While the previous record for an Atlantic City casino strike is 34 days, the showdown at Trump Taj Mahal looks like it will go the distance. Neither Local 54 of Unite-Here nor Carl Icahn shows any signs of backing down and the union is talking tough. However, the strike may hurt Icahn sooner than expected: The Taj has stopped taking hotel bookings, meaning it will have to eke out the strike on casino revenues, of which the Taj’s are some of the lowest in town. Meanwhile, Glenn Straub has done a miraculous disappearing act, although it will not be so easy to make gargantuan Revel to disappear. When last heard from, Straub was raging at the Division of Gaming Enforcement for not issuing the licenses he sought and arguing that since he was going to job the casino out to a (still unspecified) third party, he didn’t need a gaming licensing.
In the meantime, Polo North was tardy with its Casino Reinvestment Development Authority paperwork, Revel still didn’t have a new name and it’s unclear whether Continue reading
roaches, stay at the Taj Mahal!” — Unite-Here Local 54 Organizing Director Benjamin Albert taunting customers — and citing Atlantic City Health Department 
casinos in general, 4.5% off the pace. There were some sort of bright spots. Slot coin-in on the Strip was down 8% but the machines held tight, their winnings only 2% weaker than last year’s. But table wagering not only plummeted 24%, the house played very unluckily, off 20%, a number even worsened when baccarat is excluded. There was 28% less baccarat play and 18% less win.
subcontractors who got stiffed while working on Trump Taj Mahal and 
a Las Vegas Sands-backed stadium, on Tropicana Avenue, is looking 
casinos will very quickly eclipse the cost of restoring benefits and giving people a fair raise,” says the union’s Ben Begleiter. Or will it? Industry analyst Steve Norton, who’s spent a long time on the management side of the desk points out that — with four casinos having gone under — 
and Agua Caliente tribes, and their anti-PokerStars allies (who include Sheldon Adelson, meddling in California internal affairs through his Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling PAC). Although compromise after compromise has been struck in the Assembly with the intent of bringing the Pechanga faction into the fold, the latter remains stubbornly opposed, to the point where some are wondering if the real endgame is to squelch i-gaming in California altogether for fear of being also-rans if and when the market opens up.
expanding gambling is one of the few remaining ways to close a budget shortfall. Accordingly, the House 
“We really could talk this monstrosity to death for the rest of our lives. We’re not going to. We’re going to finish this now.” — U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Benjamin Goldgar, 
speaking of the league, “They’d prefer we don’t go in that direction.” Also, Foley 
an object lesson in how not to open a casino. As though to shame Straub by example, the Tropicana is 
Lake Charles market taking the hardest hit, -16.5%. That led to a 19% tailspin for Pinnacle Entertainment, although although all major operators — Boyd Gaming -11%, Caesars Entertainment -10%, Gaming & Leisure Properties -15%, Isle of Capri Casinos -16% — had a rough go of it. Not only did Pinnacle’s L’Auberge du Lac ($21 million) plunge 29%, it lost primacy in Lake Charles to the Golden Nugget ($23 million, 5%), a signal victory for owner Tilman Fertitta. Also-rans in the market were Isle Grand Palais ($10 million, -16%) and Boyd’s Delta Downs ($16 million, -11%).
“… when a ball bounced into the Trumps’ grassy yard, he would not throw the ball back but instead would yell, ‘I’m going to tell my dad; I’m going to call the police.’” — Laura Manuelidis, on how adolescent Donald Trump prefigured old Donald Trump (
until Aug. 29 to cut a new deal with bondholders. As far as the pesky junior ones, like Appaloosa Management‘s David Tepper are concerned, what Caesars is offering them