ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.
Tropicana Entertainment Inc. and Trump Taj Mahal Associates, LLC announced they entered into a management agreement pursuant to which a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tropicana will manage the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Hotel and provide consulting services for the former Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Both the Tropicana and TTMA are subsidiaries of Icahn Enterprises LP.
"We are pleased to make this announcement today and are excited to take on a management role at the Taj Mahal,” said Tony Rodio, president and CEO of Tropicana. "The Taj Mahal is an outstanding property with many amenities and enormous potential. We look forward to leveraging all that the Taj Mahal has to offer and to restoring the property to one of prominence in the Atlantic City market.”
The announcement arrives amid continued debate on whether to allow gaming development in North Jersey, a move which has been heavily criticized by Atlantic City and South Jersey representatives. Carl C. Icahn, chairman of the board of Icahn Enterprises, addressed the issue in his statement below.
"Several years ago, despite the many problems in Atlantic City and when no one else was willing to invest, we saved the Tropicana because we believed in the future of Atlantic City,” Icahn said. “Today, under Tony Rodio's leadership, Tropicana has turned around and become one of Atlantic City's few success stories … We are very pleased that the Taj has finally emerged from bankruptcy and believe that under Tropicana's management the Taj will emerge as another Atlantic City success story provided that casinos are not built in North Jersey.
"Although I had planned to invest up to $100 million in the Taj (just as I previously made substantial investments in the Tropicana), obviously it would not be judicious to proceed with those investments while gaming in North Jersey remains an open issue. We will have to wait to see the outcome of those proposals."
The management agreement is subject to New Jersey gaming regulatory approvals and licensing of the Tropicana management subsidiary, which the parties expect to be received by mid-April 2016.
