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Trump, Wynn to play ball? 
Joint appearance fuels speculation of an agreement
Trump, Wynn to play ball?
By DONALD WITTKOWSKI Staff Writer, (609) 272-7258
Published: Wednesday, October 25, 2006
ATLANTIC CITY — Did they talk about high pops or high rollers, strikeouts or striking a deal?
Casino titans Donald Trump and Steve Wynn, no longer archrivals, were together at New York's Shea Stadium on Thursday night during the Mets' 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League championship game.
Their chummy appearance has stirred speculation that they may be discussing a joint deal for a new Wynn casino in Atlantic City. Trump's chief casino executive, however, says there is no deal.
“Steve and Donald certainly went to the ballgame last week and had a good time at the ballgame, and that's the extent of it at this time,” said James B. Perry, president and chief executive officer of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc.
Wynn, who owned the former Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City in the 1980s, met last month with Gov. Jon S. Corzine and Mayor Bob Levy to discuss plans for his possible return to the resort.
Bader Field, the city's former municipal airport, has been mentioned as one potential site for a Wynn project similar to the spectacular megacasinos he has built in Las Vegas.
Last month, Trump openly welcomed Wynn back to Atlantic City, leading some to wonder whether the two might be hatching plans for a project together or possibly discussing a deal for one of Trump's three casinos. The speculation intensified this week following their appearance at Shea Stadium, but Trump Entertainment insists nothing is in the works.
“Donald Trump and Steve Wynn have known each other for years. Every day brings a new development rumor to town. I don't have any reason to believe this is any different than the last 10 rumors that didn't come to pass,” Trump spokesman Tom Hickey said.
A spokeswoman for Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas said the company had no information about any possible deals between Wynn and Trump. She declined further comment.
Trump and Wynn once were bitter enemies. They battled over plans for a state-funded, $330 million tunnel and roadway off the Atlantic City Expressway to serve a proposed Wynn casino in the 1990s.
Trump ridiculed the road project as a “private driveway” to Wynn's casino, but before the tunnel was completed in 2001, Wynn's former company was sold and his plans for a new gaming hall in Atlantic City at that time died.
Since then, Wynn and Trump have patched up their differences. Wynn was a guest at Trump's extravagant 2005 wedding to Melania Knauss and Trump attended the grand opening of Wynn's $2.7 billion Las Vegas casino later in the year.
“Steve Wynn is a good friend of his and he's delighted to have him come back to Atlantic City,” Rhona Graff, Trump's executive assistant, said of the two men in an interview last month.
To e-mail Donald Wittkowski at The Press:
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