Resorts International was a hotel and casino company. From its origins as a paint company, it moved into the resort business in the 1960s with the development of Paradise Island in the Bahamas, and then expanded to Atlantic City, New Jersey with the opening of Resorts Casino Hotel in 1978. After the death of its longtime chairman, James Crosby, in 1986, the company was briefly controlled by Donald Trump, before being acquired by Merv Griffin in 1988. It was acquired by Sun International in 1996.
History
Development in Bahamas and Atlantic City (1958–1986) In 1958, the Mary Carter Paint Company, a New Jersey paint manufacturer, was acquired by a group of investors. James Crosby, son of one of the investors, was appointed to lead the company.
With its paint business on the decline, Mary Carter sought to diversify into the land development business. It acquired 1,200 acres of land near Freeport, Bahamas in 1962, followed by a 75 percent interest in Paradise Island in 1966. The company built a bridge to the island and developed it with hotels and restaurants, and opened the Paradise Island Casino there in 1967. In 1968, Mary Carter sold its paint division and changed its name to Resorts International.
Other ventures that the company undertook were short-lived, including ownership of the Biff Burger fast food chain from 1962 to 1976, an investment in an experimental shrimp farm in Mexico in the early 1970s, ownership of the Marine World/Africa USA theme park in California from 1972 to 1979, and an aborted deal to purchase half of slot machine maker Williams Electronics in 1978.
Crosby led Resorts on several forays into the airline industry over the years. The company made efforts towards acquiring Pan American World Airways in 1969, but backed down after Congress intervened to make such a takeover more difficult. Resorts purchased Chalk's International Airlines, a small airline offering seaplane service between Florida and the Bahamas, in 1974; the company would operate the airline until selling it in 1991.
Resorts executives traveled the world looking for potential casino sites. Finally, Resorts took an interest in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the lead-up to a 1976 voter referendum to allow casino gambling there. The company purchased large tracts of land in the city, including the historic Chalfonte-Haddon Hall. When the referendum passed, Resorts was prepared to quickly renovate the hotel, opening it in 1978 as the city's first casino, Resorts International Casino Hotel. The property was an immediate success, and the company saw its revenue increase from $59 million in 1977 to $407 million in 1979.
Resorts expanded its footprint in the Bahamas to a second casino in 1978, assuming management of El Casino in Freeport. It sold the casino in 1983.
The company in 1983 began construction of the Taj Mahal casino, adjacent to the Resorts International casino, with an estimated budget of $250 million.
The Resorts Casino Hotel had seen declining profits after 1979, as it faced competition from newly opened Atlantic City casinos, and a general slump in the casino industry. The need to diversify was again apparent. The company offered to purchase Trans World Airlines in 1985, but was rejected. Resorts then returned its focus to Pan Am, buying an 11 percent stake in the airline. By early 1986, Resorts was reported to be exploring expansion options in West Virginia, Florida, and Louisiana, where it was participating in lobbying efforts to legalize gambling, and searching for potential casino sites.
Post-Crosby and Donald Trump era (1986–1988)
Crosby died unexpectedly in April 1986, and Resorts International became a takeover target. The Taj Mahal had encountered construction problems, and Crosby's heirs, lacking experience in large development projects, doubted their ability to complete it successfully. Real estate developer Donald Trump, who owned two Atlantic City casinos, beat out several other bidders to purchase a controlling stake in the company from Crosby's family for $79 million in July 1987. Trump was appointed chairman of Resorts International, and said he would complete the Taj Mahal in about a year.