Carl Icahn would like to revitalize the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and save your self thousands of jobs along the way, but he says it can not be done unless local union workers are willing to compromise. Unhappy union employees, shown here at an early on protest, feel otherwise.
Billionaire Carl Icahn has obtained the Trump Taj Mahal, exchanging $292 million he’s owed for complete ownership of the casino in a deal that was approved by the latest Jersey Casino Control Commission this week.
Icahn says he shall invest another $100 million to revitalize the resort and also to keep the Atlantic City landmark solvent.
‘We think whenever you pull into the Taj Mahal, it’s dirty, it’s dated, and it needs to be freshened up,’ Trump Entertainment CEO Robert Griffin stated of the settlement. ‘I feel really strongly that the Taj Mahal will do well.’
That are going to be no task that is easy however, because the north end boardwalk gambling venue continues to operate at a loss, including being $8.7 million in the red for the first quarter of 2015. The hotel’s 2,010 spaces had been less than 50 per cent full throughout the first three months regarding the year, a drastically lower price than that of the other seven casino hotels that averaged occupancy levels of around 70 to 85 per cent.
Icahn’t Stay Unions
Icahn is optimistic he can restore the Taj to its former days of glory. But one key condition the mogul insists on is that Local 54 and the UNITE HERE unions stop their pursuit of experiencing a court mandate Icahn to reinstate benefits for employees that were terminated by Trump Entertainment during bankruptcy proceedings.
The other Atlantic City casino under his ownership on Wednesday, Icahn told reporters he sees the Taj being reestablished much like he did with the Tropicana.
‘Although regional 54 seems fixated at all costs on damaging the Taj, and risking its closing and the loss in almost 3,000 jobs, I have always been optimistic,’ Icahn said.
Icahn also released a letter to neighborhood 54 Taj employees this week that likens the nationwide UNITE HERE organization up to a Ponzi scheme that uses dues to enrich the lives of its leadership at a cost that is detrimental its members.
‘It can be an undisputable fact that your union leadership refused to negotiate with the Taj as the losses were mounting plus it was pushed into bankruptcy. Your union leadership declined to take into account any concession that would have helped keep the Taj afloat, and that’s because your jobs usually do not matter to the union leadership,’ Icahn penned.
Icahnoclast
The once bustling gambling mecca associated with coast that is east now home to simply eight total casinos, and Icahn now has control of two, or 25 % of the city’s gaming venues. That means along side Caesars Entertainment, owners of Bally’s, Caesars Atlantic City, and Harrah’s, Icahn has a monopoly that is small town where the overall game of Monopoly is based.
Thought it’s understandable union workers want and need their wellness insurance coverage and retirement advantages reinstated, their tactics might be going about it in the incorrect way. This week, Local 54 delivered a letter to Icahn’s midtown Manhattan office by having a list of its demands, along side an apple pie, a dig in response to Icahn saying ‘apple pie and flowers isn’t what sort of world works’ previously this year.
Jeb Bush Latest GOP Candidate to Enter Republican Presidential Race
Officially official: After many months of unofficial fundraising, Jeb Bush confirmed his bid for the 2016 GOP nomination today. The son and bro of two past US presidents is hoping to separate his campaign from his rather family name that is famous. Type of. (Image: Erik Schelzig/AP)
Jeb Bush joined the ever-expanding crowd of Republican candidates in the 2016 presidential election on Monday, with an announcement at Miami-Dade College in the afternoon. But unlike many of the more than a dozen candidates in the GOP field, Bush will be hoping to perform from a position of strength, as he shall be one associated with favorites for the party’s nomination within the early going associated with the campaign.
‘ In almost any language my message will likely be a confident one, because i’m certain that we can result in the decades just ahead in the us the best time ever become alive these days,’ the latest Bush governmental dynasty candidate opined, using both English and Spanish to handle the live and undoubtedly massive TV market.
Columba Bush, a first-generation immigrant that is mexican married Jeb 41 years back, could prove critical in helping him reach Hispanic voters. (Image: Bill Ingalls/NASA/Getty)
Columba Bush, who has been married to your politician for 41 years and was originally from León, Guanajuato in Mexico, will certainly be an essential force in a country grappling with immigration and dual-language dilemmas on a almost daily basis.
In fact, the story goes that Mrs. Bush did not speak English when even she married Jeb back in 1974. Her mother ended up being reportedly a migrant worker and food server.
Bush may require the assistance. Although the Florida that is former governor often the leader in national polls of Republican voters, though that advantage is extremely narrow. In fact, it may become more accurate to look at Bush, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio as co-leaders at this early stage.
Strong Establishment Candidate
That said, Bush has plenty of advantages that will make his campaign a strong one. For one, he will haven’t any trouble raising money.
One super PAC that is supporting him had hoped to raise $100 million by the finish of June, even though they’ll almost certainly come up short of that objective, it’s clear there’ll be lots of funding for the Bush war chest.
He will also have numerous endorsements from Republican establishment figures, and a name that voters are familiar with, although his Jeb! 2016 slogan seems to indicate he is trying never to drive on at the very least the most obvious of coattails. After all, that famous name that is last a double-edged sword, dependent on which voters you’re chatting to.
While both his dad and brother have previously served as president, Jeb Bush is trying to avoid being seen just as the next in line of succession, with a ‘royal’ aspect that numerous voters may not be comfortable with.
Campaign Has Been Unofficial for Months
Of course, by any reasonable standard, Bush’s campaign has been underway for months, but he’s got carefully skirted the line to avoid formally launching a campaign company until now. Throughout the weekend, Bush told CNN that becoming an official candidate will enable him to higher articulate his message to the American people.
‘I think this transition to a candidacy enables me to be more direct about my advocacy of this leadership skills essential for the president that is next fix a few things,’ Bush said while in, of all places, Estonia this weekend. ‘ And as a candidate, contrary to someone who has been listening and learning along the real way, I’ll supply alternatives to the trail we’re on also, therefore i will be more specific on policy.’
Historically Opposed to Gambling
It is uncertain whether we’ll get any details on Bush’s gaming policies, but his previous stances on gambling problems while governor of Florida make it pretty clear he is no fan of casinos, as he strongly opposed gambling expansion in the state. Their stances on Internet gambling are less clear, though it’s hard to imagine he could be any friendlier to online poker and casino games than he was with their land-based counterparts.
Perhaps more importantly to his campaign, Bush may have to make an impression on conservative voters who’ren’t necessarily on board together with his stances on immigration and training, both areas where his wife can become a campaign that is important. He also recently struggled with questions over how he would have managed the war in Iraq, and fired their campaign manager week that is just last to squabbles inside their camp.
New Jersey Casinos See Online And Live Gains In May
The Golden Nugget has seen huge gains in its online gambling operations over the previous year. (Image: GoldenNugget.com)
New Jersey’s online gambling market continues to grow, helping fortify the remaining eight casinos still operating in Atlantic City.
But while the general numbers are positive, perhaps not all games and casinos are sharing equally in the fortune that is good.
Based on the nj-new Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), online gambling profits https://casino-online-australia.net/planet-7-oz-casino-review/ were as much as $12.47 million in May.
That represents a rise greater than 19 per cent over last May, when the sites brought in just $10.47 million.
Online Casinos Up, Poker Down
But that growth has been fueled very nearly entirely by online casinos. In comparison, online poker rooms are struggling. Internet poker brought in just under $1.93 million in might, down from $2.27 million in identical month last year.
That figure marks the second-lowest monthly revenue for online poker in New Jersey, with only last November trailing the most recent month.
Once accountable for a quarter or more of on line gambling revenues in nj, poker is now only about 15 % for the market.
The 888/World Series of Poker partnership felt most of the damage on the poker side of things. The $831,799 they introduced through their Internet poker partnership was a low that is all-time while their only competitor in the state, Borgata/partypoker, held fairly steady.
Holding constant ended up being a theme for the Borgata, as its overall Internet revenues were down by about one percent also.
It is still the market that is online, collecting about 32 percent of all revenues, but growth seems to have stalled: the business has yet to beat out its 2014 performance online in any month in 2010.
On the other hand, a few businesses have observed their online offerings take off, none less than the Golden Nugget.
The casino has taken full advantage to the fact that BetfairCasino.com is now operating through them because the closure for the Trump Plaza, and has now ridden that new partnership to a clear place that is second their state’s iGaming landscape.
Live Numbers Promising for Atlantic City
But while the online numbers may show a mix of ups and downs for Atlantic City’s casinos, the overall numbers for the industry had been very encouraging in May. Overall, casinos won $208.6 million for the month, 5.3 per cent a lot more than those exact same eight casinos took in last year.
To make sure, the overall cake is still smaller: in the event that you include three more casinos which were operating last May but have since closed, the revenues are down by about 9 %.
But with fewer casinos in the mix, the May revenues still represent a result that is excellent the gambling enterprises that are nevertheless running a business.
‘That’s a strong showing for what our detractors say is a weak market,’ said New Jersey Casino Control Commission Chairman Matt Levinson. ‘Whether you look at the results for the one month or for the very first five months with this 12 months, total video gaming revenue is up for the present operators. The size of the marketplace might be smaller, but the health associated with operators that are current getting stronger.’
The winner that is biggest was Caesars, which saw its monthly revenues enhance by 51 per cent over last might. That was largely as a result of month that is particularly unlucky high-stakes table games last year for Caesars.
Just two casinos were down year-over-year, such as the Borgata, which saw revenues fall by 4.7 per cent but still effortlessly led the city with $56.1 million for the month. Also down was the Trump Taj Mahal, which can be along the way to be acquired by Carl Icahn.