The owner of Tropicana casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. The action comes five months after the Tropicana lost their license to operate their casino in Atlantic City when the New Jersey Casino Control Commission determined that the company was incapable of running the "first-class operation" required by state law.

When the Tropicana lost the license to operate the Atlantic City casino it triggered a lawsuit by bond holders seeking immediate repayment. Scott C. Butera, the company's president, said that without the Atlantic City casino, the company can't afford to pay its debt obligations. The bankruptcy filing is "an opportunity to take a breathing spell," and get its debt under control, and move forward.

He urged current patrons of the Tropicana and the company's other casinos to keep coming. "This is the first step in making things much better," he told The Associated Press in an interview Monday. "I'd encourage them to remain a customer of the Tropicana, and I'm sure the customer will be rewarded as we do better things and invest in our assets."