Atlantic City mayor urges Icahn to sell ex-Taj Mahal casino
ATLANTIC CITY >> Atlantic City’s mayor is calling on billionaire investor Carl Icahn to sell the shuttered Trump Taj Mahal casino, saying his struggling city can’t afford to let such a big piece of its Boardwalk lie vacant indefinitely.
Republican Don Guardian said Wednesday that allowing the casino to stay vacant is “the worst of the worst” in terms of outcomes for the property, which Icahn closed Oct. 10 after a bruising strike by the city’s main casino workers’ union.
Icahn, who’s surrendering the Taj Mahal’s casino license to state gambling regulators, said Tuesday the casino isn’t for sale. He didn’t immediately respond to the mayor’s remarks Wednesday.
Guardian made the comments after his unofficial State of the City speech, in which he listed the numerous challenges facing his city, including a state takeover and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. Asked for his response to Icahn’s handling of the Taj Mahal, Guardian replied, “Sell it, make a profit and move on.”
Before the strike by Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union, which began on July 1 and ended the day the casino closed in October, Icahn had promised to pump $100 million into the aging casino to reinvigorate it and help it better compete against newer, more luxurious casinos.
The mayor said it was “the crown jewel in Atlantic City before the Borgata.”
“But it didn’t get that $100 million face lift; you knew it when you walked in there,” Guardian said. “He doesn’t have any faith in the city, I get it. But don’t let us lose that building on the Boardwalk. We need that activity and those jobs.”
The strike sought the restoration of health insurance and pension benefits that were terminated in bankruptcy court. Nearly 3,000 workers lost their jobs when the Taj Mahal closed.
Republican Presidentelect Donald Trump opened the casino in 1990 but lost control of it in a casino bankruptcy. Icahn acquired it from bankruptcy court after Trump, a New York real estate mogul, had cut most ties with Atlantic City.
Guardian also said he might support a Democrat for governor this fall if his own party nominates someone who favors continuing a state takeover of Atlantic City that Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s administration launched in November.
“If a Republican says we want to take control and a Democrat doesn’t, I’ll have to do what’s best for Atlantic City,” Guardian said. “I’m going to back the individual for governor who’s going to help the people of Atlantic City.”
The two main announced Democratic candidates, Phil Murphy and John Wisniewski, have said they would end the state takeover.
Guardian also used the speech to reveal:
— That he rigorously inspects the cleanliness of public restrooms on the Boardwalk during his morning bicycle ride: “I can wipe my finger on a urinal and find out if it’s been steam cleaned.”
— That he and his husband, Louis, imagined jobs other than mayor that would be fun to hold, considering police officer and firefighter before settling on an alternative: “I could have been a pastor, because all I do is beg, because I don’t have the money.”
— That he looks at the massive tax refund debt the city owes to the Borgata through an unusual lens: “It’s like your frat buddy lends you $20 and you don’t pay it back and it gets awkward and you don’t hang out with him as much. It’s like that with me and (Borgata president Tom Balance), only I owe him $150 million.”
Guardian’s official State of the City speech will be at a meeting of the City Council later this month.