Is LV holding a Trump card?

Friday, Feb. 27, 2004 | 9:52 a.m.

Trumpopolis? The Fremont Trump Experience?

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said Thursday morning that he had a brief meeting with Donald Trump while in New York last week, and may see the real estate mogul in the next two weeks when Trump visits Las Vegas.

The mayor, speaking at his Thursday morning press conference, said he'd love to have Trump take part in the downtown rebuilding program.

Trump's name comes up periodically in Las Vegas, the most recent being his approval last week of a gaming license, allowing him to hold a stake in the company that owns the Riviera.

But the big hopes for Trump in Las Vegas go back at least 10 years. In 1994, the Sun reported the possibility of Trump buying the Aladdin property, a deal that fell through.

Also that year, he and Steve Wynn engaged in a court battle involving Trump's hiring of a Wynn employee. That case was settled.

In 1997, speculation about the possibility of billionaire financier Carl Icahn buying the Stratosphere included a theory that Trump might be involved. A year later, he told the Sun he was still looking to buy into Las Vegas.

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