Billionaire Carl Ichan, who have been flirting with the speculation of shopping for the beleaguered Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, on Thursday pledged $20 million to maintain the casino open for the time being, the AP reported. Ichan already owns many of the bankrupt casino’s debt.
The casino, which opened in 1990, have been planning to near for good this Saturday.
Roughly 3,000 people work on the casino, and their benefits has been a contentious issue in working out the way to keep the valuables afloat.
Ichan’s decision to inject the $20 million into the valuables is arguably a little perplexing, given what he reportedly told the union representing the casino workers. From the report:
His letter came shortly after the principle Atlantic City casino workers’ union said Icahn told them he was pulling out of a proposed deal at 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 were signed by the union and Trump Entertainment.
“This is what now we have been coping with for a while now at this property,” McDevitt told the AP. “We’re disappointed that Icahn’s whims are going so as to add to the emotions of uncertainty and instability that the employees have needed to live with and feature to endure in this holiday season and beyond.”
It’s still not certain that Ichan will actually save the property.
“Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. is among the most distressed companies I'VE ever encounter in my 50-plus years of investing,” he wrote in his letter.
“The company’s hometown of Atlantic City is in the middle of an unprecedented crisis. Intense competition from surrounding markets is steadily eroding gaming revenues for the city’s casinos. On the same time, relative to these surrounding markets, the prices 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 valuables will “almost certainly” be closing this year.
The union isn’t the one obstacle to keeping the Taj open. Trump Entertainment wants tax breaks, but it surely appears unlikely to get them, or a minimum of the quantity its requesting. Donald Trump, whose name is at the casino, only owns a small piece of Trump Entertainment these days.
The Taj was featured in numerous movies, including the poker cult classic Rounders, during which stars Matt Damon and Edward Norton play a session within the casino’s poker site. With 48 tables, the room is the second one largest in Atlantic City behind the Borgata.
If/when the closing of the Taj occurs, just five poker rooms will remain in Atlantic City.
Read More... [Source: CardPlayer Poker News]
No comments:
Post a Comment