You might have thought the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City had closed down on December 20 as previously scheduled judging from its empty casino. Months of wrangling to save the casino have clearly left players thinking the property was done.
But for the moment, the Taj is open and looking to get the message out to gamblers.
Investor Carl Icahn, whose $20 million loan is keeping the doors open, said he hopes to save the casino for good, but “I’m going to save it on my terms,” he said.
But it won’t be easy.
Icahn is seeking labor changes that have led to a major battle with Local 54 of UNITE-HERE, the city’s main casino workers union. The two sides continue to fight over changes to health and pension benefits.
The two sides—including the bankrupt casino’s parent company Trump Entertainment Resorts—thought they had reached a deal to restore most workers health benefits and some union benefits. At the last minute, however, Icahn rejected the deal telling the Press of Atlantic City that signing off on the deal would have been “suicidal.”
“I can’t sign a deal that is suicidal, and the deal with the union is suicidal to the company,” Icahn said. ”We’re getting rid of the suffocating union deal.”
Icahn has proposed swapping about $286 million in debt owed to him by Trump Entertainment for ownership of the casino and then investing $100 million in the property. But he has tied the deal to gaining “labor peace.”
Still, after the new union deal fell through, Icahn said he was willing to loan Trump Entertainment another $20 million. If approved by a bankruptcy court, the loan should keep the casino open through Atlantic City’s slow winter months after which, hopefully, the casino can begin turning a profit, officials said.
Icahn is also seeking tax breaks for the casino, but the impasse with the union has also slowed down legislation in Trenton to rework the city’s casino taxes. The possible legislation would set a stable payment in lieu of taxes for city casinos for the next several years tied to overall gaming revenue.
“Right now we’re at a standstill,” Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo, D-Atlantic, a sponsor of the proposed legislation told the Press. “The problem is that right now the Taj Mahal employees don’t have a contract. Icahn is actually holding up property-tax reform for the City of Atlantic City.”
Icahn, however, says his plans don’t rely on help from the state.
“I’d love to have help from the government, and I think the government should help Atlantic City,” he told the paper. “But one of the lessons I’ve learned over the years is not to count on anybody but yourself.”
Meanwhile, the casino has launched a “We’re Staying Open” marketing campaign which includes a major sweepstakes promotion and billboard advertising.
