The derelict Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City in the US state of New Jersey is to become a Hard Rock, it is emerging.
Investor Carl Icahn agreed on Wednesday to sell the shuttered casino to Hard Rock International and two New Jersey investors. The casino closed four months ago after a protracted strike dispute. The sale price has not been revealed.
Jim Allen, chairman of Hard Rock, said: “It will create thousands of jobs in Atlantic City.“ He said that the plan was to invest $300m in renovating and rebranding the property. Icahn already owns the Tropicana Casino and Resort in the city and is quoted as saying that owning one casino in the city is enough.
Hard Rock may be diverting its plans having failed to win voters’ approval for a major casino resort in northern New Jersey at the Meadowlands racetrack. It is not clear if Atlantic City is to be the only alternative and whether the company will try again for the Meadowlands deal; an attempt cannot be made again until two years have elapsed.
President Trump opened the Taj Mahal in 1990 but crippling debts meant that it closed down after a year. The president abandoned his direct connections with the city in 2009 when he resigned from Trump Entertainment Resorts.
