Newly Disclosed Letters Show Trump’s 2010 Macau Casino Dispute With Local ‘Kabob Stand’

Donald Trump’s efforts to expand his brand into Macau’s booming gaming market in the 2000s were stymied by a local restaurant owner whose business shared his name—a competitor Trump’s attorneys disparagingly dismissed as a “kabob stand,” according to newly disclosed correspondence.

The dispute became so heated that the future U.S. president appealed directly to Macau’s top leader, accusing the territory’s courts of corruption and enclosing American television ratings to demonstrate his celebrity status.

The extraordinary correspondence, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request and published Tuesday, Oct 6. by the Hong Kong Free Press, sheds new light on Trump’s unsuccessful efforts to establish himself in the world’s biggest casino market.

Failed Casino Bid

Trump tried to enter the gaming sector in Macau in 2001 when he was part of a consortium that bid unsuccessfully for a casino concession, as the former Portuguese enclave was preparing to open its gambling market to international operators.

Despite this setback, he continued pursuing opportunities in the territory. By 2006, Macau had overtaken Las Vegas as the world’s biggest gambling market and Trump began applying for a range of trademarks, including for casino services.

But he was unable to get exclusive rights for the Trump name, because two Macau residents, Maria Cecilia Bastos Xavier and Wong Un Chon, had already incorporated Trump Companhia Limitada—Portuguese for Trump Company Limited—for their fast-food business.

‘A Terrible Thing’

Trump sued, demanding exclusive rights to his brand and 5 million Macau patacas (approximately $625,000) in compensation.

But in March 2010, a Macau court rejected his claim, finding that Trump and his company were not sufficiently well known among the territory’s general public.

“A terrible thing has recently happened to me in Macao,” Trump subsequently wrote to Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On.

Describing the judicial ruling as an “outrageous miscarriage of justice,” Trump urged Chui to intervene directly. To prove his international fame, Trump attached Nielsen ratings highlighting the viewership of his reality television series, The Celebrity Apprentice.

Trump argued in the letter that allowing him to establish his brand would bring investment, jobs, and world-class development to Macau.

He later sent a 2011 letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, again attacking Macau’s judicial system. Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, also lobbied the U.S. State Department, describing the trademark battle as an injustice involving a local resident who had appropriated the Trump name for a “kabob” stand.

Whether the establishment actually served kabobs remains unclear.

Approvals Raised Ethics Concerns

The Macau fast-food business allowed its trademark registration to expire in 2016. A Trump-linked corporate entity subsequently secured approval for four Macau trademarks in June 2017, months after he assumed the U.S. presidency. These approvals replaced identical trademarks that had previously been granted but lapsed earlier that year.

The trademark grants raised ethics concerns at the time, with critics arguing that Trump’s foreign commercial holdings created potential avenues for foreign governments to exert improper influence on the White House.