ICahn decides to shutter Atlantic City casino

Multi-billionaire entrepreneur Carl Icahn has apparently decided to cut his losses on his Trump Taj Mahal casino investment following battles with the New Jersey government and local trade unions.

Presidential candidate Donald Trump has not been involved in the business for several years, although he allowed the Trump branding to remain.

On Wednesday the Associated Press news agency reported that Icahn has lost $100 million on the asset over the past 18 years, including money he spent to keep it afloat during bankruptcy court before he owned it.

The billionaire said he can no longer support an enterprise that is losing millions of dollars every month and has recently been subjected to a “crippling” strike by union members.

“It was a bad bet,” Icahn told AP. “How much good money do you throw after bad?”

The shutdown of the 26-year-old Trump Taj Mahal will reduce the number of casinos in Atlantic City to seven and create job losses of around 3,000. Atlantic City’s casino labour force has already been reduced by 8,000 since 2014, when four other casinos closed their doors.

Tony Rodio, president of Tropicana Entertainment, which operates the Taj Mahal, said management decided Wednesday it can no longer operate a money-losing property in the midst of a strike.

“Our directors cannot just allow the Taj to continue burning through tens of millions of dollars when the union has singlehandedly blocked any path to profitability,” he said.

Union president Bob McDevitt blasted Icahn, saying:

“This titan of Wall Street is utterly incapable of making a decision unless it is mean-spirited and benefiting him alone. The great deal-maker would rather burn the Trump Taj Mahal down just so he can control the ashes. In the end he’ll have to live with what he’s done to working people in Atlantic City.”

Icahn’s managers have not given a date for the closure, but union spokesmen said that 60-day warning notices to employees will first have to be issued.

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