Trump Casino Gets Margaritaville Makeover

Property mogul DONALD TRUMP has sold one of his famed casinos to singer JIMMY BUFFET for $315 million (GBP157.5 million) - allowing the American singer to turn his MARGARITAVILLE fantasy into a real-life tropical oasis.

Buffett agreed to pay the large sum to Trump on Thursday (29May08) for the purchase of his Marina Hotel Casino, the poorest-performing of three the billionaire holds in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Trump originally asked for $500 million (GBP250million) for the 14-acre property - which features a 27-storey hotel with 728 guest rooms and a 79,000 square foot gambling mecca - but reduced the price after lengthy negotiations.

And 61-year-old crooner Buffet has already hatched plans to give the place a full face-lift, beginning with changing its name to his famous hit song, Margaritaville, once the deal is finalised at year's end (08).

In the meantime, he is already getting plans underway to open the first Margaritaville casino for his company Coastal Marina LLC on Mississippi's Gulf Coast in two years' time (10).

The deal marks a truce between Trump and former friend Richard Fields, the head of Buffet's company. The pair was engaged in a four-year legal battle after Trump accused Fields of cheating him out of developing casinos in Florida.

The real-estate mogul now plans to pour the funds into his two remaining Atlantic City casino-hotels: Trump Taj Mahal and Trump Plaza.