News that Trump Entertainment Resorts terminated the sale of one of its Atlantic City casinos has piqued the interest of two to three qualified buyers, said the company's chief executive in an interview.

Trump Entertainment still plans to sell the property, called the Trump Marina Hotel and Casino, said CEO Mark Juliano, who added he was confident it could sell by the end of 2009.

We still think the right thing for us to do is to pursue the sale of that asset, Juliano said.

Earlier this week, Trump Entertainment, said the sale of the casino to New York-based Coastal Marina was terminated. Coastal, an affiliate of Coastal Development LLC, entered an agreement to buy the casino in 2008 for $316 million but that bid was later lowered to $270 million.

In a securities filing on Tuesday, Trump Entertainment said the sale was terminated because Coastal failed to consummate the transaction within the time provided under the agreement.

A couple of things could happen, Juliano said. Perhaps we get back to the table with Coastal at a different price in a period when the credit markets get a little bit better.

Juliano said the announcement has generated interest from a number of people, including some testing the water. The company has also heard from people we have spoken to before that are qualified buyers, Juliano said.

The price of the casino Juliano said, would depend on what the market could bear.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing Bernard Orr)

New Jersey Donald trump Trump