Ex-Trump Casino President Tells CNN He Reprimanded Trump for Showing Up With 'Best Friend' Epstein and 19-Year-Old Girl

[Mr. Sparkle]

Jack O’Donnell, the former president of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, told CNN on Wednesday that he once reprimanded President Donald Trump in the 80s for bringing a 19-year-old into the casino with Jeffrey Epstein in the early hours of the morning.

“He frequently came down to Atlantic City, the two of them, to attend special events,” O’Donnell told CNN host Erin Burnett. “In my mind, it was his best friend, you know, from really the time I was there for four years.” After playing a 2019 clip of Trump claiming he knew Epstein “like everybody in Palm Beach knew him” and that he was “not a fan of his,” Burnett remarked, “That doesn’t really fit with what you’re saying.”

“No, Erin, it doesn’t,” replied O’Donnell:

And you know, one incident that I think kind of proves their closeness and how much they hung out together– one time, a Monday morning, I came in and the commission was waiting, the inspectors were waiting in my office, and Donald and Jeffrey had come into the casino in the wee hours of Sunday morning, 1:00, 1:30 in the morning. You know, two buddies, they had three women with them, and the commission was waiting for me because they had determined that the women that they brought down were underaged to be in the casino, and when I asked them how they knew that, by the way, one of them was the number three ranked tennis player in the world, okay, and this guy happened to be a tennis fan and he said, “Jack, I know she’s 19 years old.”

He added, “To get on a helicopter with a friend and three other people and fly down to Atlantic City, I mean, you can connect those dots. They were pretty good buddies.” O’Donnell said that while the commission decided to give Trump “a break” and not fine him for bringing a 19-year-old into the casino, they warned that the next time it would be different.

https://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/ex-trump-casino-president-tells-cnn-he-reprimanded-trump-for-showing-up-with-best-friend-epstein-and-19-year-old-girl/

[Wiz Imp]

1. Assuming this is true. The woman tennis player was Gabriela Sabatini.

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/tennis/1945502/us-open-donald-trump-ex-girlfriend
U.S. Open champion who dated Donald Trump looks unrecognizable after retirement
The former U.S. Open champion who dated Donald Trump when she was a teenager looks unrecognizable after retirement.

Sabatini previously dated the future president when she was just 19 years old for around a month in 1989, when Trump was 43. Trump was said to be on a break from his future second wife Marla Maples before they wed when he courted the tennis star. However, Trump reportedly broke off their romance and reunited with Maples, while divorcing his first wife Ivana the following year.

WTA year-end rankings for 1989.
Rank Player Country Birthdate
1 Steffi Graf GER 1969-06-14
2 Martina Navratilova USA 1956-10-18
3 Gabriela Sabatini ARG 1970-05-16

[JohnnyRingo]

2. Now I'm certain it's a true story.

No one would do that much research to fabricate such a specific lie.
Unless it's for a book of course, but he knows he'd get sued before the ink is dry. I bet this guy has enough that he could write quite a book too.

[Grins]

47. He did write book! It came out in 1991.

Thirty-four years ago. Titled "Trumped!"

I bought and read it a couple years ago. And THAT STORY is in the book. I red that book and thought - Everything you hate about Trump today is in the book. This was who he is!

It details early: Trump is clueless about gambling, and worse about running a casino, and he had three of them in Atlantic City. He was destined to fail and did.

[malaise]

5. Pics

Last edited Thu Jul 17, 2025, 03:47 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCB6Eivxxlt/

[ShazzieB]

50. Link doesn't work.

Nothing happens when I click on it.

[malaise]

51. Added a new one

Hope that works

[ShazzieB]

55. Yep, that works!

The!

[Hugin]

6. Oh, give me a f**king break...

“ Trump was said to be on a break from his future second wife Marla Maples before they wed when he courted the tennis star.”

He was taking a break from an adulterous affair resulting in a pregnancy that he tried to have aborted to boff a nineteen year old girl and who knows how many others.



Even when they’re not covering for Trump, they’re covering for him.

(Ire not directed at you Wiz Imp)

[kkmarie]

10. And still married to Ivana

However, Trump reportedly broke off their romance and reunited with Maples, while divorcing his first wife Ivana the following year.

[robbob]

12. What's with the "looks unrecognizable" comment?

She’s totally recognizable, and absolutely gorgeous. No, she doesn’t look 21 anymore, people get older, even (gasp) women. Just another example of the media’s obsession with looks when it comes to women.

[padfun]

28. I agree. She looks gorgeous to me too..

nt

[robbob]

31. Yeah, and while I was reluctant to go there...

“Looks unrecognizable” in that context usually (to me, anyways) is used to describe someone who has really fallen to pieces, drug and/or alcohol or plastic surgery related nightmare. I guess this is what they mean by “click bait”…🤨

[NoSheep]

63. Click bait, exactly.

Bores the hell out of me.

[Wiz Imp]

44. I agree that the sub headline was stupid

But I tend to post the headline if I'm posting an excerpt from an article and I wanted to show the part of the article that confirmed Trump dated Sabatini when she was 19.

[JoseBalow]

48. Standard clickbait language

just part of the enshittification of the internet.

[Permanut]

57. There ya go, using those big words again..

And I'm stealing it.

[SpankMe]

17. "...reunited with Maples, while divorcing his first wife Ivana..."

So, he was cheating on Maples with Sabatini while cheating on Ivana with Maples? The moral majority, indeed.

[Polybius]

39. I had a huge crush on her

I was like 14 at the time.

[Skittles]

65. gross

"family values"

However, Trump reportedly ended their romance and reunited with Maples, while divorcing his first wife Ivana the following year.

[pfitz59]

70. She looks fantastic

whoever wrote the aeticle is an idiot

[mchill]

74. Weirdly, I remember my father remarking how attractive

Gabriela Sabatoni was. (Note: we were a tennis family and a lot of tennis watched on TV). Totally out of character for my father to make such a remark. Son unusual, I still remember this remark decades later. He would have been 20-30 years older than Trump at the time.

[niyad]

3. Colour me soooooo NOT surprised at everything in this story, including

no consequences forr bringing someone under 21 into the casino.

[slightlv]

25. That's how I figure the story is true...

No one who catches him in ANY kind of crime ever brings him to justice!

[FakeNoose]

72. Well it's not entirely clear from this guy's narrative

What might have happened is that Epstein might have brought the under-age girl in, but in any case Chump was still responsible. He needs to answer for anyone who comes into the casino with him.

I'm downloading the book right now because I want to find this passage and read it for myself.

[MIButterfly]

4. Why does he always get away with everything?

I don’t get it. What's so special about him? Nothing that I can see.

[Ray Bruns]

8. "Why does he always get away with everything?"

Last edited Thu Jul 17, 2025, 11:30 AM - Edit history (1)

[Moostache]

32. Depends on the definition of "getting away with it" I guess...

From a legal standpoint, yeah, he buys immunity and acquittals like some people buy drinks.
From an ethical standpoint, he has no ethics, so it bothers him not at all...

BUT!!!

He hates himself. Its clear from his bullying behavior, his narcissism and constant lying and yes, even his cheating at golf. It is a person that truly cannot abide happiness in others because that reflects the emptiness and hollowness of his own existence.

He is President of the United States, but he is loathed the world over and mocked for his imbecilic nature and buffoon-like mannerisms.

He is a "billionaire" (probably even a real billionaire now with his constant graft and scheming), but he cannot truly enjoy any of it because he obsesses over anyone who has "more" - more power, more control, more forced adoration...anything. He is hollow and the echoes of desire rot his soul from within.

He is famous (or infamous) and yet he cannot enjoy accomplishments because he obsesses on the smallest negative 10,000X more than he worries about making the lives of others even a sliver better.

He has constant meetings with powerful and famous people, yet NONE of them stay when he cameras leave or to simply socialize without an agenda - including his third 'trophy' (if THAT is your thing) wife, who is patently clear that she would rather luxuriate in dog feces than touch his rotting flesh any longer.

He has 5 children (same as me) from 3 different baby mamas (alas I am a stickler for marriage vows and integrity, so all of my children have the same mother). He has access to anything in the world that he might possibly want only for the asking... and yet, I guarantee you I lead a happier, more fulfilling life with my wife, my kids, my friends and my co-workers than we can imagine. The reason why? I don't live my life in desperate need of external validation. I validate myself and live according to the values of my parents and what makes me happy. That does not require I lord over people or have them blow bullshit up my ass daily. That does not require everyone to constantly praise me or thank me or lust after me or my stuff.

One day, hopefully VERY SOON for him, we will both shuffle off this mortal coil. There is no doubt that Trump will leave a larger crater on humanity than almost anyone living in the 21st century so far - but for all the wrond reasons and wrong things. I know I will die in relative obscurity and annonymity and by comparison some would be tempted to believe that is a "win" for him, but reality is that life is not a zero sum game with winners and losers. From a biological perspective, we both will hit the finish line with the same thing - 5 direct descendants to procreate and extend the human race into the future, but I will not be 79 years old obsessing over press coverage and worrying about putting make-up on my bruised hands or sewing straw into my head or painting my stained skin with orange-tinted chemicals.

And in the end, that makes me smile.

[Attilatheblond]

35. Possibly the best summation of the Hollow Felon ever penned

[AnotherMother4Peace]

37. Good analysis of a sick mind. I'd like to add a few street-wise insights:

He does not experience guilt or remorse that normal people do. Rather he finds joy or excitement in the memories (trophies) of screwing someone over, much like a serial rapist would - OH YEAH he is a convicted rapist. No, he is not haunted by guilt of hurting anyone.

In explaining his unscrupulous business deals (not paying suppliers, inflating worth, etc), trump said that a successful business deal is getting the best deal. In his sick mind that thievery, unlawfulness, and deception is OK because everything is transactional and the "winner" takes all. No matter that he used his wealth, fame, power to fuck people over, much like he's doing to the people of the United States.

The key to his success is that most people trust, believe, experience guilt, love, care, have morals, believe in the Golden Rule. trump sees these as weak points, as ways to exploit people. He uses these human characteristics to his own "winning" evil end.

[ShazzieB]

53. This analysis is spot on!

He displays all the signs of at least two personality disorders: narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, and maybe more. All of which tracke with everything both you and Moostache said.

[lapfog_1]

61. it isn't all about biology

I have 2 beautiful smart daughters... 22 and 25... both are on track to get, respectively, and MD and a PhD.

One I adopted as a 13 year old with the permission of her drug addicted mother ( who we both try to help but to no avail ) the other is the daughter of my long time girlfriend and soon to be wife.

I love them as much as any man loves his own biological daughters. I really don't care that they do not have my genetic code, they have my values... and much of my outlook on life and on politics.

Hell, at least they don't have my inherited heart condition or thyroid. so that's a win.

[Trueblue Texan]

11. I have asked myself that question so many times.

It's so mind boggling, I'm thinking of investigating Astrology or something equally as pseudoscientific...Maybe I can make sense of it then. He's not good looking, he has been broke for some stretches in his life, he's not successful, he's mostly just a facade of a human being and certainly a facade of success. Yet, he gets away with anything he tries to pull. Maybe I should take up Tarot while I'm at it.

[Wicked Blue]

43. He's a mobster

That's how he gets away with it

[Trust_Reality]

34. And that is exactly how he came to be the creature he is today. Lack of consequences.

His father, plus many persons and agencies have contributed to this over the years.

[ShazzieB]

58. Oh yeah, his father was a BIG part of it!

According to niece Mary L. Trump, old Fred was a sociopath himself, so Donnie probably inherited some of those tendencies from him. Fred then proceeded to bail him out every time he effed up, thus preventing him from ever having to face the consequences of his mistakes. Thereby creating the monster we know and loathe today.

[wnylib]

59. Two reasons that I can think of.

1. He's a skilled bullshitter. Most narcissists are.
2. He's an aggressive litigator who wears people down with a flood of court suits and court delays.

But, I'm enjoying the fact that it was Trump and his supporters who amped up conspiracy theories about Epstein when they tried to align him with Dems. Now that the conspiracy theorists are pushing for Trump to make the Epstein files public in order to go after Dems, Trump is scrambling to keep the files hidden byclaiming that all the hype about Epstein is a hoax promoted by Dems to make trying to makeTrump look bad. That, of course, leads to the question of, "What is so damaging about Trump in the Epstein file that he's so desperate to hide?"

[Javaman]

7. the bigger question. how does this guy know that the woman as actually 19 and not younger? nt

[yardwork]

9. Because he recognized her. See posts upthread.

She was a well-known tennis player.

[Prairie Gates]

15. Short synopsis of the story

Trump and Epstein came into the casino late night with three young women and/or girls. The casino commissioners who reviewed footage were in the casino manager's office ready to levy a fine or impose sanctions for admitting under-21s to the casino - a big no-no. How did they know? One of the commissioners recognized one of the young women, who was Gabriella Sabatini, then 19 years old. She was one of the most famous athletes of the time, ranked #3 in tennis in the world. It was also known at the time that Trump was stepping out with Sabatini, who was showing up as his young girlfriend on Page Six, etc. (It was in fact a bit scandalous then, since she was so young and he was in his mid-40s - Sabatini came to prominence when she was giving hard challenges to the top women in tennis as a 15-year old a few years earlier)

However, we do not know the identities of the other two young women and/or girls, who may well have been underaged. It's legitimate to wonder whether they were brought by Epstein or were friends of Sabatini's. An enterprising journalist might ask her about her own memories of this event...

[BoRaGard]

13. The G.O.P. Casino-Hustler-in-Chief is a Great Sleazebag

little gop kiddos are growing up thinking this is who they want to be.... sicko

[BWdem4life]

14. Get back to me when there's a real story.

I believe tRump probably went younger than that, but my believing is not enough. There's a bit of inconsistency going on here at DU, where people insist (rightfully) on calling a 19-year-old female a woman, but then when it suits the narrative she is described as a girl. The story is distasteful and should be reported, but it proves nothing we didn't already know, and nothing illegal.

[chia]

16. She was underage for the casino.

[BWdem4life]

18. Oooh! HUGE story!

lol

[chia]

22. The point of the article was that Trump was better friends with Epstein than he wants known, not that she was 19.

I agree with you that a 19-year-old is an adult, but the OP has clearly reproduced the exact (loaded) title of the article.

If you read the article (not sure if you did), she's referred to, with two others, as "young women."

I think it's good that more clips like this are out there, constantly reminding Trumps base that he was good friends with Epstein.

[llmart]

67. At that point in time, 19 was considered underage.

I was 19 when I got married and I had to have my father sign for me at the courthouse before they would issue me a marriage license.

[Polybius]

40. Not disqualifying for life

I brought a 20 year old to a bar when I was 28. That's arguably worse.

[intrepidity]

52. Did you own the bar? nt

[Marthe48]

19. In this story

19 y.o. weren't allowed in the casino. That is an infraction of casino rules, at the least. The low down morals (married, affair, illegitimate pregnancy, dating a 3rd woman, maybe more) illustrates traitor felon rapist's disregard for any laws or established social expectations.

[MerrilyMerrily]

20. The point of the story seems to be Trump lying about being BFF with the pedo trafficker

As the ex-CEO said, Trump was flying down to AC with Epstein and some ladies in the middle of the night and that was just one incident that gave him the impression (over the course of four years) that Epstein was a close buddy, not a social acquaintance he didn't even like.

[Ol Janx Spirit]

23. The real story is that he's lying about his friendship with Epstein, and the evidence of that is in...

...the fact that they came into the casino together at 1:30 am on a Monday morning--a fact the witness knows because the commission was upset that they brought in people that were under 21.

Yes, I agree that the rest of it is just salacious and not evidence of anything illegal, but the point--IMO--of the story was really to establish that Turnip is lying about his closeness with the person at the center of the controversy he now finds himself embroiled in.

[yardwork]

24. It is illegal to bring anyone under 21 into a casino.

Period.

We need to stop excusing Trump's crimes. The casino could have lost their liquor license. That's worth millions.

People get arrested for serving 19 year olds in bars in college towns. It's a felony.

[BWdem4life]

27. Not excusing anything

But the casino owner excused it, by giving him a warning.

[yardwork]

30. Because Trump gets away with anything he wants.

I'm just pointing out that this was technically an illegal act, just as so many other actions by Trump are illegal.

But he always gets away with it, and the reason is that faced with an overwhelming tidal wave of crimes we tend to sift through them, excusing minor ones.

In any case, the main point here is that Trump was buddies with Epstein but we all knew that anyway.

[intrepidity]

56. Um...the owner was Trump. nt

[BWdem4life]

73. Oh... lol

So T excused himself. Surptise surprise

[Polybius]

41. Bars are strick like that now, correct

But if I were do do the same thing in a casino, and bring 19 year old, they would just ask us to leave. They check id at the door. At least the ones I know do.

[Prairie Gates]

33. I almost posted the same thing on woman/girl

Great point!

[Maru Kitteh]

21. That's a woman. Let's be honest in our language and get it right.

19 is a woman.


I mean - gross. We can all agree on that, but not a girl.

[live love laugh]

26. Nothingburger: 1. It's CNN!!! 2. 19 y/o is consenting age 3. A casino boss would've been closer to Trump then

Last edited Thu Jul 17, 2025, 02:40 PM - Edit history (1)

if just from the business aspect.

However it proves they were close friends unlike Epstein’s relationships with everybody else.

[not fooled]

29. He let 12 year olds gamble in his casino(s)

David Cay Johnston has said repeatedly in interviews available on youtube that red don catered to 12 year olds with money, comping them favors including liquor and allowing them to gamble.

Also, apparently Epstein's brother has said that if the truth came out about what Epstein and the future president of the United States did together, "the election would be canceled." It's that bad.

These stories among others (Johnston has more including red don's cocaine-trafficking helicopter pilot, whose case conveniently got transferred to red don's sister's [Maryanne Trump Berry, Federal judge] court, who gave the pilot a slap on the wrist) should have been investigated and fully reported in 2015, certainly once he became a serious candidate. Another MASSIVE failure of the corporate media to do its job.

[Wiz Imp]

42. Do you have a link to any of these allegations from David Cay Jonston?

I've not heard them before.

[not fooled]

45. Johnston states these allegagtions in many interviews on yt re Trump

but here's a link to just one example:

]


Re the 2016 election--I actually was coming back to add that I don't know whether that came from Johnston but here's a link to an interview with the brother:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/jeffrey-epstein-allegedly-had-halted-003046107.html]

[Wiz Imp]

46. Thank you!

I haven't gotten too far through the video yet but it is very good!

[Bluetus]

36. Trump was not a client. He was a PARTNER !

Last edited Thu Jul 17, 2025, 05:43 PM - Edit history (2)

A partner who liked to sample the merchandise.

This was not a sex trafficking operation. It was a KOMPROMAT operation that used underage girls as bait. The clients were the KGB Mussad and other dark organizations. The people getting the Trump/Epstein package were the PRODUCT, not the clients.

Epstein managed the business. Maxwell brought in the customers (I.e. the spy agencies) based on contacts her father had developed, and she recruited/groomed the girls. Trump brought in high profile people who would make good targets, as in "Hey, I know this guy who can fix you up with the most beautiful ladies in the world, and it is safe. The guy even has his own super-secret fantasy island. ..."

Trump is panicking now because maybe he is just now realizing that one of the clients put him on the list of targets fro Kompromat -- which looks like a wise investment in retrospect. And maybe that guy who put Trump on the Kompromat list is now ready to toss Trump overboard. Think that could make Trump a little uneasy? He has nothing without Putin.

[Bluetus]

38. We must stop looking at this like it was just some rich people having sex.

Look at it this way. How much would Prince Andrew pay to have sex with a 14-year-old? Probably nothing, because he's a "royal". Worst case, maybe he'd dish out a couple thousand bucks.

But how much would the KGB pay for videos that could be used to force the British government to not oppose Russia on an important issue, for fear of igniting a global embarrassment? The KGB would pay millions because it would be worth it in the right circumstances.

Epstein and Maxwell knew the difference, I guarantee that. I'm not sure Trump really understood that. He was just thrilled to get the sex and the attention. But it is this international Kompromat factor that has Trump in panic mode. He doesn't want that exposed. Moreover, with people like Musk and Drudge being so vocal, this strongly implies Putin is pulling some strings here.

It would be interesting to learn how well Peter Theil knows Putin. My guess is there is an active relationship that has, so far, eluded public view. Theil already has the guy in place to replace Trump. Has he already reached an understanding with Putin?

https://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-peter-thiel-vladimir-putin-russia-christian-angermayer-daniil-bisslinger-2023-11

[AntiFascist]

66. Trump probably learned the value of kompromat from his mentor Roy Cohn...

Trump’s greatest early victory in real estate was the construction of Manhattan’s Grand Hyatt Hotel in 1978. He was able to complete the deal thanks to a substantial loan from his father, and an enormous $400 million tax abatement from New York City, which happened to be bankrupt at the time. In the film, Trump is only able to secure the tax break after Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong) blackmails a city official with a compromising phone call, which he had illegally recorded.

“Roy's use of blackmail, and especially tape recording phone calls, is well documented,” Sherman explains. “Roy had a woman in his basement who actually ran a switchboard, and she would tape and listen to all the conversations. I found it so powerful that Roy would basically tape-record his own clients for blackmail and for leverage. I thought that was a way to illustrate to Trump his philosophy for winning, and how you have to be willing to almost betray your own people to win."

Whether Cohn actually utilized blackmail tapes to help Trump secure a tax abatement for the Grand Hyatt is unknown, but it does seem that the lawyer’s dirty tricks were at play in the arrangement. “Stanley Friedman, the deputy mayor at the time, signed off on the deal at the last second, shortly before he left office, and then went to work for Roy Cohn at his law firm a week later. So basically, Roy gave a job to the city official who got the deal for Donald.”

https://ew.com/the-apprentice-screenwriter-true-stories-behind-biopic-liposuction-drugs-blackmail-8726438

[usregimechange]

49. And remember his spying on nude teen beauty pageant contestants, bragging on Howard stern about it...

Coincidentally owned teen beauty pageants.

[twodogsbarking]

54. Well she said she was nineteen.

[Wiz Imp]

64. She was nineteen.

[twodogsbarking]

68. That's what she said.

[Wiz Imp]

69. It's been 100% proven she was 19. She was a world famous Tennis star.

For crying out loud. STOP IT!!!!!!! Try reading the original post. Her age was well known. Her birth date is widely published on the internet. Why can't you accept an easily verifiable fact?

[twodogsbarking]

76. But she said she was nineteen. I never said she wasn't.

[UTUSN]

60. K&R

[Deep State Witch]

62. Marla Maples

She was with the Orange Turd back in the '90's. She's been awfully quiet for several years. I know that she had a pretty severe NDA. But Tiffany is all grown up and married now. So, it's time for Marla to talk. Unless she's been threatened with being "unalived" like Ivana was. What did she know about her former husband and Jeffery Epstein? Was that why they broke up and she pretty much disappeared?

[Totally Tunsie]

77. MM probably isn't fond of unexpected "accidents".

[efhmc]

71. Reprimanded?

[Scott Alan Swaggerty]

75. Creepy