Tropicana Entertainment Files for Chapter 11 Reorganization

Company to maximize asset value,
address debt through comprehensive restructuring

Positive cash flow, $67 million DIP financing
secure ongoing operations
CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky.--(Business Wire)--
Emphasizing that its casino and resort properties are more than
adequately financed and that it will continue to serve customers on a
"business as usual" basis, Tropicana Entertainment, LLC today filed
voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Code so it can work to maximize the value of the company's
assets through a comprehensive restructuring.

Nine of the 11 properties owned directly by Tropicana
Entertainment are included in the petitions. While the company's
Atlantic City, New Jersey, casino and resort is not part of the filing
and is unaffected by it, Tropicana Entertainment intends to coordinate
its efforts with the Trustee of the Atlantic City casino to maximize
value for the mutual benefit of their common creditors.

During the process, Tropicana Entertainment expects to maintain
current staffing levels and will fund the majority of ongoing
operations from its own cash flow. It has secured $67 million in
debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing that it can use to supplement its
working capital and ensure each property's competitive market
position. The DIP loan is being provided by Silver Point Finance, LLC
of Greenwich, Connecticut.

"Our company is going into this process from a position of
financial and operational strength," said Tropicana President Scott C.
Butera, who will lead the restructuring. "We generate positive
operational cash flows and, along with our DIP financing, we have
more-than-adequate resources to meet our ongoing financial needs. We
will continue to offer our visitors and players a full range of
lodging, entertainment and gaming services.

"The period ahead is an opportunity to work with all of our
constituents to address our debt issues and reorganize our business so
that we can optimize the value of the company's assets," Butera
continued. "We are confident we will emerge from this process as a
stronger, more competitive brand with a solid financial structure and
clearly enhanced fundamentals."

In conjunction with the filing, Tropicana Entertainment is seeking
approval for a variety of first day motions that will allow it to
continue to manage operations in the ordinary course. The motions
include requests to make wage and salary payments and other benefits
to employees; honor customer programs and certain other pre-petition
customer obligations; and pay critical vendors, suppliers, and certain
other pre-petition trade claims. This relief will allow the company to
operate its business without interruption while it continues
restructuring in a controlled process.

The motions are typical in Chapter 11 filings, and court approval
is generally granted promptly. The company intends to pay all
providers of goods and services delivered post-petition in the
ordinary course of business.

The nine business entities included in the filing are casinos and
affiliates that are directly owned by Tropicana Entertainment, LLC.
They are:

-- Bayou Caddy's Jubilee Casino - Greenville, Mississippi;

-- Casino Aztar - Evansville, Indiana;

-- Horizon Casino Hotel - Vicksburg, Mississippi;

-- Horizon Casino Resort - Lake Tahoe, Nevada;

-- MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa - Lake Tahoe, Nevada;

-- River Palms Resort & Casino - Laughlin, Nevada;

-- Tropicana Express Hotel & Casino - Laughlin, Nevada;

-- Sheraton Hotel and Belle of Baton Rouge Casino; and

-- Tropicana Casino & Resort - Las Vegas, Nevada.

In addition to Tropicana Atlantic City Casino & Resort, the other
Tropicana Entertainment property excluded from the filing is the
Lighthouse Point Casino, Greenville, Mississippi. Two other casinos
owned by parent Tropicana Casinos and Resorts - the Amelia Belle
Casino in Amelia, Louisiana, and the Westin Casuarina Las Vegas Hotel,
Casino & Spa - are also excluded.

About Tropicana Entertainment, LLC

Tropicana Entertainment, LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Tropicana
Casinos and Resorts, is one of the largest privately held gaming
entertainment providers in the United States. The company operates
540,000 square feet of casino space with 15,000 slot machine
positions. With more than 11,000 employees and 8,300 hotel rooms at
its properties, it produces in excess of $1.2 billion annual revenue.
More information is available at www.tropicanacasinos.com. None of the
information contained on the company's website shall be deemed
incorporated by reference or otherwise included herein.

Beacon Advisors
Hud Englehart
o: 513-533-4800
c: 312-860-0106
or
FD
Michael Geczi
o: 312-553-6735
c: 312-519-4920
or
FD
Caroline Hoenk
o: 312-861-4706
c: 646-269-7541

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