Billionaire Carl Icahn has reportedly begun searching for a buyer for his Trump Taj Mahal casino, just one day after New Jersey legislators passed a bill that severely restricted Icahn’s future options for the property.
On Tuesday, the New York Post quoted sources claiming that Icahn was “in dialogue with operators” regarding a sale of the Atlantic City casino, which closed its doors in October after failing to come to terms with the property’s unionized workforce.
The news followed Monday’s passage by the New Jersey Assembly of new legislation that would impose a five-year gaming license suspension on any operator that voluntarily closes an Atlantic City casino. The state Senate has approved the bill by a similarly wide majority, leaving only Gov. Chris Christie’s signature for the bill to become law.
Icahn had previously voiced concerns that the legislation was unconstitutional in that it is retroactive to January 2016 and therefore applied only to himself and not to the other four AC properties that have shut their doors since 2014.
This week, Icahn told the Post that the legislation was “another absurd antic by [New Jersey Senate president Stephen] Sweeney that will hurt Atlantic City.” Icahn declined to comment on the rumors re negotiations regarding a possible sale of the Taj.
Within days of the Taj closing, representatives of Local 54 of the Unite HERE union were already warning that Icahn planned to reopen the property in the spring with non-union labor. It’s unclear if a new owner would be allowed to reopen the Taj without coming to terms with the property’s former unionized employees.
Local 54 boss Bob McDevitt told the Post he’s confident that the Taj will reopen, but only if the union plays a role. McDevitt noted that Local 54 has struck recent deals with other AC casinos, including the Tropicana, which is also under Icahn’s control, and McDevitt believes his members won’t accept “two or three different standards through Atlantic City.”
