Atlantic City is still hoping that the Taj Mahal casino will not close December 20 and Trump Entertainment and billionaire Carl Icahn have set a deadline of December 15 to settle an ongoing fight with its main casino worker union.
Trump Entertainment, through bankruptcy court, would be taken over by Icahn in exchange for $286 million in company debt he owns. Icahn would then invest $100 million into the Taj Mahal, but only if its main union, Local 54 of the UNITE-HERE union, drops an appeal of a court ruling that cancelled the casino’s contract with the union.
Negotiations with Local 54 are still underway. Trump Entertainment changed its proposed closing date from December 12 to December 20 to allow more time for the two sides to reach an agreement.
The main sticking point has been healthcare. A bankruptcy court judge ruled the casino could break its union contract with Local 54 of Unite Here, the city’s main casino workers union. The company had wanted to stop healthcare payments and pension payments to the union.
The union quickly appealed the decision. Trump Entertainment has made some compromise proposals partially restoring health and pension payments, but the union has not dropped the appeal.
The company and Icahn have said they will not keep the casino open unless the union does drop the appeal and they have “labor peace.”
However, Trump Entertainment seems frustrated by the union and has essentially laid down an ultimatum for the union to make a decision by December 15.
According to NJ.com, in a letter sent late last week to Bob McDevitt, president of Local 54, Trump CEO Bob Griffin said he thought the company and the union agreed to a deal earlier this week but says the union hasn’t signed it.
“Two days ago, we actually thought we had reached a deal with you and the state,” Griffin wrote. “Every one of your demands was met, and Mr. Icahn, believing that you and the state supported the deal, even delivered his executed signature page. But even though that deal would have kept the Taj open, restored the union health care, restored the union work rules and established a new pension fund, you still didn’t sign.”
McDevitt declined comment.
Despite the tax plans advancement, Griffin said the decision on a closing can’t be put off any longer.
“You have put us in a terrible position,” Griffin wrote. ”Please, Bob. This is our final opportunity to help people. Time is running out and money is running short. We simply cannot stay in limbo any longer. Every day, fewer and fewer people patronize the Taj, and we lose more and more of what little money we have left. We just cannot wait any longer.”
Still, the letter did not say definitively that the casino would close on December 20.
In a related matter, Governor Chris Christie has signed an executive order to extend the life of the New Jersey Gaming, Sports, and Entertainment Advisory Commission through 2015.
The panel was created to advise Christie on key casino and sports development projects in the state. The panel is headed by Christie ally Jon Hanson and is playing a critical role in the state’s efforts to turn around Atlantic City as its gaming revenue continues to drop in the face of competition from casinos in other states.
Christie has held two summit meetings on developing a rescue plan for the city which has led to numerous proposals—including many outlined in the new package of tax stabilization bills. Hanson’s committee has played a major role in the summits.
The committee is also likely to be a key player in the debate over whether to extend casino gaming beyond Atlantic City in the state and approve casino projects in northern New Jersey.
