It was a sad day for the suffering Atlantic City casino industry as it lost its 5th property on Monday, October 10, 2016. The lights of the Trump Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino officially went out for the final time at 5:59 am.
Pete Battaglini, an employee of the casino since day one said, "It's a very sad day. I never thought I would see this."
The casino floor had lost all of its dealers and other staff members, all part of the UNITE Here Local 54 union, as they went on strike over health benefits and other cutbacks as of July 1st.
Charles "Chuck" Baker, a 26-year cook at the casino, said, "They stripped us of our health care, our severance, and deducted our half-hour break from our check.”
Unfortunately, the powers that be were unwilling to budge and opted to close the doors leaving 3,000 people without jobs.
"The company only came to the table and offered something when the workers threatened to strike," said union member Ben Begleiter. "They didn't even respond to the last offer a month ago."
On Sunday there were still loyal patrons on the casino floor and only 10 remained an hour before the casino closed on Monday. Many of the slot machines were turned off so music came pouring out the speakers to drown out the deafening quiet.
There were several AC casino closures in 2014 including The Atlantic Club in January 2014, Showboat in August, and Revel and Trump Plaza in September.
There is a glimmer of hope for the boardwalk as Showboat’s gaming has not been reestablished but the hotel and restaurants are back and the word is Revel, renamed TEN, will soon open.
Source:
'After 26 years, Trump Taj Mahal casino folds', Lori M. Nichols, www.nj.com, October 10, 2016
Kristen Munoz
6 years ago
must have been sad and real lose for those who are out of work now because of trump. what a greedy dirt bag that man is I really do not like to hear of rich greedy people at all it gets my blood boiling so I will just say this I hope that all the unemployed now have found work else where and all the loyal players have found...
must have been sad and real lose for those who are out of work now because of trump. what a greedy dirt bag that man is I really do not like to hear of rich greedy people at all it gets my blood boiling so I will just say this I hope that all the unemployed now have found work else where and all the loyal players have found another place to play ! thanks lcb for the news you guys are awesome in all ways
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afeisty1
6 years ago
Go Figured that. And we want him as our president? I think NOT....Didn't he have 2 other's close also. Wonder what he did about all those folks that are out of a job???
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rferry5
6 years ago
What a shame all those people out of work and A.C. was my favorite place to go and play Atlantic City is going downhill with so many of them going out of business so sad for all of us that loved Atlantic City Gambling. Still love the ocean and boardwalk and fishing is awesome too! thanks rose
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Feelin froggy
6 years ago
Companies are cutting corners in every aspect from employee benefits to their products and customer service. Ugh, customer service these days is horrific in the US and if you complain about anything, no matter how bad, you're dismissed. A server could spit on your plate and management acts like it's your fault. There...
Companies are cutting corners in every aspect from employee benefits to their products and customer service. Ugh, customer service these days is horrific in the US and if you complain about anything, no matter how bad, you're dismissed. A server could spit on your plate and management acts like it's your fault. There was no excuse for this to happen with the Taj. It could have been resolved if it wasn't for greed. I personally pay for 6 months of health insurance for at least one casino employee every time I go! Ha!
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eberetta1
6 years ago
So many companies do not want to cover employees for health care. Is it any wonder that ObamaCare was created. If employers no longer want to provide medical coverage to employees, let government take it over. By the time anything is handed out to government, things have pretty much gone to heck with the owners stripping...
So many companies do not want to cover employees for health care. Is it any wonder that ObamaCare was created. If employers no longer want to provide medical coverage to employees, let government take it over. By the time anything is handed out to government, things have pretty much gone to heck with the owners stripping away the assets of the company.
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Feelin froggy
6 years ago
Yep, there was a court case. The casino was a dump and he felt that it didn't deserve the prestige of the Trump brand name. There was a settlement allowing the management company to hold onto the name as long as the Taj was operated as a casino. Good in-depth report on this from The Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com/articles/taj-mahal-casino-will-retain-trump-name-1425930813
Yep, there was a court case. The casino was a dump and he felt that it didn't deserve the prestige of the Trump brand name. There was a settlement allowing the management company to hold onto the name as long as the Taj was operated as a casino. Good in-depth report on this from The Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com/articles/taj-mahal-casino-will-retain-trump-name-1425930813
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nirvana
6 years ago
Didn't he sue the new owners for the illegal use of the name "Trump" ?
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Feelin froggy
6 years ago
It could have some effects on the general public. If you think about it, the average person probably doesn't realize that the casino wasn't under Trump's ownership and may wonder what he will do to America as president if he let his business go to hell etc. etc. Interesting time for this to happen. Trump did refer to...
It could have some effects on the general public. If you think about it, the average person probably doesn't realize that the casino wasn't under Trump's ownership and may wonder what he will do to America as president if he let his business go to hell etc. etc. Interesting time for this to happen. Trump did refer to the Taj as the "eighth wonder of the world" when it first opened (shocker) and according to an abc news article (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/trump-taj-mahal-close-26-years-trump-opened-42693677), he said there was no reason for the closure and believes something could have been worked out to satisfy both sides in this dispute. Another crack in the foundation of the AC casinos. It's crazy to think that at one time the boardwalk was the only gambling destination in the US...before there were casinos in almost every state. There's just something special about it.
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2fast4u
6 years ago
i know Trump sold it and that you cannot really blame him for its closure now. But none the less am still wondering if this might affect his campaign and efforts to become the president.
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Melcb
6 years ago
To be honest anything of Trumps I am glad to see go, even if it just the use of his name and not officially owned by him any longer. The loss of 3000 jobs is very unfortunate, however, some light at the end of the tunnel with a new establishment opening soon.
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