliminate a deed restriction. 10 A. Correct. 11 Q. And that deed restriction would have 12 prevented Toll Brothers from using that property as a 13 gambling enterprise. 14 A. As I understand it, yes. 15 Q. Will the proceeds from that 16 transaction -- and how much are the proceeds from that 17 transaction? 18 A. A little over 5 million. 19 Q. Okay. Our number is five and a half. 20 Does that sound about right? 21 A. 5.5, yeah. 22 Q. How will the proceeds from that 23 transaction be used by Trump? 24 A. I believe there's two alternative uses 25 for the proceeds. Either to invest in capital 46 Robert T. Symington - cross - Fogarty 1 expenditure and/or to pay down debt. We did not -- 2 Q. Or to pay down? 3 A. Or to retire debt. 4 Q. Okay. So with regard to that, are you 5 saying that the company's hands are not forced; that 6 is to say, they don't have to put the debt as they do 7 with the Marina sale? 8 A. Correct. Somewhat forced. 9 Q. Say again? 10 A. Somewhat forced. We have two options. 11 Q. Oh. Well, that's better than just 12 having one. 13 A. Exactly. 14 Q. Mr. Casiello asked you a question about 15 management. You're aware that you don't have a 16 general counsel at TER? 17 A. Yes. 18 Q. Are there plans under way to try to get 19 one? Or how does that work? 20 A. Right now our goal is to bring in Bob 21 and David and stabilize the operations and empower 22 them to build up the management team as they see fit, 23 whether they requires a general counsel or something 24 else, then over time, yes, we would build up the 25 management team accordingly. 47 Robert T. Symington - cross - Fogarty 1 Q. One further area, if you don't mind, Mr. 2 Symington. This relates to your Avenue hat, if you 3 will. 4 You said that -- and I think I got this 5 right -- that Avenue invests in distressed companies 6 and value oriented -- say that again for me? What's 7 their investment plan? 8 A. It would be -- just because a company is 9 not in distress or in a bankruptcy or restructuring 10 doesn't mean that there's not an investment 11 opportunity for us in terms of our mandate. So we can 12 invest pretty much across any sectors, across any part 13 of the capital structure, whether it be bank debt, 14 bonds, pre-petition equity, post-petition equity, et 15 cetera, so long as we view it as a value-oriented 16 investment. 17 Q. Gotcha. The -- how do I want to say 18 this? 19 What happened with Avenue in the Trump 20 thing, that is to say, Avenue invested in the debt of 21 the company, which I assume was distressed. And then 22 the company was in a bankruptcy, and here you are now, 23 Avenue as a roughly 22 percent owner. You, Mr. Licht, 24 Mr. Lasry are sitting on the board of these operating 25 entities, if you will. 48 Robert T. Symington - cross - Fogarty 1 A. Uh-huh. 2 Q. Is that the kind of thing when you're -- 3 when you're thinking to invest in distressed companies 4 that you're hoping happens? Or you're hoping it 5 doesn't happen? 6 A. What we're doing is, early on in any 7 investment, we are trying to invest in companies that 8 we like. So just from an analytical point of view, we 9 want to be constructive of the business, independent 10 of whether it's a security that ultimately converts 11 into equity which occurred in Trump. 12 Q. Uh-huh. 13 A. So if you step back and say what was the 14 original thesis, do we like Trump, the security? We 15 then go through a scenario analysis in every 16 investment that we look at, and say okay. Well, we 17 may stay out of bankruptcy, and we may continue to 18 hold the security we own. But we project out what 19 might be the ultimate security, which would be the 20 security that would be the future equity. And so do 21 we want to own that? So, yes, from that point of 22 view, it's today, not necessarily do we want to own it 23 because we like what we created in the company in 24 terms of values. 25 Q. Uh-huh? 49 Robert T. Symington - cross - Fogarty 1 A. And that's packed into the value 2 proposition, but we project out in every instance, do 3 we think it would be an equity in a reorganization? 4 And, if so, do we want to be the owners of that 5 equity. And, in turn, if required, do we have the 6 resources and et cetera, to invest my time, David's 7 time, Marc Lasry's time? What it requires to go 8 through that process. 9 Q. So it's not an equity conversion, and 10 that's not to you all. It's part your calculus, 11 though -- 12 A. Right. 13 Q. -- in deciding whether you make the bet 14 in the first place. 15 A. Correct. 16 Q. Thank you, sir. That's all I have. 17 A. Thank you. 18 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Mr. Casiello, let me 19 just ask. Are you going to call Mr. Griffin at 20 all as a witness? I'd like to inquire, you 21 know, some Atlantic City questions, and I 22 wanted to make sure Mr. Symington felt 23 comfortable answering them. 24 MR. CASIELLO: Make you a deal. If you 25 ask him a question, and he can't answer it, I 50 Robert T. Symington 1 will call Mr. Griffin. 2 CHAIR KASSEKERT: We're making deals? 3 Okay. 4 (Laughter.) 5 MR. FOGARTY: You're good at that, 6 Chair. He's good at that. 7 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Okay. All right. 8 Mr. Symington, obviously, Avenue Capital 9 made an investment in Trump Entertainment 10 because they saw some promise there. Given the 11 current economic situation, do you still see 12 the promise? 13 THE WITNESS: Yes. The current economic 14 situation, I would submit perhaps relative to 15 where we made the investment has, in fact, 16 improved. So it's all relative. And so, yeah. 17 From that perspective, coupled with what we've 18 witnessed with our management team and then in 19 the Atlantic City market, obviously, we're all 20 relatively optimistic going into the summer 21 months, which are critical. But, yeah, we feel 22 pretty good about where we are, relatively 23 speaking. Our capital structure, our liquidity 24 profile, which is obviously a function helping 25 us invest in the company, and we feel pretty 51 Robert T. Symington 1 good. 2 CHAIR KASSEKERT: We've -- we've faced 3 major challenges here in Atlantic City. 4 Obviously, the economy, competition, and now, 5 you know, it appears that gas prices might also 6 be another challenge that we're facing as they 7 continue to go up. What steps are you taking 8 at -- at Trump to ensure that we get customers 9 coming despite the issue of gas prices? 10 THE WITNESS: Well, that would be a 11 little aggressive for me to answer that -- 12 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Okay. 13 THE WITNESS: -- other than from the 14 board's -- 15 MR. CASIELLO: We'll be calling Mr. 16 Griffin now. 17 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Okay. All right. 18 And Mr. Griffin could probably ask 19 questions -- answer questions with respect to 20 changes at the properties? That might be 21 better directed to him? 22 MR. CASIELLO: What kind of changes? 23 CHAIR KASSEKERT: You know, capital 24 improvements. 25 MR. CASIELLO: Fine. Yes. He would. 52 Robert T. Symington 1 He would. 2 CHAIR KASSEKERT: All right. Let me ask 3 if any of the Commissioners have any additional 4 questions for Mr. Symington? 5 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: No. 6 CHAIR KASSEKERT: No? 7 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: No. Thank 8 you. 9 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Anything on redirect? 10 MR. CASIELLO: No redirect. 11 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Anything on recross? 12 MR. FOGARTY: Mr. Griffin is appearing? 13 MR. CASIELLO: Yes. 14 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Okay. 15 MR. FOGARTY: Nothing further of this 16 gentleman. 17 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. You may 18 step down. 19 MR. CASIELLO: Thank you, Robert. 20 THE WITNESS: Thank you very much. 21 MR. CASIELLO: Mr. Griffin? 22 CHAIR KASSEKERT: We'll put you on the 23 spot. 24 MR. CASIELLO: Surprise witness. 25 53 Robert F. Griffin - direct - Casiello 1 ROBERT F. GRIFFIN, was duly sworn to 2 testify in this matter. 3 4 MR. NANCE: Please state your name for 5 the record. 6 THE WITNESS: Robert F. Griffin. 7 MR. NANCE: Thank you. 8 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 9 You may proceed, Mr. Casiello. 10 11 DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. CASIELLO: 12 Q. Why don't we start with -- please, sit 13 down -- your -- your current positions with Trump 14 Entertainment Resorts. 15 A. Certainly. Currently I'm the CEO of 16 Trump Entertainment Resorts as well as a member of the 17 TER Board of Directors. 18 Q. And I think it might be appropriate if 19 you gave the Commissioners a little bit of your 20 background in the gaming industry? 21 A. Certainly. I started my career here in 22 Atlantic City with the Golden Nugget with Steve Wynn. 23 I spent five years in that organization, five years at 24 Trump Plaza. And what was interesting is when I came 25 back to town to get licensed, the original picture 54 Robert F. Griffin - cross - Fogarty 1 that I have which was given to me by the DGE had 2 changed quite a bit. But I left Atlantic City and 3 went into a number of regional markets with a company, 4 Isle of Capri. I have operated in and been licensed 5 in numerous states, operating in Florida, Mississippi, 6 Louisiana, Iowa, California, Colorado, of course, New 7 Jersey, West Virginia, Pennsylvania. And coming back 8 to Atlantic City, even though the city is facing a lot 9 of challenges, we saw a great opportunity here. 10 MR. CASIELLO: No further questions. 11 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 12 Mr. Fogarty? 13 14 CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. FOGARTY: 15 Q. Hello, Mr. Griffin. 16 A. Good morning. 17 Q. Good morning. 18 Down the end of the Boardwalk, Revel 19 says it's going to open in roughly 14 to 15 months, 20 something like that. For your company; good, bad? 21 Don't know? What? 22 A. You know, I think for our company, it is 23 a -- it's positive. I think that Revel Entertainment 24 will grow the market substantially. I think this 25 market, as all markets are, need new product. I think 55 Robert F. Griffin - cross - Fogarty 1 it will put some pressure on Trump Plaza, but I think 2 it will benefit Trump Taj Mahal significantly. I 3 think it will benefit Showboat and Taj Mahal being at 4 that end of the Boardwalk. I think attracting 5 different clientele that's not coming today will be 6 helpful. So I think it would help the Taj Mahal, will 7 put a little pressure on the Plaza. 8 Q. Is Aqueduct poised to open up in the 9 City of New York? 10 A. They are. They were originally 11 scheduled to open in the month of May. They have 12 since announced that they are going to open later, in 13 August, and they will open up with more games. We do 14 expect Aqueduct to have a negative impact on the 15 Atlantic City market. 16 (There was a cell phone interruption.). 17 A. We do not believe that we will take as 18 big a hit as we think Connecticut will. We also think 19 Northeast Pennsylvania is more likely to be impacted 20 as well, but it will have a negative effect on 21 Atlantic City. 22 Q. Northeast Pennsylvania, you mean -- is 23 that that Sands complex in Bensalem? 24 A. Yes. The Sands and the Poconos. 25 Q. Thank you. Yeah. 56 Robert F. Griffin - cross - Fogarty 1 Yesterday, the day before, results were 2 announced that compared 2010 and 2009. I'm sure 3 you've seen them. 4 A. I have. 5 Q. It appears the gross operating profit 6 fell 20 -- almost 27 percent comparing 2009 to 2010. 7 You're comments, sir, about that and what it means 8 generally for the market in Atlantic City and -- and 9 your companies in particular. 10 A. Certainly. I'll answer both of those. 11 One, I arrived at Trump Entertainment on 12 October 10th. In the numbers for the Trump 13 organization there are some year-end issues that we 14 had as far as reorganization expenses that were in 15 there. Overall, the company's performance, if you 16 were to take any analyzed items, would be down. The 17 company was spending approximately 87 percent on labor 18 and marketing. It was not a sustainable model. We 19 made a number of changes. So we are very optimistic 20 of where we will be in 2011 as far as Trump 21 Entertainment Resorts. 22 One thing that we always tell our 23 investors is to not focus on the top-line revenue. 24 There is a -- unfortunately in Atlantic City, there 25 has been a model where a number of companies have 57 Robert F. Griffin - cross - Fogarty 1 bought business unprofitably, and we're focused on 2 driving that business at a profitable level. 3 As far as the market itself, to answer 4 that question, I think the Spectrum Gaming report was 5 pretty accurate. They projected it would be down 6 about 13 percent this year. I think when everything 7 is all said and done, the market could be down as much 8 as 13 percent. 9 Q. Good news, bad news. 10 A. You know, the good news is the Ocean is 11 out here and nobody can put casino gaming on that side 12 of us. 13 (Laughter.) 14 A. You know, New Jersey has taken so many 15 body blows, I think if you look at Aqueduct, there's 16 only so much more. I think the market will hit bottom 17 somewhere around the $3 billion mark. New and 18 expanding competition in other states is never good 19 news for us. I think when we -- I do think we'll see 20 a good summer season here. I think that when you look 21 at table games, we're analyzing now, in Pennsylvania 22 in August, you'll start to see some comparable numbers 23 that will be favorable to Atlantic City. 24 Q. Seem like a very practical man. Thank 25 you, sir. 58 Robert F. Griffin 1 A. Thank you. 2 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 3 I'll ask some of the questions that I 4 tried to pose to Mr. Symington. You know, with 5 respect to the third crisis or the third 6 challenge Atlantic City is probably going to 7 face, the rising gas prices. What are you 8 doing at Trump to try to mitigate the impact of 9 that? 10 THE WITNESS: Sure. A couple of things 11 that we're doing -- and I don't want to give 12 all our marketing plans -- 13 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Sure. 14 THE WITNESS: Out to our competitors, 15 but I'm sure that when some people came through 16 the Expressway into town today, they saw that 17 we have started a program at Trump Plaza where 18 we're offering free parking in addition to 19 other incentives. We actually have some plans 20 for some gas promotions if gas were to go over 21 $4. The free parking at the Plaza has been 22 much more positive than we expected. What 23 we've seen is -- particularly on Sundays, is 24 many customers coming in and parking with us to 25 go to The Walk, shopping at The Walk and coming 59 Robert F. Griffin 1 back to Trump Plaza. What we also saw is we 2 eliminated all blackout dates for parking, for 3 free parking, which we are picking up the $3 4 charge to the State. And the rodeo this past 5 weekend was a prime example. I think there 6 were a lot of people who were nervous how 7 successful it would be for the city, and it was 8 a home run for the city. And we had everybody 9 parking in there. There's recently an article 10 out that shows about $30 today to drive from 11 Philadelphia to get here. So we believe that 12 parking is one issue. And when we look at the 13 reinvestment dollars we put out there, free 14 parking, is clearly, we think, worthwhile. 15 We also are looking at our room rate. I 16 think you'll see room rates a little bit more 17 attractive this summer and passed the summer 18 months. One of the things that we have done as 19 well is, as far as our direct mail campaigns, 20 we've reduced the criteria to get a customer 21 into a hotel. Atlantic City is in dire need of 22 hotel rooms on the weekends. And in the 23 summer, as we all know, the rest of the week -- 24 the rest of the year, we're struggling to fill. 25 So we have gone deeper into our database and we 60 Robert F. Griffin 1 are looking to push the gaming customers as 2 well as retail. 3 CHAIR KASSEKERT: What plans do you have 4 for any capital improvements at either Trump 5 Plaza or the Taj? 6 THE WITNESS: Sure. Let me start with 7 the Plaza. The first thing that we did is we 8 felt the best use of our capital is really in 9 slot product. When we look at how our returns 10 come in, the slot product, the slot machine 11 pays for itself in the first year. We have 12 installed over 200 new slots at Trump Plaza. 13 And I want to thank everybody for helping us 14 get that done and done quickly. We have -- at 15 Taj Mahal we put more than 400 new slot 16 machines on the floor. New slot product. We 17 are also under construction with the White 18 House sub shop, which many of us know. That 19 will be open at the end of the month. We are 20 also in the process of bringing in some retail 21 outlets, panda Express. We're in negotiations 22 with a facility that does childcare. And we 23 are looking at memorabilia shops. So we're 24 looking at a number of those. 25 In addition to that, we have some 61 Robert F. Griffin 1 maintenance capital that's going to be 2 required. We have some repair work that has to 3 be done on the bridge. And then, of course, 4 we're working with CRDA. As far as some of the 5 projects we are in front of CRDA this month for 6 the approval on the facade project and also the 7 Virginia Avenue rehabilitation project as well. 8 CHAIR KASSEKERT: All right. And what 9 about Trump Plaza? 10 THE WITNESS: Trump Plaza, right now we 11 are looking at specifically just putting into 12 the slot product. 13 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Uh-huh. 14 THE WITNESS: My approach to capital is 15 that -- I believe you put it into the slot 16 product in the beginning of the year, and as 17 the year goes along, depending upon where we 18 are, I will be either be a little freer with 19 capital or tight. 20 We are looking at summarization at the 21 Plaza. We have engaged an architectural firm 22 to look at a number of issues for us. They are 23 in the process now of actually costing those 24 out. And depending upon what the costs are and 25 where the business is at that time, we'll make 62 Robert F. Griffin 1 those decisions. 2 CHAIR KASSEKERT: I think that as part 3 of the proposal to the CRDA you're looking at 4 new eating establishments, sort of capitalizing 5 on the Boardwalk. Any plans for that Trump 6 Plaza at this point? 7 THE WITNESS: As of now, no. 8 CHAIR KASSEKERT: No? Okay. 9 Let me ask if any of the Commissioners 10 have any questions? 11 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: No. That was 12 very interesting. Thank you. 13 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 14 Anything -- 15 THE WITNESS: Thank you very much. 16 CHAIR KASSEKERT: -- on redirect? 17 MR. CASIELLO: No, Madame Chair. 18 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Anything on recross? 19 MR. FOGARTY: No, Chair. 20 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Okay. 21 THE WITNESS: Thank you very much. 22 CHAIR KASSEKERT: You may step down. 23 Thank you. 24 Any other witnesses, Mr. Casiello? 25 MR. CASIELLO: No, Madame Chair. 63 ITEM NO. 10 1 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 2 Let me ask if either party would like -- 3 you were going to put him on the spot; right? 4 FROM THE FLOOR: I was going to put Nick 5 on the stand. 6 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Let me ask if either 7 of the parties would like to make a closing 8 statement? 9 MR. CASIELLO: No, Madame Chair. I'd 10 just like to ask that the Commission find the 11 Avenue entities qualified and authorize the 12 dissolution of the trust. 13 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 14 Mr. Fogarty? 15 MR. FOGARTY: Just quickly. 16 The Division thanks, I don't think this 17 is inappropriate, Trustee Williams for his 18 service. 19 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Yes. 20 MR. FOGARTY: I assume as part of this 21 draft resolution that I've seen, which we do 22 not object to, he will be discharged. Sounds 23 terrible. But I -- 24 CHAIR KASSEKERT: He's completed his 25 duty. 64 ITEM NO. 10 1 MR. FOGARTY: Thank you very much. 2 We recommend, please, that you plenarily 3 qualify the 20 entities that are listed in 4 conjunction with their participation in the 5 ownership of approximately 21.7 percent of 6 Trump Entertainment Resorts. 7 Thank you. 8 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 9 MR. CASIELLO: I'm sorry, Madame Chair. 10 I thought I'd have the opportunity later on, 11 but I do want to thank Judge Williams as well. 12 I do want to thank your staff, particularly 13 Mary Wozniak and Claire Frank, and I want to 14 thank the Division, especially Mark Sivetz and 15 his team of investigators. 16 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. We 17 appreciate your comments. 18 Let me ask if there are any other 19 matters that need to be brought to our 20 attention at this time? 21 MR. CASIELLO: No. 22 MR. FOGARTY: No, ma'am. 23 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Let me ask if the 24 Commissioners need a recess or -- 25 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: No. 65 ITEM NO. 10 1 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Got your minds made 2 up? Very good. 3 On July 14th of 2010, this Commission 4 approved a Chapter 11 reorganization plan for 5 the holding company Trump Entertainment 6 Resorts. The implementation of that plan, 7 Avenue New Jersey Entertainment and Avenue New 8 Jersey Entertainment Holdings must qualified 9 under the Casino Control Act as holding 10 companies of the Trump Casino licensees by 11 virtue of their equity holdings in TER. 12 The Avenue entities sought interim 13 casino authorization pursuant to NJSA 14 5:12-95.12, et seq., and we granted ICA on July 15 14th for a period of nine months. 16 We heard Mr. Lasry last July and Mr. 17 Symington today talk about the potential seen 18 in Trump Entertainment -- as well as Mr. 19 Griffin -- Resorts and in Atlantic City. If 20 their vision holds true, the company and 21 industry here still face challenges ahead but 22 will ultimately become stronger as the city 23 evolves into a full destination resort. I 24 share their optimism in the future of Atlantic 25 City and hope their vision for the company can 66 ITEM NO. 10 1 be realized. 2 In this proceeding day, it is the 3 Applicant's burden to demonstrate to the 4 Commission by clear and convincing evidence 5 that they meet each of the standards for 6 qualification enumerated in the Casino Control 7 Act. 8 The Division of Gaming Enforcement has 9 reported on the plenary qualification of the 10 Avenue Applicants and their qualifying entities 11 and individuals. And based upon those reports, 12 and the entire record of these proceedings, 13 including today's testimony, I am satisfied 14 that the Applicants have met their burden of 15 establishing their qualification as holding 16 companies. 17 I would, therefore, move that we adopt 18 the draft resolution and find that Avenue New 19 Jersey Entertainment, LLC, and Avenue New 20 Jersey Entertainment Holdings, LLC, are 21 qualified as holding companies of the Trump 22 Casino licensees. And I so move. 23 Is there a second? 24 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Second. 25 CHAIR KASSEKERT: A motion has been made 67 ITEM NO. 11 1 and seconded. This is a roll call vote. 2 MR. NANCE: Commissioner Harrington? 3 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Yes. 4 MR. NANCE: Vice Chair Fanelle? 5 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Yes. 6 MR. NANCE: Chair Kassekert? 7 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Yes. 8 MR. NANCE: The record will reflect that 9 the motion is unanimous. 10 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Congratulations. 11 MR. CASIELLO: Thank you, Chair. Thank 12 you Commissioners. 13 MR. FOGARTY: Thank you, Commissioners. 14 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: Thank you. 15 MR. NANCE: Item No. 11, proposed 16 publication of amendments to NJAC 19:43-5.1, 17 5.2, 5.3 and 5.5; proposed repeal of NJAC 18 19:43-5.4 and proposed new rule NJAC 19 19:43-12.1. 20 Miss Fauntleroy? 21 MS. FAUNTLEROY: Good morning. 22 The Casino Control Act was amended on 23 February 1, 2011, effectuating significant 24 changes in the structures and procedures for 25 the regulation of casino gaming. Among other 68 ITEM NO. 11 1 things, the legislation reexamines the 2 allocation of duties and responsibilities as 3 between the Casino Control Commission and the 4 Division of Gaming Enforcement, Department of 5 Law and Public Safety. 6 As amended, Section 63 of the Act 7 authorizes the Commission to, among other 8 things, hear and decide all applications for a 9 casino license, including the applications 10 filed by persons required individually to 11 qualify in connection therewith; applications 12 for interim casino authorization pursuant to 13 NJSA 5:12-95.12, et seq., including but not 14 limited to applications filed by persons 15 required individually to qualify in connection 16 therewith; statements of compliance and 17 applications for a casino key employee license. 18 Section 69a of the Act authorizes the 19 Commission to adopt, amend, or repeal such 20 regulations as may be necessary for the conduct 21 of hearings before the Commission under Section 22 63, and for the matters within all other 23 responsibilities and duties of the Commission. 24 In accordance with that statutory 25 mandate, the Commission -- before you are new 69 ITEM NO. 11 1 rules and amendments which set forth the 2 procedural requirements for applications for a 3 casino licensure and interim casino 4 authorization and requests for statements of 5 compliance. 6 The amended Act provides that no casino 7 license shall issue unless the Commission 8 determines that all persons designated by the 9 Division as persons who must qualify meet the 10 appropriate standards. 11 The proposed amendments would remove 12 reference to casino license renewals, as 13 renewals were eliminated through the repeal of 14 Section 88 of the Act. 15 Provides that an application for initial 16 casino license is to be initiated by the filing 17 of a petition with the Division in accordance 18 with its rules for filing. 19 Provides that a completed application 20 for casino licensure shall include a BHD and 21 PHD and such other forms as required as 22 determined by the rules of Division. 23 Requires that a copy of the corporate 24 charter provisions or comparable formation 25 documents of any non-corporate applicant or 70 ITEM NO. 11 1 qualifying entity be filed as part of the 2 application for casino licensure. 3 Requires that the Applicant 4 contemporaneously provide the Commission with a 5 copy of the above filings either by hard copy 6 for electronic copy through the Office of 7 General Counsel. 8 Proposes for repeal petitions for waiver 9 of qualification, as those requirements are now 10 determined by the Division Director pursuant to 11 NJSA 5:12-85.1(d). 12 Provides that a request for a Statement 13 of Compliance be initiated by the filing of a 14 petition with the Division, and in accordance 15 with NJSA 5:12-81(a)(1) and (3). 16 Requires that a copy of the filings 17 required for Statement of Compliance be 18 provided to the Commission through the Office 19 of General Counsel. 20 Provides that an application for interim 21 casino authorization be initiated by the filing 22 of a petition with the Division. Mandates that 23 a completed application for ICA include 24 appropriate BHD as PHD, PHD for the ICA Trustee 25 and a fully executed Trust Agreement. 71 ITEM NO. 11 1 Lastly, requires that a copy of filings 2 identified therewith, including the petition, 3 be contemporaneously provided to the Commission 4 through the Office of General Counsel. 5 The Office of the General Counsel has 6 created an electronic mailbox address, 7 generalcounselmailbox@ccc.state.nj.us to 8 facilitate the electronic submission of those 9 documents. 10 If adopted today, the rule proposal will 11 be published in the May 16, 2011, New Jersey 12 Register. The 60-day public comment period 13 will expire on July 15th. 14 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Thank you. 15 Any questions? 16 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: No questions. 17 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: No questions. 18 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: I'll move that 19 we approve for publication this document. 20 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Second. 21 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion has been 22 made and seconded. All in favor? 23 (Ayes.) 24 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Opposed? 25 (No response.) 72 1 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion carries. 2 MR. NANCE: I'd just like to make a note 3 that the next public meeting of Commission, May 4 25, 2011, is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. 5 In accordance with Resolution No. 6 11-04-06-03, the next closed session of the 7 Commission shall be held on Wednesday, May 25, 8 2011, at 1 p.m. in the Commission offices. 9 It is now time for the public 10 participation portion of the meeting. 11 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Is there anyone from 12 the public that wishes to be heard? 13 (No response.) 14 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Seeing no one, I'll 15 declare this portion of the meeting closed and 16 entertain a motion to adjourn. 17 COMMISSIONER HARRINGTON: So moved. 18 VICE CHAIR FANELLE: Second. 19 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion has been 20 made and seconded. All in favor? 21 (Ayes.) 22 CHAIR KASSEKERT: Opposed? 23 (No response.) 24 CHAIR KASSEKERT: The motion carries. 25 Thank you. 73 1 (Public Meeting 11-04-06 was adjourned 2 at 11:40 a.m.) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 74 1 2 C E R T I F I C A T E 3 4 5 I, DARLENE SILLITOE, a Certified Court 6 Reporter and Notary Public of the State of New 7 Jersey, certify that the foregoing is a true 8 and accurate transcript of the proceedings. 9 10 11 I further certify that I am neither 12 attorney, of counsel for, nor related to or 13 employed by any of the parties to the action; 14 further that I am not a relative or employee of 15 any attorney or counsel employed in this case; 16 nor am I financially interested in the action. 17 18 19 DARLENE SILLITOE CCR 20 License No XI01023 21 22 Dated: April 10, 2011 23 My Notary Commission Expires July 22, 2014 24 ID No 2062871 25