Donald Trump launched his Trump Taj Mahal casino 26 years ago and called it as 'the eighth wonder of the world'.
However, his friend and fellow billionaire Carl Icahn decided to close it Monday morning, causing it to be the fifth casualty of Atlantic City's casino crisis.
Regarding Monday's shutdown of the gambling hall, Trump told The Associated Press in a recent interview, "there's no reason for this."
According to ABC News, Trump said that both sides should have been able to work out a deal to keep the casino open. Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union went on strike July 1, after it could not agree with Icahn on a new contract to restore health insurance and pension benefits that were terminated two years ago in bankruptcy court.
On August 3, Icahn decided to close the casino, stating that it lacked a "path to profitability."
Approximately 3,000 workers lost their jobs, contributing to the total jobs lost by Atlantic City casino closings to 11,000 since 2014.
Moreover, picketers attached an anti-Icahn poster that they had signed to the casino's main Boardwalk entrance door which proclaimed: "We held the line."
"We held the line against a billionaire taking from us!" said Marc Scittina, a food service worker at the Taj Mahal's player's club since shortly after it opened in 1990. "This battle has been going on for two years."
The Taj Mahal becomes the fifth Atlantic City casino to go out of business since 2014, when four others, including Trump Plaza, shut their doors.
Also, this time, the shutdown is different. Fox News says that it involves a casino built by the Republican candidate for president, who took time out from the campaign trail to lament its demise.
"I felt they should have been able to make a deal," Trump told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "It's hard to believe they weren't able to make a deal."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
