The drama of the closing of an Atlantic City casino that is playing out in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington took another turn with a report that billionaire investor Carl Ichan may have relented on plans to close the Taj Mahal if union employees did not agree to give up health care benefits.
Bloomberg and other news outlets reported the change of heart, which may have been driven by the opportunity by Ichan to salvage his investment in the casino/hotel with state help.
Ican had offered to invest $100 million in return for tax breaks. In return, union workers would drop a lawsuit. Bankruptcy Court had already allowed the closing to take place if a deal was not struck.
The Taj Mahal and the Trump casino interests had struggled with a heavy debt load and a steep decline in gaming business in Atlantic City as Pennsylvania and Maryland authorized casinos. The Trump Plaza casino closed in September.
The Taj Mahal had been slated to close on Dec. 10.
Icahn controls the lenders for the casino that entered U.S. Bankruptcy Court proceedings in Delaware in the fall.
So far this year, four casinos in Atlantic City have closed, the former Hilton, Trump Plaza, Showboat and Revel. Plans to reopen the $2 billion Revel suffered a setback when a prospective buyer pulled out of the deal, apparently over the lack of a deal with bondholders who own an adjacent power plant.
Icahn also controls The Tropicana, one of the remaining casino resorts in the city.
