Tropicana bondholders ask for trustee control

NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - Some noteholders of Tropicana Entertainment LLC, which has filed for bankruptcy, asked for it to be placed under a court-appointed trustee's control, saying CEO William Yung had come close to destroying the casino operator's prospects, according to court filings.

"During the pre-petition period, Yung's grossly misguided business decisions and autocratic and contentious managerial style led the debtors (and their creditors) to disaster after disaster," court papers filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware read.

The bondholders said the usual rationale of considering current management best suited in a situation such as Tropicana's was not present in this case.

"Only the immediate appointment of an independent trustee can assure that the interests of the debtors and the creditors will be protected from further harm," they said in the filing.

Tropicana, which is privately held and owns the famous namesake casino in Las Vegas, filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this week.

The Chapter 11 filing marks one of the largest bankruptcies so far this year and underscores a decline in the fortunes of casinos as the gambling boom of the past few years fades in the face of an economic slowdown. (Reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman; Editing by Quentin Bryar)