Deadline passes as the showdown over the future of the Trump Taj Mahal casino entered what could be its final week.
Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union snubbed the deadline imposed by Trump Entertainment Resorts last week to withdraw the union’s appeal of a bankruptcy court order that terminated the union contract with Taj Mahal workers. On Oct 17, Judge Kevin Gross in Delaware granted a request by Trump Entertainment to terminate its contract with the union, eliminating health insurance and the casino workers’ pension plan.
The Taj closed one of its hotel towers last Monday and some employees have seen their hours reduced as the clock ticked down to Dec.12 original deadline. The casino shutdown schedule has been pushed back to 8 more days, to close at 6 a.m. on Saturday (20).
In a letter Thursday to union president Bob McDevitt, Trump Entertainment CEO Robert Griffin wrote: “If you have not agreed to drop the appeal by the close of business on Monday Dec. 15 then we’ll know that you have rejected us again.”
Neither side would discuss the deadline’s expiration or what it might mean for the casino’s future or the jobs of its 3,000 workers.
The company is hoping to hand itself over to its main creditor Carl Icahn, who has promised to invest $100 million into the casino but only if the union drops its appeal and only in return for substantial tax breaks from the city and state.
A financial stabilization package for Atlantic City’s eight casinos and for the city’s municipal finances is making its way through the state legislature and could receive final votes as early as Thursday—two days before the scheduled shutdown of the casino.
The package includes a proposed tax assistance bill that would allow casinos to collectively make fixed payments of $150 million in lieu of property taxes for two years with future payments tied to gaming revenues.
