The three Atlantic City casinos once run by Donald Trump filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday. Trump Entertainment made its third visit to bankruptcy court capping off months of negotiations with major creditors after the company missed a $53 million interest payment in December.

The blustery mogul is doing his best to distance himself from the company as he resigned as chairman of the board Friday. Trump said last week that he tried to buy the casinos and turn them around, but the bondholders who controlled the company didn't let him.

But, as Floyd Norris pointed out, it was Trump's leveraging of the casinos that led them into their financial troubles in the first place.

The bondholder group includes the hedge funds Avenue Capital Group of New York and Contrarian Capital Management of Greenwich, Conn., reports said.

The company's nine affiliates include the Trump Plaza, Trump Marina and Trump Taj Mahal casinos, all of which simultaneously sought protection. As of Dec. 31, the casino operator's assets totaled about $2.1 billion and total debts of about $1.7 billion. Together, the three casino hotels have nearly 3,000 hotel rooms, more than 9,000 slot machines and 375 table games.

A US analyst who spoke on the condition of anonymity said of Trump: "He has invested a lot, employed a lot of people and done business with a lot of businesses; all of that would appear to be reasonably positive. At the same time, this is yet another trip through Chapter 11. There are some folks who don't always have the kindest words to say about him."

At least 10 other companies including an airline, steel makers and several retailers — have filed for bankruptcy three times, according to an Associated Press review.