Dispute over Tropicana name settled
Carl Icahn, whose gaming company owns Tropicana hotel-casinos in Laughlin and Atlantic City, has settled a trademark lawsuit with Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Casino Inc., court documents filed by both companies show.
Under the settlement, Tropicana Las Vegas will have the exclusive right to use the “Tropicana Las Vegas” and the “Tropicana LV” names and marks within 50 miles of its resort on the Strip and online for advertising purposes.
Icahn’s Tropicana Entertainment Inc. will have the right to use the “Tropicana” and “Trop” marks outside of the Las Vegas.
The deal includes “mutual release of all claims” between the parities and is subject to approval by a bankruptcy court in Delaware.
A hearing on the issue has been scheduled for Sept. 13, according to court documents.
The dispute between the two Las Vegas-based gaming companies began after the bankruptcy in May 2008 of Tropicana Entertainment Inc.
In bankruptcy, Icahn gained control of most of the Tropicana casinos, while gaming executive Alex Yemenidjian and Toronto-based Onex Corp. purchased the Tropicana Las Vegas.
“The parties believe that the settlement agreement not only benefits them by resolving costly disputes … that have lasted for over two years, but also brings certainty to the reorganized debtors’ and the Tropicana Las Vegas entities’ respective rights concerning the trademarks, which constitute integral assets for the continued operation of their business,” said a court motion seeking approval of the settlement.
The Tropicana Las Vegas opened for business in 1957. The Tropicana in Laughlin opened in 1993 at the Ramada Express Laughlin. The Tropicana Atlantic City opened Nov. 23, 1981.
The settlement agreement was filed Tuesday, less than a week after Icahn’s company reported a $2.7 million loss in the second quarter compared with a loss of $1.6 million for the year-ago quarter.
Net revenue of $145 million was down from $164 million in the second quarter of 2010.
Tropicana Las Vegas reported a loss of $9.4 million in the second quarter, down from $11.2 million in the 2010 quarter. The company said revenue for the second quarter was $24.4 million, up from $13.8 million a year earlier.
Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at
csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.