One-fifth of the workforce at the luxury project Trump Tower Las Vegas has been laid off. Thursday, News 3's Steve Crupi heard from "The Donald" himself, who claims he is "furious" by what was reported.

Trump doesn't deny that layoffs have occurred, and he doesn't deny that sales of condo units at his project are slower than expected. But, Trump says given the existing challenges of the real estate market, the tower is still an incredible success.

Thursday, Trump began a conversation with News 3's Steve Crupi by saying, "Steve, I don't need to hear a b--- s--- report that two people called me about today, and they know it was false."

Trump would not allow News 3 to record his voice for broadcast, but his message came through loud and clear. He says any suggestions that his project is in trouble is just not true. And although 73 employees have been laid off, Trump claims that they will eventually be re-hired when deals close on the remaining units.

Wednesday night, News 3 reported that only a fraction of the condo sales have closed. But Thursday, Trump confirmed that roughly 40 percent of the 1,000 units have sold. He views that as a success, considering banks have tightened their lending rules and many potential buyers can no longer qualify for a loan.

The star of NBC's "The Apprentice" says his organization is working closely with buyers, trying to help with their financing. Trump says the process is going very nicely. And as News 3 reported Wednesday, people who have finished their condo purchases have given glowing reviews of the property. The request of News 3, however, to film inside the Towers was denied. But Donald Trump himself said he would authorize a broadcast interview with News 3 only if he liked Thursday's story.

Hundreds of people put 20 percent deposits down on condo units, and they will lose those deposits if they don't follow through with their purchase. But with the current state of the economy, some people are willing to walk away from that money instead of making an investment they can no longer afford.

Prior to the mortgage meltdown, Trump announced that he would build a second Trump Tower in Las Vegas, but those plans have now been put on hold, indefinitely.

Steve Crupi reporting

Trump Tower officials have confirmed that they are experiencing layoffs, with nearly 20 percent of the workforce to have been let go. The luxury hotel and condo project says it has been hit hard by the ongoing mortgage crisis.

It's been four months since Donald Trump's entry into the Las Vegas real estate market opened its doors, but only a small fraction of the condos have been sold. This has resulted in 73 people losing their jobs.

The Tower received a lot of publicity when the concept was first unveiled on an episode of Trump's television show, "The Apprentice." But now that the Trump International Hotel and Towers is up and running, the timing could not have been worse. The mortgage meltdown has made it nearly impossible for many would-be condo buyers to continue with their purchases.

Las Vegas doctor Patricia Pierce loves the Tower and she is one of the few who have successfully gone through with buying one of the units. "I was able to do it, but it wasn't easy," says Dr. Pierce. "I think the difficulty didn't come through Trump, it came through the mortgage companies. They asked for bigger down payments, and many people couldn't do that."

The difficulty in selling units has already resulted in the delay of plans to build a second tower, and has concluded in this sweeping round of layoffs.

The 73 employees who were let go represents nearly one-fifth of the workforce at Trump Tower.