UPDATE: Deal Collapses But Taj Open… For Now…

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

Update 3:33 p.m.

An Associated Press report: Icahn WILL pay to keep the Taj Mahal open indefinitely without a deal, Save Jerseyans.

The wild part? According to Chase Brush, “[a]n Atlantic County source told PolitickerNJ this afternoon that Icahn allegedly called off the deal before it was finalized after McDevitt himself leaked the details to the Post.” Good grief. How typical!

Update – 12:59 p.m.

Wow. Hurley also posted a statement via Facebook from Bob McDevitt, President of UNITE HERE Local 54:

“We thought that we had come to an agreement with all parties that would resolve all of the issues with the Taj Mahal. We signed it, and the Trump CEO signed as well. At noon today, we were told that Carl Icahn had gone back on his commitment and would not enter into the agreement. This is what we have been dealing with for some time now at this property. We are disappointed that Mr. Icahn’s whims are going to add to the feelings of uncertainty and instability that the workers have had to live with and have to endure during this holiday season and beyond.

We and everybody else thought we could start moving Atlantic City forward, but it is unfortunate that one person could put the brakes on all that.”

Developing…

Original Post – 8:06 a.m.

There’s a lot of back story to the news of the Trump Taj Mahal’s rescue (or stay of execution, depending upon your perspective) following news of a last minute deal brokered by the Christie Administration between billionaire Carl Icahn and Big Labor.

taj mahalSuffice it to say there are 3,000 South Jersey employees – and thousands more when you take account of their families – who just received a HUGE Christmas present (the casino was set to close its doors on Saturday).

Congrats! Merry Christmas! And God bless.

However… since A.C. is far from out of the woods, I think it’s worth your time to read Icahn’s November 25th open letter to Local 54’s Bob McDevitt; it lays out some of the fundamental problems facing the Boardwalk Empire, including the unreasonable union antics of recent months, from the perspective of one of America’s leading entertainment investors – exactly the kind of guy we need to take A.C. seriously, as an investment, not just a charity case – if it’s ever to recover.

Matt Rooney
About Matt Rooney 8390 Articles
MATT ROONEY is SaveJersey.com's founder and editor-in-chief, a practicing New Jersey attorney, and the host of 'The Matt Rooney Show' on 1210 WPHT every Sunday evening from 7-10PM EST.

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