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                                                                   Exhibit 10.19

                                 October 9, 2002

Paul Ryan
[Address]

Dear Paul:

        This letter will serve to confirm our understanding and agreement
pursuant to which Trump Marina Hotel Casino ("Trump") has agreed to employ you,
and you have agreed to be employed by Trump commencing as of October 9, 2002,
and expiring July 31, 2005 ("Expiration Date"), unless terminated earlier by
Trump pursuant to Paragraph 11 or 12 hereof. You may not disclose in any manner
the existence, terms or conditions of this Agreement to any third party without
the prior written consent of Trump.

        1.      You shall be employed by Trump in the capacity of Chief
                Operating Officer at any Trump owned casino hotel in Atlantic 1
                City, New Jersey or such other position as determined solely by
                Trump to perform such duties as are commonly attendant upon such
                office and such further duties as may be specified, from time to
                time, by Trump.

        2.      Commencing October 9, 2002, you shall be paid an annual base
                salary at a rate of Two Hundred Ninety Thousand ($290,000.00)
                Dollars per annum, payable periodically in accordance with
                Trump's regular payroll practices.

        3.      You shall be afforded coverage under Trump's employee insurance
                programs in such form and at such levels as Trump, in its sole
                and absolute discretion, may hereafter elect to provide for
                similarly situated executives.

        4.      a.      You shall be entitled to participate in Trump's benefit
                        programs in such form and at such levels as Trump, in
                        its sole and absolute discretion, may hereafter elect to
                        provide similarly situated executives.

                b.      You shall also have executive comping privileges at such
                        levels, if any, as Trump in its sole and absolute
                        discretion, shall establish from time to time for
                        similarly situated executives.

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        5.      a.      In the event this Agreement is terminated by you for any
                        reason or by the Company for any reason set forth in
                        Paragraph 11, you agree that for a period of six (6)
                        months after termination of your employment, you will
                        not accept employment, either as an employee, consultant
                        or independent contractor, with or on behalf of any
                        Atlantic City casino licensee or casino license
                        applicant;

                b.      You agree that for a period of six (6) months after the
                        termination of your employment with Trump, whether
                        before or after the Expiration Date, you shall not
                        solicit or contact, directly or through any other
                        entity, any customers whom you have met, serviced,
                        developed or continued to develop during your tenure
                        with Trump;

                c.      You agree that for a period of six (6) months after the
                        termination of your employment with Trump, whether
                        before or after the Expiration Date, you shall not
                        solicit or otherwise discuss employment directly or
                        through any other entity with any employees of Trump, or
                        any of its related or affiliated companies.

                d.      You acknowledge and agree that the restrictive covenants
                        set forth in this Paragraph are reasonable as to
                        duration, terms and geographical area and that the
                        same are necessary to protect the legitimate interests
                        of Trump, impose no undue hardship on you and are not
                        injurious to the public.

        6.      You hereby agree that throughout the term of this Agreement you
                shall devote your full time, attention and efforts to Trump's
                business and shall not, directly or indirectly, work for,
                consult with or otherwise engage in any other activities of a
                business nature for any other person or entity, without Trump's
                prior written consent. You will promptly communicate to Trump,
                in writing when requested, all marketing strategies, technical
                designs and concepts, and other ideas pertaining to Trump's
                business which are conceived or developed by you, alone or with
                others, at any time (during or after business hours) while you
                are employed by Trump. You acknowledge that all of those ideas
                will be Trump's exclusive property. Accordingly, both during and
                after termination of your employment, you agree to sign any
                documents which Trump deems necessary to confirm its ownership
                of those ideas, and you agree to otherwise cooperate with Trump
                in order to allow Trump to take full advantage of those ideas.

        7.      You acknowledge that you have access to information which is
                proprietary

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                and confidential to Trump. This information includes, but is not
                limited to, (1) the identity of customers and prospects, (2)
                names, addresses and phone numbers of individual contacts, (3)
                pricing policies, marketing strategies, product strategies and
                methods of operation, and (4) expansion plans, management
                policies and other business strategies and policies. You
                acknowledge and understand that this information must be
                maintained in strict confidence in order for Trump to protect
                its business and its competitive position in the marketplace.
                Accordingly, both during and after termination of your
                employment, you agree that you will not disclose any of this
                information for any purpose or remove materials containing this
                information from Trump's premises. Upon termination of your
                employment, you will immediately return to Trump all
                correspondence files, business card files, customer and prospect
                lists, price books, technical data, notes and other materials
                which contain any of this information, and you will not retain
                copies of those materials.

        8.      You represent to Trump that there are no restrictions or
                agreements to which you are a party which would be violated by
                our execution of this Agreement and your employment hereunder.

        9.      You hereby agree to comply with all of the rules, regulations,
                policies and/or procedures adopted by Trump during the term of
                this Agreement, as well as all applicable state, federal and
                local laws, regulations and ordinances.

        10.     You hereby represent that you presently hold, or, prior to
                commencement of your employment with Trump, shall apply for,
                obtain and hold the New Jersey Casino Control Commission license
                required in connection with your employment hereunder and will
                take appropriate steps to renew said license in a timely manner.

        11.     You hereby understand and acknowledge that Trump may terminate
                this Agreement in the event your Casino Control Commission
                license is terminated and/or suspended or revoked by the
                Commission or if you shall commit an act constituting "Cause",
                which is defined to mean any of the following: a breach by you
                of any of the provisions of this Agreement or any employee
                conduct rules; an act of dishonesty; the deliberate and
                intentional refusal by you to perform your duties hereunder or
                your failure, as determined solely by Trump, to properly perform
                and execute your duties hereunder; your failure to meet goals
                established by Trump; any act which in Trump's sole opinion
                would adversely reflect upon Trump or would impair your ability
                to effectively perform your duties hereunder; alcohol or drug
                addiction; your disability, which is defined to be any condition
                prohibiting you from performing your duties hereunder to a
                period in excess of ninety (90)

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                days, or your death. In the event of a termination pursuant to
                this Paragraph, Trump shall pay to you your salary earned to the
                date of termination and shall have no further liability or
                obligation to you under this Agreement.

        12.     You hereby also understand and acknowledge that, notwithstanding
                any other provision hereof, Trump may terminate this Agreement
                for no cause in its sole discretion immediately upon notice to
                you. In such event, Trump shall pay and you shall accept in
                satisfaction of all obligations and liabilities hereunder, an
                amount equal to the lesser of six (6) months or the number of
                months then remaining in this Agreement at your then current
                salary. You shall, in such event, execute any and all release
                documents requested by Trump as a condition precedent to
                obtaining any amounts under this Paragraph 12.

        13.     Unless extended in a writing signed by you and Trump, this
                Agreement shall terminate on the Expiration Date and your
                employment thereafter shall continue, if at all, on an "at-will"
                basis. This means that you and Trump will no longer have a
                contractual relationship and that either you or Trump will have
                the right to terminate your employment with or without cause and
                with or without notice. After your employment with Trump is
                terminated, whether pursuant to a contract or otherwise, you
                understand and acknowledge that your obligations set forth in
                Paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 of this Agreement shall survive and remain
                in full force and effect.

        14.     Trump shall indemnify, defend and hold you harmless, including
                the payment of reasonable attorney fees, if Trump does not
                directly provide your defense, from and against any and all
                claims made by anyone, including, but not limited to, a
                corporate entity, company, other employee, agent, patron or
                member of the general public which assert as a basis, any acts,
                omissions or other circumstances involving the performance of
                your employment duties hereunder unless such claims are based
                upon your gross negligence or any willful and/or wanton act.
                This Paragraph shall not apply in any actions in which your
                interests are adverse to that of Trump.

        15.     You represent that you are a citizen of the United States or
                that you possess the proper visa and/or work permits necessary
                to perform your functions hereunder.

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        16.     You acknowledge that it would be extremely difficult to measure
                the damages that might result from any breach by you of your
                promises in Sections 5, 6 and 7 of this Agreement and that a
                breach may cause irreparable injury to Trump which could not be
                compensated by money damages. Accordingly, Trump will be
                entitled to enforce this Agreement by obtaining a court order
                prohibiting you (and any others involved) from breaching this
                Agreement. If a court decides that any part of this Agreement is
                too broad, the court may limit that part and enforce it as
                limited.

        17.     If any provision hereof is unenforceable, illegal or invalid for
                any reason whatsoever, such fact shall not affect the remaining
                provisions hereof. If any of the provisions hereof which impose
                restrictions on you are, with respect to such restrictions,
                determined by a final judgment of any court of competent
                jurisdiction to be unenforceable or invalid because of the
                geographic scope or time duration of such restrictions, such
                provisions shall be deemed retroactively modified to provide for
                the maximum geographic scope and time duration which would make
                such provisions enforceable and valid. However, no such
                retroactive modification shall affect any of Employer's rights
                hereunder arising out of the breach of any such restrictive
                provisions, including without limitation, Trump's rights to
                terminate this Agreement.

        18.     This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance
                with the laws of the State of New Jersey and in any lawsuit
                involving this Agreement, you consent to the jurisdiction and
                venue of any state or federal court located in New Jersey. This
                Agreement represents the entire agreement between the parties,
                superceding any and all previous agreements, and may not be
                modified, amended, extended or renewed without the written
                agreement of both parties.

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        If the foregoing correctly sets forth our understanding, kindly sign and
return to me the duplicate copy of this letter enclosed herewith.

                                                         Very truly yours,

                                                         /s/ MARK A. BROWN

                                                         MARK A. BROWN
                                                         Chief Executive Officer

Agreed to this 1st day of November 2002.

/s/ PAUL RYAN
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    Paul Ryan