Trump offers to settle lawsuit for $500 million

Donald Trump, ousted from a deal to build an Indian casino in Connecticut, says he’ll settle his breach of contract claim against the Eastern Pequot tribe for a mere $500 million, the amount he believes the Trump organization would have made had he been part of the deal.

Trump, who had once complained about competition from Connecticut Indian groups (telling Congress, “They don’t look like Indians to me”) had been backing one of the competing Pequot groups in the battle to get federal recognition and thus a lucrative casino license.  His group ultimately was absorbed into larger and the majority elected to go with another developer.

How much Trump’s interest would have been worth will be an issue.  Said the tribe’s lawyer, “I think a more appropriate valuation is the one he put in his bankruptcy filing, which is zero.”