Three Failures, Four Attempts: Why is Trump Obsessed with the "Crypto Billionaire"?
Original Article Title: "Monopoly Fan Donald Trump Makes Move into Blockchain Game, Another Play in Crypto Track"
Original Article Author: Zen, PANews
Known for his "businessman mindset," U.S. President Donald Trump has had a career spanning various fields, including real estate, reality TV, vodka, mortgages, the NFL, airline industry, bottled water, steaks, and even board games. His business empire has also been continuously expanding into the cryptocurrency industry — after making moves in the NFT, DeFi, stablecoin, memecoin, and crypto mining sectors, Trump has now extended his reach into the blockchain gaming field.
According to Fortune magazine citing two anonymous sources, Trump is working with business partner Bill Zanker to develop a real estate-themed crypto game centered around his brand, with gameplay similar to "Monopoly Go!" For this "veteran enthusiast" who launched a similar Monopoly-like board game thirty years ago, with the backing of blockchain and cryptocurrency, releasing a digital version of Monopoly is both unexpected yet seemingly anticipated, indeed bringing a new wave of excitement to the long-dormant blockchain gaming track.
Real Estate Tycoon Trump: Monopoly Game Enthusiast
In May 1989, Donald Trump collaborated with the established board game company Milton Bradley to launch the board game "Trump: The Game," inspired by "Monopoly" and Trump's own real estate tycoon career. Milton Bradley's then-president, Milton Bradley, stated that the game was based on high-stakes gambles, trades, and Trump's bestselling 1987 book, "The Art of the Deal." Trump also filmed a TV commercial for the game and used the slogan, "It's not whether you win or lose, it's whether you win!"
During a pre-launch rally for "Trump: The Game," Trump announced that he would donate an undisclosed portion of the game's revenue to charities supporting cerebral palsy and AIDS research, as well as aiding the homeless. Priced at $25, this board game had ambitious sales expectations, with Trump and Milton Bradley envisioning sales of 2 million units, but it only sold 800,000 units, far below expectations.
The reasons for its underperformance were twofold: firstly, due to the direct association with Trump's name, the game was easily perceived as a tool for the rich to capitalize on, with the public unaware of the charitable contributions; secondly, misleading marketing campaigns led people to believe it was a knockoff version of "Monopoly." Trump believed the main reason for the low sales was the overly complex design of the game, with a rulebook exceeding 12 pages and lacking mass appeal.
Despite subsequent advertisements specifically stating, "Mr. Trump's proceeds from 'Trump: The Game' will be donated to charity," the game continued to underperform in sales. Furthermore, a 2016 Huffington Post report stated that Trump's previous claim of donating board game earnings to charity could not be verified, with both Trump and related entities declining to comment on the matter.
In 2004, following the success of Trump's reality show The Apprentice, the Parker Brothers re-released "Trump: The Game." The new version introduced Trump's classic catchphrase from The Apprentice: "You're fired!" and featured the slogan "Making millions takes brains, making billions takes Trump." However, despite the Trump celebrity effect, this recycled game failed to make a splash.
It is worth noting that Milton Bradley was acquired by the toy and entertainment giant Hasbro in 1984 and merged with another Hasbro subsidiary, Parker Brothers, in 1998. The brand was later abandoned in 2009 in favor of using the parent company's name and eventually rebranded as Hasbro Gaming, so the IP of this Trump-licensed board game should belong to Hasbro.
"I've always thought Monopoly was a great game, and many people are interested in it." In 2006, Monopoly enthusiast Trump attempted to launch a primetime reality show based on Monopoly. Trump was set to collaborate with documentary filmmaker RJ Cutler, and Hasbro was to be part of the project. However, the plan quietly fell through during development, with no television network picking it up, and no official show title or episodes announced.
Over Thirty Years Later, Returning to the Monopoly Game Board with Cryptocurrency
Today, Trump is once again back in the Monopoly game but this time he has taken it to the blockchain.
According to Fortune, multiple sources have revealed that Trump is collaborating with his business associate Bill Zanker to develop a cryptocurrency-based real estate-themed game set to launch by the end of April this year. The game is an adaptation of "MONOPOLYGO!," where players move game pieces on a virtual Monopoly board and construct buildings in a digital city to earn game coins.
Insiders say that Zanker is the driving force behind this blockchain game project, originally planning to launch the project before the 47th president's inauguration ceremony. Zanker is considered the "trailblazer" for Trump's entry into the cryptocurrency industry, as it was his repeated suggestions that led to Trump's NFT project.
According to Zanker's recollection, when he suggested to Trump in early 2022 to launch an NFT, although Trump was quite interested in the idea of a "former president art image NFT," he was unwilling to use the term "NFT" and preferred to call it a "digital trading card on the computer." By the end of the same year, Zanker pushed for it again, and Trump promptly agreed, saying, "Many friends say I shouldn't do this, but I like it, so let's do it."
In Trump's memecoin project TRUMP, Zanker also plays a crucial role. According to the memecoin's website, after the TRUMP token ICO, the remaining tokens are held by CIC Digital LLC and Fight Fight Fight LLC, accounting for 80% of the total supply. In the registration documents of "Fight Fight Fight LLC," Zanker is listed as the main contact person.
Regarding the specific details of the crypto game project, Zanker's spokesperson Kevin Mercuri only revealed that they are developing a "game." Mercuri denied claims that this game would be similar to "Monopoly Go," stating that all such information is merely "rumors." Previously, the entity responsible for Trump's trademarks, DTTM Operations, applied to extend Trump's name to various virtual products and NFT-related services. However, Mercuri refused to disclose whether these trademark applications are directly related to the project and how blockchain functionality will be integrated into the gameplay.
Furthermore, there are doubts about whether the upcoming blockchain game will be based on the more than 30-year-old "Trump: The Game" that was previously released.
According to sources, in May of last year, Zanker contacted Hasbro, hoping to repurchase the IP of "Trump: The Game." Hasbro informed Zanker that they no longer hold the rights to this game, which has been around for over 30 years. However, according to Fortune, a spokesperson for Hasbro, the original developer of the Monopoly board game, stated that the company did not license the Monopoly IP to any Trump-affiliated organizations for cryptocurrency investment.
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