ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- The name on the front still reads "Trump," but a different billionaire wants to make the Taj Mahal casino great again.
Carl Icahn isn't sure whether he'll spend the $100 million he promised to spruce up the struggling gambling hall opened in 1990 by Donald Trump, who hailed it as "the eighth wonder of the world."
But there are certain things the new owner is doing right away to make the casino a place of his own.
First is healing the damage that the casino's reputation incurred as it languished in bankruptcy court and repeatedly threatened to close over the past year and a half. Icahn rescued the Taj Mahal by keeping it afloat during its Chapter 11 case and pledging to invest $100 million once he got control.
"We want to let the world know that we are open for business and we're not going anywhere," said Tony Rodio, president of the Icahn-owned Tropicana casino, which now runs the Taj Mahal as well.
But almost as soon as Icahn took over in March, he wavered on investing the full $100 million, , spooked by the prospect of two new casinos in the northern part of the state. New Jersey voters will decide in November whether to authorize them. Icahn will wait until the referendum to commit to the spending.
But he has authorized $15 million for immediate repairs on things guests will immediately notice, like 250 new slot machines, reactivating lights and water fountains that had been turned off for years, reopening a poker room, and offering live entertainment every night in the casino's redone Ego lounge. Less visible repairs include fixing leaks in a roof.
The 180 out-of-service hotel rooms that needed work should all be ready by the July 4 holiday. The Taj Mahal has 2,010 hotel rooms, placing it in the upper echelon of Atlantic City's casino market.
When it opened in 1990, the Taj Mahal was the most expensive casino ever built, at $1.1 billion. But it went bankrupt -- for the first of four times -- after just a year, choked by debt.
Trump has not owned or had anything to do with the casino company since 2009, aside from a 10 percent stake in return for the use of his name, and even that has been wiped out in bankruptcy court.
The Taj Mahal took $180 million from gamblers last year, ranking it seventh out of Atlantic City's eight casinos.
Sean Friel, a valet at the Taj Mahal since the day it opened, said the past two years have been rough on the staff. With Icahn having promised to keep the casino open, Friel said the staff is relieved.
"It's a great weight off your shoulders," Friel said. "I was afraid it would go dark; I saw them make up these big black things to barricade and lock the doors, and signs that said, 'We're closing.' Now we can see light at the end of the tunnel."
Business on 05/21/2016