
The Trump Taj Mahal is about to become the 5th Atlantic City casino to shut its doorways for good in 3 years. Its closing will signal end to your Trump casino brand name once and for all.
Union members protest outside the Trump Taj Mahal, which will close its doors on 4, 2016 september. Icahn Enterprises says it has lost $100 million on the venture.
In the midst of commercial action by members of the Unite Here Local 54 Union, who’ve been picketing the Taj for months, investor Carl Icahn has given up on the casino that is stricken will shutter it permanently on September 4.
That closure date hits right in the middle of Labor Day, that will be a wild coincidence, or it could be a deliberate and final insult to the union, which Icahn blames for derailing his last-ditch attempt to save the Taj.
Icahn stepped in to rescue the casino in 2014, when its owners that are previous Trump Entertainment, declared bankruptcy. The billionaire raider that is corporate the majority of its $286 million debt, which he had been ready to convert into equity.
Icahn also said he had been prepared to invest $100 million into the property, if, and just if, he were granted concessions that are certain the city. These included the cessation that is temporary of pension and healthcare advantages, which have end up being the focus of the squabble between Icahn Enterprises plus the casino employees’ union.
Out $100 Million
According to neighborhood 54 frontrunner Bob McDevitt, Icahn has opted for to ‘burn the Trump Taj Mahal down’ so as to ‘punish’ strikers.
‘ For a few million dollars, he may have had labor peace and a work that is content,’ McDevitt stated in a statement. ‘But alternatively he’d rather slam the doorway shut on these workers that are long-term to punish them and attempt to break their strike. In the long run, he’ll have to live using what he’s done to working people in Atlantic City.’
But according to Tony Rodio, leader of Icahn Enterprises’ casino subsidiary Tropicana Entertainment, the employees’ demands have made the continued operation associated with casino impossible.
‘Currently, the Taj is multimillions that are losing month, and now with this specific attack, we see no path to profitability,’ Rodio stated. He included that Icahn Enterprises had lost around $100 million since it overran the Taj.
Bankrupt Eighth Wonder
The casino was announced to function as ‘eighth wonder associated with the world’ by the current Republican nominee that is presidential he opened it in 1990, at a cost of $1 billion. In 1991, it became the first wonder of the world to go under since the Colossus of Rhodes ended up being destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC.
In 2009, Trump offered their Atlantic City casino interests to a combined team of venture capitalists, who formed Trump Entertainment. He was able to negotiate a deal whereby he retained a ten percent stake in the casino in return for the use of his famous brand name while he has had nothing to do with the management of the Taj since.
Nevertheless, in 2014, incensed by what he saw as Trump Entertainment’s mismanagement of the Taj and its cousin Atlantic City property the Plaza, he litigated to have his name removed from both casinos. He later relented following his old friend Icahn’s intervention. He also relinquished the stake when Trump Entertainment declared for bankruptcy security.
The Labor Day weekend closure of the Trump Taj Mahal will keep only seven gambling enterprises operating within the beachside resort, which has been fighting problems that are financial years.
FBI Busts Major Mafia Crime Syndicate, Included Illegal Gambling Ops
A Mafia that is massive arm engaged in illegal gambling, extortion, gun-running, and fraudulence, among other crimes, was smashed by the FBI on Thursday. Bureau agents arrested 46 alleged mob associates, soldiers, capos, and one reputed boss, all in locations up and down the East Coast.
Joey Merlino, the reputed boss of the Philadelphia Mafia, was one of 46 alleged mobsters arrested up and down the East Coast on Thursday, after A fbi that is major and infiltration and bust. (Image: miamiherald.com)
Alleged members of the Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese, and Bonanno criminal activity families, four of the New York Mob’s top five families, were taken into custody. Key among those arrested had been Joseph ‘Skinny Joey’ Merlino, the boss that is alleged of Philadelphia Mob. Merlino has beaten murder charges within the past, but served prison time for racketeering.
The listing of suspects reads like something out of ‘Casino’ or ‘Goodfellas,’ with nicknames like ‘Tony the Cripple,’ ‘Mustache Pat,’ ‘Muscles,’ ‘Tugboat,’ ‘Nicky the Wig,’ and ‘Big Vinny.’
Diversification for the Mob
The sheer scale and scope of the operations shows that the Mafia is still a force become reckoned with in present-day America. The vast criminal kingdom infiltrated stretched from Massachusetts to Florida, said US Attorney for the Southern District of brand New York Preet Bharara.
Each of the defendants are alleged become section of a group called the East Coast LCN Enterprise, an ‘organized criminal enterprise,’ according to the indictment, that was formed following a pact involving the four targeted brand new York families and also the Philadelphia Mafia.
‘ The Mob remains a scourge with this city and around the country,’ said Bharara. ‘From loan-sharking and unlawful gambling, to credit card and health care fraud, and even firearms trafficking, today’s Mafia is fully diversified.
‘As alleged, threatening to assault, maim, and kill people who get in the way of the criminal schemes continues to be the play that is go-to the Mob’s playbook.’
Bharara was notably the prosecutor that is lead the Black Friday busts of major poker sites PokerStars and Full Tilt in 2011. The sites were, at that time, running outside of the range of legality in the US.
Undercover Agents
The arrests follow a investigation that is joint the FBI and New York’s Organized Crime Task Force (OCTF), which spanned several years and involved infiltration by an undercover FBI agent to the ranks of the corporation.
Investigators have actually amassed 1000s of hours of testimony gathered through wiretaps plus the cooperation of a witness. The 32-page indictment, unsealed on Thursday, details incidents of assaults, threats, and arson.
Illegal gambling was a source that is big of organization’s income, according to the indictment. It owned an establishment in New York that held poker tournaments and took wagers on horses, and also operated sports wagering organizations based in New York, Florida, nj-new Jersey, and Costa Rica.
All defendants plead not guilty, and the majority were released on $300,000 relationship, while some were retained, without any bail having been set.
Summer Olympics Underway in Rio as City’s Preparation Takes Center Stage
Over 11,000 athletes come in Rio de Janeiro to compete during the 2016 Summer Olympics, nevertheless the victory that is greatest will come by way of a safe and secure 16-day event. (Image: Jewel Samad/AFP)
The 2016 Summer Olympics officially kickoff this in Rio de Janeiro, and while the athletes, fans, and media are ready for the competitions, it isn’t quite so clear that the city itself is evening.
Opening ceremonies begin at 8 pm time that is local Rio.
The city that is brazilian one hour ahead regarding the United States’ coveted Eastern time area. NBC will postpone its coverage by the full hour to air the event at 8 pm ET rather of 7 pm, much towards the dismay of numerous fans.
More than 11,000 athletes will compete in 39 sport disciplines now through the closing ceremonies on August 21. But after years of planning and planning, or lack thereof on the component of Rio, plenty of serious concerns linger as the globe’s sporting tournament that is greatest begins.
Uh-Oh de Janeiro
The controversy surrounding the 2016 Summer Olympics will probably have a impact that is lasting the games. Brazil is the first South American country to play host to an Olympics, and its particular severe shortcomings in adequately preparing Rio is expected to push Olympic organizers right back to keeping the event in more stable regions of this globe.
Africa is now the continent that is only never host an Olympics. That likely won’t change anytime soon.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and nations around the world are more concerned with the next 16 days in Rio while Rio’s mishandling will have long-term consequences.
- Zika: The most severe problem in Rio is physically the smallest. Mosquitos infected with Zika, a virus that will cause birth that is severe, remains rampant.
- Water: Sewage-infested waters surrounding the city contain high quantities of germs. Open-water swimmers have been told to not submerge their heads while competing.
- Crime: Rio can be an impoverished city where some locals have actually nothing to readily lose. And having a local law enforcement agency that pales compared to first-world nations, criminal activity is of utmost concern. A moroccan that is 22-year-old boxer arrested just this early morning after attempting to rape two maids.
- Terrorism: The United States has over 1,000 spies in Rio monitoring terror threats and everything that is doing can to keep Team USA safe. Army forces are on standby.
- Housing: Several countries have deemed the athletes’ town uninhabitable. Team USA basketball countered by renting a luxurious cruise ship with the capacity of accommodating 296 guests for his or her stay in Rio.
Let the Betting Begin
In Nevada and Las Vegas, the sportsbooks get it right more often than they get it wrong. Oddsmakers pelican pete slot in las vegas are experts at setting lines on sports they know inside and out, but this year’s Olympics presents a series of challenges for the bookies, and potentially a few preferred chances for gamblers.
For the time that is first the 2000 Olympics, Nevada sportsbooks are providing odds in the games. The Nevada Gaming Commission opted to add certain contests that are amateur February of 2015.
While every book in the Silver State knows football, baseball, baseball, and ice hockey, many aren’t quite as familiar with gymnastics, curling, speed walking, javelin, and other disciplines that are olympic.
If you have been a devout follower of canoe slalom or handball and think you understand more than Vegas, now might function as time and energy to place a wager.
For all of those other country outside of Nevada borders, daily dream activities operators are offering a smattering of competitions.
Hillary Clinton Campaigns Through Nevada, Condemning Donald Trump
Hillary Clinton doesn’t believe her GOP opponent Donald Trump is competent enough to assume the Oval Office. The Democratic presidential nominee made two stops this week within the all-important swing state of Nevada, where she spent an amazing quantity of her time decrying Trump’s company record and disposition that is general.
Hillary Clinton invested lots of time going after Donald Trump while campaigning in Nevada. Latest polls show her offensive attack, coupled with a devastating week for her opponent, is working. (Image: Andrew Harnik/AP)
Appearing before a vegas crowd on 4, Clinton called Trump ‘temperamentally unfit’ to be president august. She also attacked his record that is corporate in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
‘I went to Atlantic City and I also met a number of smaller businesses, also as workers, plumbers and painters, cup installers, marble installers, at one of is own resorts. They finished the ongoin work . . . and they submitted their bill, while the Trump individuals said, ‘No, we’re maybe not going to pay you,” Clinton stated.
Though Trump has been largely removed from the Trump Taj Mahal since 2009, whenever Trump Entertainment Resorts filed for bankruptcy, the property, and along with it the Trump casino brand, will shut down for good on Labor Day.
Before criticizing Trump, Clinton praised Nevada Senator Harry Reid (D) who introduced the candidate that is democratic the event. Reid, who’s offered in Congress representing Nevada since 1983, is pro-gambling, but has also expressed support for the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA), the anti-online gambling measure, an unusual stance in the first state to legalize Internet poker in the usa.