When President Trump Owned Atlantis

Bahama Drama News: A forgotten piece of island history

Many people don’t know this lil piece a Bahamian history, but yeah man — Donald J. Trump once owned property right here in the Bahamas. Not just any lil piece a land either — we talkin’ bout Paradise Island, the same place that later turn into Atlantis.

Back in the 1960s, a company named Resorts International started developing Paradise Island. They opened a big hotel and casino in 1968 and that became one of the main hotspots in the Caribbean.

Fast forward to July 1987, Donald Trump buys a controlling interest in Resorts International for $79 million. That move gave him ownership of the hotel and casino right here in the Bahamas.

But Trump wasn’t really interested in Paradise Island. He had his eyes set on finishing a massive casino project called the Taj Mahal over in Atlantic City. Still, for a short time — the Bahamas was part of Trump’s empire.

Now the story get juicy. Trump end up in a tug-of-war with TV producer Merv Griffin who also wanted Resorts International. After some back and forth, the two of them settled in 1988. Merv Griffin got Resorts International including the Bahamas properties, and Trump walked away with the Taj Mahal project in New Jersey.

That deal ended Trump’s brief moment in Bahamian business history.

Years later, in 1994, Merv Griffin sold the Paradise Island property to Sol Kerzner, the South African hotel boss. Kerzner transformed the place into the famous Atlantis Paradise Island, which opened officially in 1998.

So yeah Bahama Drama family — believe it or not, Paradise Island once had Donald Trump’s name on it, even if just for a short while. Another wild chapter in the drama book of the Bahamas.

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Yes, and he also went to the church on Shirley Street before the Paradise Island bridge.