Atlantic City Taj Mahal Stays in Business

13:08
19 Dec

Some 3,000 people employed at the Atlantic based Taj Mahal casino can breathe the sigh of relief, as they will not be spending the holidays looking for new jobs. According to the Associated Press, a billionaire investor Carl Icahn came to the rescue, pledging $20 million to keep the casino open.

This news comes at the very last moment, as Taj Mahal was going to close its door this Saturday at 6:00 AM if nothing changed. Ichan came out with his proposal to save the casino earlier this month and has now come through, just as the closure was looming.

With these latest funds, Taj Mahal will remain open indefinitely. In his letter from Thursday, Ichan promised to provide enough funding to keep the casino alive and open through the bankruptcy process. Although it may have been smarter business move for the billionaire to wait it out and acquire the casino at the later date, he explained he could not do it because of the 3,000 people whose jobs and livelihoods were hanging in the balance.

We are disappointed that Mr. 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. Bob McDevit, Union President;
Employees of Taj Mahal have been dealing with a lot of uncertainty lately, in addition to all the other problems they’ve been facing since the October bankruptcy court order. In fact, Ichan was very close to walking away from the deal all together, which was met by a disappointment amongst the workers.
However, the billionaire decided to change his mind as the crucial date was drawing near and sent a letter that guarantees that the casino will have enough funds to stay open throughout the bankruptcy procedures.
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Ichan explained that his uncertainty about the purchase was not a result of any whim, but rather that there were numerous real business reasons for him to turn his back on the prospect deal. Atlantic City is going through a severe crisis, and the competition from the surrounding markets is not making things any easier either.
As if that was not enough, the costs of operating a casino in Atlantic City constantly increase, making it all quite unappealing from the business perspective. However, Ichan decided to go through with it and the plan now is for the company to be transferred to his name, but only if they are able to receive some serious tax breaks.

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