Closure Slashes Value of Trump Taj Mahal

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The value of the Trump Taj Mahal almost halved after closing, according to the latest financial statement from its owner Icahn Enterprises. The casino, which was opened to big fanfare in 1990 by Donald Trump, finally closed its doors to a trickle of customers in October, capping the end of a lengthy labor dispute with Local 54 UniteHere. The holding company of billionaire businessman Carl Icahn recorded a charge of $92 million for closing the Taj Mahal, according to the company’s Thursday third-quarter report. The same statement shows that Trump Entertainment, the unit that owns the Trump Taj Mahal and the similarly shuttered Trump Plaza casino, is now valued at $118 million, down from $208 million at the end of the second quarter. The future of the two sites is not clear.

More about: Business

Activist Group: Casino Tax Breaks “Despicable”

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Atlantic City’s patchwork of tax agreements that lets casinos and outlet stores pay lower rates is unconstitutional and should be overturned, according to a Tea-Party-affiliated group that is seeking to bring a lawsuit to challenge the system known as Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT). The Somers Point-based group is working to persuade Atlantic County officials and suburban mayors to join a lawsuit against the PILOT, since it strips the whole county of tax revenue, said the organization’s executive director Seth Grossman. “The plan is to try to persuade the county government and the suburban mayors to join our lawsuit to put an end to this tax abatement and to win allies around the state to support this,” he said, in an interview at his office on Monday. “This problem is affecting every city and state government.” The PILOT program, which Grossman likes to call Peanuts In Lieu of  Taxes, was originally designed to spur development.

More about: Atlantic City, Homepage Featured

Princeton Antiques Book Shop Is An Atlantic City Treasure

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You’ve probably driven or walked by Princeton Antiques Book Shop on Atlantic Ave in Atlantic City. It’s a tall, colorful and eye-catching building with hundreds of books in cases outside. Maybe you’ve even thought about going inside. Apparently, a smattering of locals each week stop in to tell owner Robert Ruffolo just that – that they’ve always wondered what it looks like inside. It is an above-ground catacomb lined with books.

More about: Business, absecon island, Atlantic City, books, bookstores, princeton antiques book shop, robert ruffolo, Stockton

How Seedy is Too Seedy? And Updates at the House Of Depression – Monday’s Roundup

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How Seedy is Too Seedy? In public relations, there’s an idea that all publicity is good publicity. A new TV series that will revive an investigation into an Atlantic City cold case – four dead prostitutes found behind a motel on our very own Route 40 – could test that PR adage, New Jersey 101.5 FM reports. Just recently, someone from the county was telling us that “kids these days” like the seedier side of Atlantic City – you know, slumming it is the new killing it – and it’s even a draw to a certain kind of blight-enamored tourist. Is this really a good thing for Atlantic City? Who knows, but I bet more people watch that show than watched the Miss America pageant.

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Images Of The Week, Oct. 28

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It started out warm and sunny and then it got cold, fast, this week. We went from snapping sunbathing mantises to wrapped-up jetskis. The Atlantic City boardwalk also took a turn for the wintry this week, with the boarding up of the Trump Taj Mahal. Take a look at the pictures.

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Casinos: Our Crisis And Salvation and Our (Small) Nation’s Long-Running Meat Product Debate – Friday’s Roundup

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Perpetual Crisis for Perpetual Salvation
The Associated Press says the likely failure of the vote to expand legal gambling to the Meadowlands might, just might, be a “boon” for Atlantic City, whose casinos have failed to save it for forty years. There was a rally yesterday. We attended it. It was a little depressing. I Never Liked this ‘Debate’
The Sporkful podcast this week addresses the long debate over the proper name for pan-fried processed ham slices: Is it porkroll or Taylor Ham?

More about: Roundup

It’s About Taxes, Stupid And Our Rusting Bridges – Thursday’s Roundup

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Everything gets rusty so quickly by the sea – and have you thought about how that affects the bridges you drive over, multiple times a day around here? Yeah, maybe you don’t want to think too long about that. The Gazette of Cape May has a look at a drawbridge that is causing problems for local fisheries and the cost of bridge improvements. There are a couple of interesting local election battles heating up around here. In Northfield, a pair of Republican men are facing challenges from a duo of Democratic women for city council. The challengers are saying that taxes need to be brought under control – while the incumbents focus on Northfield’s schools and city spending.

More about: Roundup

There’s Still A Way To Go For Atlantic City Recovery

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Someone asked me the other day whether the state will just let Atlantic City get on with things now, since the city somehow on Monday pulled the rabbit out of the hat and produced a recovery plan, as demanded by state officials and ahead of their schedule. Who knows. As Jitney Guy noted on Twitter (see below), it depends in large part on the winds in Trenton, which we know have changed, but you’d need some kind of hyperactive weather vane to have a clue what direction they’re pointing in now. All we know is summed up in this infographic: basically, there are still a few questions. Firstly, as Amy Rosenberg noted on Tuesday, no one knows whether Borgata will come through on its commitment to consider reducing the size of the settlement it is owed from previously overpaid taxes.

More about: Atlantic City

CRDA, Miss America And Boardwalk Hall

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The Miss America Organization is getting 1,800 square feet of prime Atlantic City real estate from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority for $1,500 a month, according to CRDA, but the nonprofit pageant says it’s not a done deal. “We are currently in discussions, and there is no further information at this time,” said a spokesperson for the Miss America Organization in an email, after we sent them a copy of a CRDA press release announcing their new office-space arrangement. Miss America Organization currently has office space at The Claridge and it was not immediately clear what would happen to that space. CRDA said the lease, which will start in April, was signed between the organization and Spectra Venue Management, which operates Boardwalk Hall and The Convention Center. When we questioned the price of the lease, they told us that the office space is “not upscale or highly visible and it features no windows.”

More about: Watchdog Journalism, Atlantic City, CRDA, miss america organization, starbucks

Stockton University Island Campus Progress Report

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Maybe you’ve lived through more than one of Atlantic City’s many revival phases. Maybe you’ve seen the big buildings come down as well as go up.  Maybe you’re a foreigner and a bit of a cynic like me. But put aside your reservations for a minute and take a look at the Stockton University Island Campus. Skipping over the mess surrounding the project’s origins, it’s hard not to be at least a little bit lifted up by these massive machines at work.

More about: Atlantic City, Stockton University Island Campus