Remember some months back that the Tropicana begged workers to put off actually depositing their paychecks? Having lived through The Great DotCom Boom and subsequent bust, I know that this is a great big, glowing “get out now” red flag for any company’s prospects.

The inevitable has happened:  Tropicana Entertainment LLC is declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  This does not mean they will be closing down — Reuters makes sure to tell us that the casino remains open! They will be renegotiating $2.8 billion in debt, and the Atlantic City casino will be sold by the State of New Jersey. For the ultra-short version, try this “just the facts, ma’am” rundown.  For more links, try our friends over at Vegas Happens Here, and don’t forget his great commentary on the bankruptcy filing itself.

This is part of a huge jump in the number of American corporations filing for bankruptcy.

TheStreet.com asks and answers 5 Questions about the Mortgage Crisis.

Although you know my opinion regarding the local real estate market*, the question remains whether nationally speaking, we are at or near a bottom. Some people say yes. Some people say no.

* Inventory is slowly dropping, sales are slowly increasing, prices may continue to drop for another couple quarters.