The Trump Taj Mahal is a casino located at 1000 Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New
Jersey, United States, in the casino area along the shore. The casino is
owned by Trump Entertainment Resorts. With approximately 50 regular tables and
25 tournament tables, the Taj Mahal has one of the largest poker rooms in
Atlantic City, second in size only to The Borgata.
The casino was officially inaugurated in 1990, with Michael Jackson performing at
the ceremonies, and was built at a total cost of nearly one billion dollars.
Restaurants at the Taj include Dynasty, Il Mulino New York, Moon at Dynasty,
Safari Steakhouse, and Hard Rock Cafe. On November 25, 2014, the Trump Taj
Mahal announced plans to close and cease casino and hotel operations on December
12, 2014 but on December 5, 2014 the date was pushed back to December 20,
2014. On December 18, 2014 the Trump Taj Mahal received an agreement with its
union to drop its appeal against the company to save the casino and it
remains open. History
Trump's third property in Atlantic City was wrapped in controversy prior to
opening because of its role, along with Resorts Casino Hotel, in the fight
between Donald Trump and Merv Griffin in 1988 over Resorts International. Resorts
was developing and constructing the Resorts Taj Mahal Casino north of
Resorts Casino Hotel on the boardwalk, but had run out of money and
construction was stopped. Trump was attempting to buy the unfinished resort,
along with Resorts, but Merv Griffin would not sell. Eventually, a deal was
created between Trump and Griffin giving Griffin Resorts in Atlantic City and the
Resorts Paradise Island with the unfinished Taj Mahal project going to
Trump. The casino opened in 1990 as the Trump Taj Mahal and was the largest and
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. The casino is also the scene for a
notorious baccarat session in May 1990, in which the Japanese high roller Akio
Kashiwagi lost $10 million. The incident was later fictionalised in Martin
Scorsese's film Casino. In 2013, the Taj Mahal opened the nation's first casino
strip club, featuring scantily clad dancers.
Uncertain future Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc.'s Taj
Mahal Hotel and Casino filed for bankruptcy on September 10, 2014. Trump
Taj Mahal set a potential closing date of November 13, 2014 if the casino does
not get concessions from its unions. Recently, workers are trying to petition
against the closing of the casino. Workers from the Trump Taj Mahal casino
marched to Mayor Don Guardian's office on the morning of November 3, 2014 to
ask him to reconsider granting concessions, which the struggling casino
says are necessary to keep the casino open. So far, about 1,000 employees have
signed a petition calling on the mayor and other elected officials "to do
everything possible" to keep the casino open. Thus far, four of twelve casinos
in Atlantic City have closed and Trump Taj Mahal would be the fifth if it
indeed were to close. On November 14, 2014, Trump
Entertainment Resorts announced that the casino would shut down in December if
its main union didn't drop its appeal of a court-ordered cost-savings package.
However, it was revealed that the closing will happen because it has not
received the state and local tax breaks it sought. The owner of the struggling
Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort filed court papers on Friday, November 14,
2014 saying it will close next month, making it the fifth of the city's 12
casinos to shut down this year. In filing a revised reorganization plan
in Delaware bankruptcy court, Trump Entertainment Resorts said its board has
approved a shutdown of the casino by December 12, 2014. The Taj was given a
small reprieve announcing today a new shutdown date of December 20. On
December 18, 2014 two days before The Taj was slated to close, the union,
Unite Here Local 54 reached a deal with Trump Entertainment Resorts which saved
The Taj from closing. Billionaire, Carl Icahn, also committed 20 million for The
Taj that same day, which gave some efforts to help with Trump Entertainment
Resorts fourth bankruptcy. 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 claims 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 is currently serving a minimum
30-year sentence at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton. He is tentantively
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 Ray Kot. On September 18, 2011, a man was shot to
death 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 to
the upper part of her body. Ghetia was treated for her injuries and has since
recovered. Comp Cards
Trump Taj Mahal has a comp card similar to most casinos. The club has four
levels: TrumpOne: Free to all members age 21 and
older. Executive: 4,000 tier points in a
calendar year required. Chairman: 10,000 tier points in a
calendar year required. Signature: 70,000 tier points in a
calendar year required. Gallery
See also Gambling in New Jersey
List of tallest buildings in Atlantic City
Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino References
External links Official website