chief operating officer of the Taj Mahal, and Trump Plaza executive vice president Jonathan Benanav. In 1995, Trump established Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts (THCR) as a publicly traded company, granting it ownership of the Trump Plaza and the under-development Trump Casino in Gary, Indiana. The following year, THCR bought the Trump Taj Mahal at a valuation of $890 million, and bought the Trump Castle from Trump for $486 million (including $355 million in assumed debt). In 1996, the company opened Trump World's Fair, a casino adjunct to the Trump Plaza. The World's Fair was closed in 1999, with plans to replace it with a larger resort. In 1997, THCR was one of eleven applicants for three casino licenses available in Detroit, with a $542-million proposal for the Trump Motor City Hotel Casino, in partnership with Mel Farr. The bid was ultimately dropped from consideration because of Mayor Dennis Archer's doubts about the company's financial condition. In 1998, THCR business consultants spent at least $68,000 on a trip to Cuba in violation to the United States embargo against Cuba. According to a report by Newsweek, the consulting firm Seven Arrows Investment and Development instructed THCR on how to evade the embargo by linking the money to a charitable effort. In 1999, THCR agreed to purchase the Flamingo Hilton Casino Kansas City for $15 million, but the deal fell through when Missouri gaming regulators did not approve the company's gaming license by a contractual deadline. THCR entered a management agreement in 2000 to operate the Spotlight 29 Casino, an Indian casino in Coachella, California. Financial troubles Trump Entertainment Resorts and its predecessors have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection four times, in 1991, following construction of the $1-billion Trump Taj Mahal, and in 2004, 2009 and 2014. In 2004, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts explored various options for restructuring its debt, amid speculation that it might file for bankruptcy. A possible arrangement with Credit Suisse First Boston was not completed because the bondholders rejected it. On October 21, 2004, the company announced a preliminary agreement with its investors. Trump, who had been the majority owner, would reduce his stock ownership from 56 to 27 percent. Bondholders would surrender some of their debt in exchange for stock. On October 27, the company announced that Morgan Stanley would be the joint lead arranger for a $500 million financing as part of the restructuring