Trump: ‘No reason’ for Taj Mahal casino shutdown

Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.

Donald Trump built the Taj Mahal casino and once called it “the eighth wonder of the world.”

The Republican candidate in the race for the presidency – who took his Atlantic City casinos through bankruptcy four times – minced no words about Monday’s shutdown of the gambling hall.

“There’s no reason for this,” Trump told The Associated Press in a recent interview as his friend and fellow billionaire Carl Icahn prepared to close the casino.

Just before 6 a.m. Monday, the Taj Mahal shuttered its doors amid a strike by union members that lasted more than 100 days. It is the fifth Atlantic City casino to close since 2014.

Trump said 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.