The Trump Taj Mahal will close on December 12
In a document that was filed with the bankruptcy court in the state of Delaware in mid-November, Trump Entertainment Resorts have announced that its Board of Directors approved the clusure of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino complex in Atlantic City on December 12th.
It is the fifth gambling establishment to close its doors this year, after the Atlantic Club in January, the Showboat in August, and the Revel and the Trump Plaza in September.
There are now only 7 complexes left in the casino capital of New Jersey.
No financial assistance from the authorities
The Trump Taj Mahal declared bankruptcy in September following a significant drop in income.
A closure plan was even presented.
The plans had been put on hold after a tribunal agreed that the establishment could break their contract with unionized workers.
This angered the main union of casino workers (Local 54 of the Unite-HERE), who rallied outside of the casino.
Additionally, the Trump Entertainment Resorts also requested aid from the government of Atlantic City and the State of New Jersey to help them to clear their debt of $286 million.
They announced, that otherwise, they will not be able to save the casino and some 3,000 jobs that it provides.
Since neither the city nor the state had chosen to accept the proposals of the company, the management had been forced to announce the closure of the complex on the 12th of December.
A financial catastrophe
Billionaire Carl Icahn, who also owns the Tropicana in Atlantic City, said that the establishment was in a catastrophic financial situation, the worst he had ever analysed.
In fact, the Trump Taj Mahal continued to lose money, and for several months everything pointed towards an inevitable closure.
For this reason the businessman found the reaction of the union particularly irresponsible.
Instead of trying to help the company to keep the casino-hotel open, they seemed to prefer to put everything in place to harm its survival and prevent saving nearly 3,000 jobs.