Trump Family Is Building a Luxury Resort in Europe. Will It Have a Casino?
Posted on: June 8, 2026, 10:57h.
Last updated on: June 8, 2026, 11:25h.
- The Trump family is linked to a luxury resort project in Albania
- Trump previously owned and operated casinos in Atlantic City and Indiana
A billion-dollar luxury resort development with strong ties to the Trump family is being planned in Albania. However, the project, which is set to transform Sazan Island off Albania’s Adriatic coast, is already causing controversy among Albanians.
Located in the Adriatic Sea, Sazan is the largest of Albania’s islands. A former military zone operated by the Soviet Union, the Sazan Island Resort is a proposed $1.6 billion overhaul of the 2.2 square mile retreat.
The luxury tourism development comes from Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC, a company backed by Jared Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump. Atlantic Incubation Partners bought the island in January 2025, just two months after Donald Trump was reelected as president of the United States.
Many Albanians are upset about the thought of the Trump family having a major interest in the country. Sporadic protests led to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama issuing a statement on the project.
There is only a vision and a plan: to transform Albania into the most attractive high-end tourism destination in this part of the world, while creating a net positive environmental development that, according to the current vision, would ultimately result in approximately 25% more trees and green space than exists today, alongside measurable improvements across multiple biodiversity indicators,” Rama wrote on X.
The prime minister went on to say that the development is in the early stages of planning, and no permits have yet been issued.
Will Trump Albania Have Gaming?
With the plans still in their infancy, it’s unknown whether Atlantic Incubation Partners plans to incorporate a casino into Sazan Island Resort. Though Islam is the predominant religion in Albania, the country has legal casino gambling.
Most of the casinos in Albania are located in Tirana, the capital and largest city. Tirana is the country’s most important economic, financial, political, and trade center.
The Grand Casino Tirana is among Albania’s most luxurious casinos. The gaming floor has more than 300 slot machines and 15 live dealer table games, plus a VIP gaming room.
Albania’s developing economy relies heavily on tourism, with more than 12 million tourists visiting the country last year. Once overlooked, Albania has emerged as a major European hotspot in the Balkans.
Tourism now accounts for almost half of the gross domestic product in Albania.
Trump Casinos
It’s been decades since the Trump family held an ownership position in a casino operation. Trump last held a stake in a casino in February 2016, when billionaire Carl Icahn acquired Trump Entertainment Resorts through bankruptcy.
However, Trump continued to receive revenue from Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City through a licensing deal with Icahn to continue using the Trump name.
Real Estate Empire
The Trump Organization continues to expand its international footprint by partnering with global developers to launch high-profile luxury residential, commercial, and hotel properties.
A major focal point of this expansion is the Middle East, anchored by a massive US $1-billion-dollar development in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, featuring the 47-story Trump Tower Jeddah and a neighboring Trump Plaza complex.
The brand is also maintaining active development pipelines across several other emerging wealth hubs, managing ongoing luxury hotel and residential towers in Dubai, and scaling multiple commercial and residential properties across major Indian metros like Gurgaon and Pune.
Looking further ahead, similar licensing and development agreements are actively extending the Trump portfolio into other highly coveted destinations, including Muscat, Oman; Bali, Indonesia; Hung Yen, Vietnam; Doha, Qatar; and Tbilisi, Georgia.
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