Trump Taj Mahal To Stay Open IndefinitelyIchan: Will Inject $20M Into Casino While Bankruptcy Process Continues |
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Billionaire Carl Ichan, who has been flirting with the idea of buying the beleaguered Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, on Thursday pledged $20 million to keep the casino open for the time being, the AP reported. Ichan already owns a lot of the bankrupt casino’s debt.
The casino, which opened in 1990, had been planning to close for good this Saturday.
Roughly 3,000 people work at the casino, and their benefits have been a contentious issue in figuring out a way to keep the property afloat.
Ichan’s decision to inject the $20 million into the property is arguably a bit perplexing, given what he reportedly told the union representing the casino workers. From the report:
His letter came shortly after the main Atlantic City casino workers’ union said Icahn told them he was pulling out of a proposed deal on the casino’s future operations. Bob McDevitt, president of Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union, said Icahn refused to sign a deal that already had been signed by the union and Trump Entertainment.
“This is what we have been dealing with for some time now at this property,” McDevitt told the AP. “We’re disappointed that Icahn’s whims are going to add to the feelings of uncertainty and instability that the workers have had to live with and have to endure during this holiday season and beyond.”
It’s still not certain that Ichan will actually save the property.
“Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. is one of the most distressed companies I have ever come across in my 50-plus years of investing,” he wrote in his letter.
“The company’s hometown of Atlantic City is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. Intense competition from surrounding markets is steadily eroding gaming revenues for the city’s casinos. At the same time, relative to those surrounding markets, the costs of operating a casino in Atlantic City continue to escalate. As a result, four local casinos shuttered in 2014, and a once vibrant Atlantic City institution, your Taj Mahal, loses almost $10 million every month.”
In October, Ichan said the property will “almost certainly” be closing this year.
The union isn’t the only obstacle to keeping the Taj open. Trump Entertainment wants tax breaks, but it appears unlikely to get them, or at least the amount its asking for. Donald Trump, whose name is on the casino, only owns a small piece of Trump Entertainment these days.
The Taj has been featured in a number of movies, including the poker cult classic Rounders, in which stars Matt Damon and Edward Norton play a session in the casino’s poker room. With 48 tables, the room is the second largest in Atlantic City behind the Borgata.
If/when the closing of the Taj occurs, just five poker rooms will remain in Atlantic City.
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