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EXHIBIT 99.1

                            CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
                  SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, A.F. Petrocelli, Chief Executive Officer of Prime Hospitality Corp., certify
that:

1.    I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Prime Hospitality
      Corp.;

2.    Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any untrue
      statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to
      make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
      statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by
      this quarterly report;

3.    Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
      information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all
      material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash
      flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
      quarterly report;

4.    The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
      establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
      defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and we
      have:

            a.    designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure
                  that material information relating to the registrant,
                  including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us
                  by others within those entities, particularly during the
                  period in which this quarterly report is being prepared;

            b.    evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
                  controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to
                  the filing date of this quarterly report (the "Evaluation
                  Date"); and

            c.    presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about the
                  effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based
                  on our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;

5.    The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on
      our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the audit
      committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the
      equivalent function):

            a.    all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of
                  internal controls which could adversely affect the
                  registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report
                  financial data and have identified for the registrant's
                  auditors any material weaknesses in internal controls; and

            b.    any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
                  or other employees who have a significant role in the
                  registrant's internal controls; and
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6.    The registrant's other certifying officers and I have indicated in this
      quarterly report whether or not there were significant changes in internal
      controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal
      controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation, including
      any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and
      material weaknesses.

Date: November 12, 2002
                                                    /s/ A.F. Petrocelli
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                                                    A.F. Petrocelli
                                                    Chief Executive Officer