Icahn sells Trump Taj Mahal to Hard Rock, partners

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn agreed to sell the shuttered Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City to an investor group led by Hard Rock for an undisclosed price.

Hard Rock said the group plans to spend $300 million on the acquisition and renovation of the property.

“After considerable analysis and deliberation we determined that we only wanted to own one operating casino property in Atlantic City,” Icahn told the Wall Street Journal. He is now focusing on the Tropicana, the other Atlantic City casino he owns.

Despite the name, the the Trump Taj Mahal no longer has any financial ties to Donald Trump. The developer took over construction of the project in 1987 and almost lost the casino after it filed for bankruptcy in 1991. Trump sold his stake in the property in 2009. The casino shut down in October. Icahn, who said the casino lost several hundred million dollars in recent years,  couldn’t come to terms with striking union workers. He also feuded with New Jersey State Senate leader, Democrat Steve Sweeney.  [WSJ] — Konrad Putzier