Icahn bid to control casinos concerns key Senator

By Max Pizarro | December 15th, 2009 - 11:32am
| More

The streets drawn on a famous board game come straight out of Atlantic City, whose economic engine would now more than ever embody monopoly if a U.S. Bankruptcy Court approves the sale of another Atlantic City casino to billionaire corporate raider Carl Icahn.  Icahn is seeking to add the Tropicana and the Taj Mahal to his gaming portfolio.

Control of eight out of Atlantic City's eleven casinos concentrated in the hands of just two investors bothers Senate Gaming and Tourism Committee Chairman James Whelan (D-Atlantic City), "but I don't know if you can get the genii back in the bottle."
 
A state law allowing an individual to own more than three casinos changed over a decade ago.
 
"I was opposed to changing the law back then, and I testified before the committee," Whelan said. "The Harrah's property and Caesar's (both owned by Leon Black) have more than held their own compared to other properties, but Harrah's corporately is struggling, and that impacts on their ability to get capital to invest here."
 
If the bankruptcy court approves the sale to Icahn, he would have the three additional casino properties, in addition to the Tropicana.
 
"Frankly, judging by his record with Sands we didn't see a lot of money going from Icahn to Sands, so, yes, I'm bothered, but at this point you can't get the genii back in bottle," said Whelan, a former Mayor of Atlantic City. "I don't see how you can roll it back to where they can only have three. Four opened the door for economic concentration of this kind."

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court's approval of the sale of Tropicana's Atlantic City casino to a group that includes Icahn.  Last week, Icahn and Beal Bank presented a restructuring plan to gain control of Trump Entertainment Resorts.

Wake-Up Call

Morning News Digest: July 30, 2010

Follow PolitickerNJ updates on Twitter and on Facebook Task force begins look at prosecutors A task force examining an Essex-backed bill usurping county crime prosecution duties and throwing them to the state kicked off their study today. Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, a Democrat whose longtime friendship...

The Back Room

Trenton makes the world takes

Check out the familiar face gracing the cover of the most recent copy of The National Review.

Read More >

Op-Ed

Starting the Dialogue of Shared Services in Passaic County

Sharing services between local communities is an obvious and pragmatic approach to stabilizing our taxes and maintaining a high level of municipal services our residents have come to expect.  As a result of decreasing tax revenues, a new... Read More >

Contributors

State Pension Reality Check - Numbers matter.  Poll results, budget deficits, health statistics.  Attach a number to any issue and it becomes reality.  But sometimes a reality... more »
The Americans with Disabilities Act at 20 -- Our country is observing a significant milestone this week – one that has literally transformed the lives of millions of Americans... more »
It’s easy to criticize a bold and decisive plan to change the status quo, even when the status quo isn’t getting the job done.  But, the alternative—staying the course—is... more »
David Twersky, Rest in Peace, My Dear Friend   Today on the Jewish calendar is Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the month of Av on which we Jews fast... more »
How many times can a Tea Partier take a  bus to DC without getting frustrated to the point of throwing in the... more »
Governor Christie’s proposal to submit a constitutional amendment to cap property taxes at 2.5 percent to the voters is a classic example of “doing the wrong thing for the... more »
 7.2.10----Now you may have thought that the only people from Their Side who say wacky things are Sarah Palin and Glen Beck, But nooooo. Here are others---What Their Side... more »
The enactment of the State’s annual budget this week was the end product of a remarkable and historic mastery of state policy, politics, and the legislative process by Governor... more »
The New Jersey state budget is in perpetual crisis.  Every year the governor and the legislature engage in the June 30th soap opera:  Will a budget be... more »
Members of the Legislature and fellow citizens and taxpayers: Earlier this week, I signed into law the budget for Fiscal Year 2011.  I thank you for your cooperation and... more »
There are more opinions in New Jersey than proposals for dealing with our soaring property taxes. People will differ on the proper formula for state ... more »
New Jersey businesses – both large and small – are facing daunting obstacles during the current economic climate that has slowed down, and in many cases stopped... more »

Resources

Visit the PolitickerNJ.com/resources page for links to the best collection of information on New Jersey state government.

 

  • Polls
  • The best blogs
  • Columnists
  • State election results
  • Assembly election results
  • Local party websites
  • And more.

PolitickerNJ.com/resources