Trump Taj Mahal

History

Construction of the Taj Mahal was begun in 1983 by Resorts International, owner of the neighboring Resorts Casino Hotel, with an estimated budget of $250 million. Resorts head James Crosby said it might be named the United States Hotel, in reference to the city's first major hotel.

After Crosby's death in April 1986, Resorts International became a takeover target. The Taj Mahal had encountered construction problems, and Crosby's heirs, lacking experience in large development projects, doubted their ability to complete it successfully. Donald Trump, who owned two other Atlantic City casinos, beat out several other bidders to purchase a controlling stake in the company for $79 million in July 1987. Trump was appointed chairman of Resorts International, and said he would complete the Taj Mahal in about a year.

Because New Jersey law prohibited anyone from owning more than three casinos, Trump planned to close the original Resorts casino and operate it as a hotel annex to the Taj Mahal.

As the total budget had ballooned to $930 million, Resorts sought to raise $550 million to complete the Taj Mahal, but struggled to find the financing. With the company claiming to be near bankruptcy in early 1988, Trump made a tender offer to buy all outstanding stock for $22 a share, stating that he was willing to personally finance the construction, but only if he owned the entire company. Television producer Merv Griffin made an unexpected offer to purchase the company for $35 a share, sparking a highly publicized takeover battle, with Trump and Griffin filing lawsuits against each other. The two ultimately reached a settlement, which was executed in November 1988, with Griffin purchasing the company, and Trump purchasing the Taj Mahal from the company for $273 million.

Trump raised $675 million to finance the purchase and completion of the casino, primarily through junk bonds with a 14 percent interest rate.

The casino opened on April 2, 1990. With 120,000 square feet (11,000 m²) of gaming space, it claimed to be the largest casino in the world (though this was disputed by the Riviera), and billed itself as the "eighth wonder of the world." An elaborate grand opening ceremony was held three days later.

In 1991, the Taj Mahal went through a prepackaged bankruptcy, resulting in Trump giving a 50 percent stake in the business to its bondholders in exchange for lowered interest rates and a longer payoff schedule.

Trump's new publicly traded company, Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, purchased the Taj Mahal in 1996, in a transaction that valued the property at $890 million.

The Taj Mahal was the highest grossing casino in the city until the opening of The Borgata in 2003. The Chairman Tower opened in 2008, bringing the complex to over 2,000 rooms.

In 2013, the Taj Mahal opened the nation's first casino strip club, featuring scantily clad dancers.

Bankruptcy, labor dispute, U.S. Treasury money laundering settlement, and new ownership

Trump Entertainment Resorts filed for bankruptcy on September 10, 2014, and announced plans to close the Taj Mahal on November 13 if the casino did not get concessions from its unions. A sister property, the Trump Plaza did close in 2014.

Workers from the casino marched to Mayor Don Guardian's office on the morning of November 3, 2014 to ask him to reconsider granting concessions, which the casino said were necessary to remain open. About 1,000 employees signed a petition calling on the mayor and other officials "to do everything possible" to keep the casino open. At the time, four of twelve casinos in Atlantic City had closed and Trump Taj Mahal would have been the fifth if it were to close.

On November 14, 2014, Trump Entertainment Resorts announced that the casino would shut down in December unless its main union, UNITE HERE, dropped its appeal of a court-ordered cost-savings package, which had effectively cancelled the workers' health insurance and pension coverage. However, it was revealed that the closing was to happen because it has not received the state and local tax breaks it sought.

In filing a revised reorganization plan in Delaware bankruptcy court, Trump Entertainment Resorts said its board had approved a shutdown of the casino by December 12, 2014. The shutdown date was later pushed back to December 20. On December 18, two days before the scheduled closure, UNITE HERE reached a deal with Trump Entertainment Resorts that saved the Taj from closing. The same day, billionaire Carl Icahn committed $20 million in financing for the Taj.

In February 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network settled an investigation of Trump Taj Mahal with the assessment of a $10 million civil fine for "significant and long-standing money laundering violations" which were described as "willful and repeated" contraventions of the record-keeping and reporting requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act. The casino agreed to periodic external audits to comply with anti-money laundering statutes, and admitted to multiple violations as part of its settlement. The U.S. Treasury made note of casino violations dating back to 1998, when Trump Taj Mahal paid a $477,700 fine for violating currency transaction requirements, as well as violations in 2003, 2010, and in 2012, for which the company was "repeatedly warned". Trump Taj Mahal was "far from meeting" standards required to protect the U.S. financial system "from exploitation from criminals, terrorists, and other bad actors", the Treasury said in a press release.

In February 2016, Trump Entertainment Resorts exited bankruptcy and became a subsidiary of Icahn Enterprises. The casino retained the name "Trump Taj Mahal", though Donald Trump no longer held any ownership stake. In April, another Icahn affiliate, Tropicana Entertainment, took over the property under a management agreement. Icahn also stated he would withhold a planned $100-million investment into the property if New Jersey approved casinos in the northern region of the state.

On Monday, October 10, 2016, the Trump Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino was shut down. After the closing on that date, one UNITE HERE leader raised the possibility that the casino would remain closed over the winter but will reopen in Spring 2017 as a non-union facility, an attempt that he said would try to prompt a union boycott. On March 1, 2017, Hard Rock International announced plans to spend $300 million to purchase the resort and renovate it for a summer 2018 re-opening as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.

Shooting incidents

On May 27, 2009, Ray Kot, a casino shift manager, was shot and killed by 57-year-old Mark Magee of Norristown, Pennsylvania. Magee claimed that he killed Kot because casino executives at the Trump Taj Mahal had conspired to cheat players by manipulating the outcome of the table games. On August 11, 2010, Magee was convicted of murder and was given a minimum 30-year sentence at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. He is tentatively scheduled to be released on May 28, 2039, at the age of 87. On October 16, 2010, a small park on the Trump Taj Mahal property was created and dedicated to the memory of Kot.

On September 18, 2011, a man was shot dead and a woman was wounded during an apparent carjacking inside the parking garage of the casino. The man, 28-year-old Sunil Rattu, and the woman, 24-year-old Radha Ghetia, were held up as they left the casino, and then forced to drive to a nearby alley where Rattu was shot dead, while Ghetia was shot in the upper part of her body. Ghetia was treated for her injuries and later recovered.

On March 24, 2016, three teenagers attending a party in a hotel room on the forty-seventh floor were shot. Seven suspects were arrested in connection with the incident.

Comp cards

Trump Taj Mahal had a comp card similar to most casinos. The club had four levels: