The Trump Taj Mahal is officially out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and in the clutches of billionaire raider that is corporate Icahn, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Icahn Enterprises.
Billionaire Carl Icahn has rescued the Trump Taj Mahal from bankruptcy, but nevertheless faces opposition from the unions. The deal severs Donald Trump’s final tie with the AC casino industry, although his name will remain within the deal.
As well as in the extremely week that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, having bowed out of the presidential competition himself, pledged his help for Donald Trump for the GOP nomination, Icahn’s takeover represents the final chapter in Donald Trump’s Atlantic City and gaming history.
Trump got out of Atlantic City in 2009, selling the thing that was left of this Trump Entertainment casino empire he built-in the eighties and nineties up to a group of hedge funds and bond that is corporate.
He has already established nothing in connection with the management of the Taj, or its now sister that is defunct, the Trump Plaza, ever since. However, the arch negotiator managed to retain a 10 percent stake in Trump Entertainment, in substitution for allowing the ongoing company to retain the Trump brand name.
In 2014, Trump was incensed by just what he saw as Trump Entertainment’s mismanagement of the brand and litigated to have their name eliminated from the casino. But following Icahn’s intervention, he relented, and the name will remain.
That 10 percent stake is now gone, severing Trump’s last ties with the city. And while his name may be emblazoned in still lights throughout the front of the building, this might be now very much the Carl Icahn show.
The Taj is the property that is second now owns in Atlantic City, having also rescued the Tropicana from bankruptcy in 2009.
‘The Taj is one of Atlantic City’s signature properties,’ Icahn told the Associated Press. ‘Although both Atlantic City plus the Taj experienced several years that are tough today marks the turnaround,’ he added.
‘Just a years that are few, Tropicana was at bankruptcy and its fate uncertain, but since emerging in 2010, we now have turned that property around and it has become one of Atlantic City’s few success tales. I will be confident we can and will perform some same for the Taj,’ said casino 888 affiliate Icahn.
One team that wont be applauding, nonetheless, is the resort’s casino workers’ union Unite 54, which has yet to reach a contract agreement with Icahn.
The casino almost closed several times in 2014. Icahn, that has bought all of the Taj’s $286 million debt, said which he was willing to just take it over and invest, provided he had been granted several concessions by the city. Among those was the proper to scrap health insurance and pension benefits for his casino employees.
As such, union demonstrations have turn into a familiar sight outside the property over the past 18 months.
Just say no to North Jersey casino expansion: Senator Jim Whelan, who led the clamor of voices in opposition to North Jersey gambling enterprises at a legislative hearing in Trenton on Monday. (Image: dailykos.com)
Opposition to North Jersey casino expansion collected in Trenton on Monday to denounce lawmakers’ plans to tear up Atlantic City’s longstanding casino monopoly within the state.
Atlantic City business owners and concerned residents joined politicians such as State Senator Jim Whelan (D-Atlantic) in condemning the New Jersey bill at a public hearing of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee yesterday.
Among the bill’s criticisms was a tremendously fear that is real the proposal could kill the resort town, which includes currently lost one fourth of its casinos and with them some 8,000 jobs, throughout the past couple of years.
Legislators want to allow the creation of two licenses in northern nj, hoping they will attract hordes of gamblers from the New York area that is metropolitan which in turn would bolster the state’s faltering casino industry.
The matter would go to a public ballot likely to be voted on in November since this would require an amendment to the state constitution. But the bill will have to be authorized by three-fifths of both chambers to ensure that this to happen.
Should the bill become law, Atlantic City’s current casino licensees would be offered the chance to bid for the North Jersey licenses first. Then be opened up to operators from outside the state if they prove to be uninterested, the field would.
Politicians have stated Atlantic City will receive as much as $200 million in compensation from fees on the casinos that are new but taxation amounts have actually yet become decided, which alarms numerous within the resort city.
Joe Kelly, president of Greater Atlantic City Chamber, said that he would not understand how the bill could move forward without possibly these numbers.
‘ We don’t know what kind of revenue will be returned to Atlantic City, we don’t know whom it’s going to be returned to or how it will work,’ he complained.
He also said he believed the proposal would result in two more casino closures within the city, and the potential loss of 14,000 more jobs.
Senator Whelan warned that the continuing state was using fire by expanding into the north and that the area will never be immune from the issue of saturation.
‘We’re perhaps not going to [see] casinos in north Jersey have a 20-25 year monopoly,’ he said. ‘It is going to be a matter of years before New York City has gambling enterprises in Manhattan or into the Bronx. What Atlantic City is experiencing now, north Jersey will experience at that right time.’
Another public hearing is due on March 7 in the Assembly, after which the bill will be voted on in both houses.
Florida gambling expansion, maybe: State Rep. Jose Diaz is leading the fight to open Florida’s gaming venues, nevertheless the deal with different parties, including the Seminole Tribe and pari-mutuel interests, has a good way to get before being finalized into law. (Image: floridapolitics.com)
Florida gambling expansion bill HB 7109 scored a much-needed victory on Monday, after the state’s home Finance and Tax Committee voted 12-5 in favor of moving the legislation towards the chamber’s floor.
Introduced by Jose Diaz (R-District 116), HB 7109 would overhaul the state’s current legislation by expanding gambling through the entire state. It would also authorize pari-mutuels to supply casino games without continuing to host horse or racing that is greyhound legalize daily fantasy sports (DFS), and achieve new terms using the state’s Seminole Tribe.
Nonetheless, with a handful of events all lobbying for their own self-interests, from lawmakers in Tallahassee to racetracks to the Indian tribe, the intricate bill that is 122-page anything but a sure thing for passage.
The issue that is predominant the State of Florida is how to deal with the powerful Seminole Tribe and its five video gaming facilities. In December, Governor Rick Scott (R) reached a deal with tribal leaders, handing over the rights that are exclusive provide craps and roulette in exchange for a guaranteed $3 billion for the Sunshine State’s coffers throughout the next seven years.
Competing interests from the racing contingent said maybe not so fast, and also have successfully forced lawmakers into supporting the deal that is scott-Seminole.
‘It’s extremely tough to negotiate a deal whenever every part threatens them what they want,’ a frustrated Diaz said Monday if you don’t give.
Diaz says his brand new House bill will need the Seminoles to sign off on the conditions, and time is of the essence. March 11 may be the final day of the Florida Legislature’s 2016 Regular Session.
The Seminole compact with Florida expired in 2015, but casinos on reservation land continue to offer gambling and continue to send checks to the state government.
Reaching a deal now would be good for both sides, being a new pact would save 3,500 jobs, and based on Seminole Chairman James Billie, create thousands more and create upwards of $10 billion for their state by 2036.
In what’s perhaps an olive branch to those opposed to expanded gambling, Diaz’s legislation would require a voter referendum moving forward for any future gambling expansion.
With Florida’s neighbor towards the north, Georgia wants to take the direct approach that is opposite gambling than the Sunshine State. The a lot more conservative Peach State, Georgia has voted for the Republican presidential nominee all but four times since 1964.
Georgia currently features a continuing state lottery, it is free of any tribal, commercial, or racetrack video gaming.
And State House Speaker David Ralston (R) wants to keep it that way. Ralston has got the distinct benefit in Georgia of determining what does and exactly what doesn’t get before the home flooring for consideration.
On the House Rules Commmittee voted to move House Bill 677 to the floor friday. Authored by State Rep. Ron Stephens (R-District 164), the legislation would authorize the issuance of four resort-style gambling licenses.
In line with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Ralston encouraged his colleagues to go to church this past weekend and rethink any plans to vote in support of legalizing gambling in Georgia. Ralston concluded the week by saying HB 677 finding a vote is something he ‘wouldn’t bet on.’