The Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City has begun the entire process of shutting down, beginning with the closing of just one casino tower.
The Trump Taj Mahal has entered the early phases of the shutdown, even while the Atlantic City resort continues to talk to union representatives and state officials about deals the property’s owners say could save the casino.
Trump Entertainment filed a petition week that is last for authorization to formally close the casino on the scheduled December 12 date that has been floated for some time now, and actions working towards that closing begun to take place on Monday this week.
The signs that are first the resort might be headed for a shutdown began on Monday, if the Chairman Tower of the hotel was closed. The Chairman may be the more recent for the two hotel towers during the resort. In addition, the casino has stopped issuing credit to customers, though gambling and hotel services are otherwise uninterrupted for enough time being.
Concessions Desired from Government, Unions
Trump Entertainment Resorts has said that the casino could remain open through a transfer of ownership to investor Carl Icahn. Nevertheless, both the company and Icahn have stated that this could only take place when they could receive taxation breaks from Atlantic City and their state of the latest Jersey, and when they could get concessions from the work union that represents workers at the casino.
Neither the national government nor the union has shown much of a want to cave in to these demands. However, speaks have been ongoing and there may be some signs of movement in the last few days, that could offer at minimum a small glimmer of hope to those who want to see the Taj Mahal stay in business.
Local 54 of the UNITE-HERE union, which represents about 2,700 workers at the resort, was appealing a bankruptcy court decision that could break the present contract between the union and Trump Entertainment, which would in turn enable the company to get rid of payments to your union health fund and pension plans.
Icahn has now publicly stated he would be willing to agree to restore those health advantages for at the least two years and create a new pension arrange for workers, but only if they in change will drop their appeal of the bankruptcy court ruling. The union has yet to comment on whether they would accept such a deal.
New Legislation Could Provide Tax Relief
Meanwhile, a piece that is new of introduced on Tuesday by State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3rd District) and State Senator James Whelan (D-2nd District) would offer a few of the tax relief that Icahn and Trump Entertainment have been lobbying for. The bill that is new enable Atlantic City’s casinos to cover $150 million in lieu of their normal tax payments over the next two years, while additionally redirecting money originally designed for redevelopment projects to aid pay down Atlantic City’s financial obligation.
While the tax relief has some features in normal with what the Taj Mahal is asking for from the state, Trump Entertainment CEO Robert Griffin would just say that ‘ we will see’ if the bill could be enough to help keep the Taj Mahal open.
The bill would also help secure some for the demands being produced by casino worker unions by mandating health that is minimum and retirement packages for casino employees.
‘My plan is designed to protect Atlantic City from bankruptcy and position the city for future growth that is economic’ Sweeney said.
Four gambling enterprises have already closed in Atlantic City this if the Trump Taj Mahal were to close, only seven would remain in the city year.
Yahoo Poker Coming Off US Market Amid Classic Game Elimination
Yahoo will remove poker and other games from its collection that is online on 31. (Image: Yahoo.com)
Yahoo Poker will be taken off the market at the conclusion of the year, as Yahoo has announced they will likely be eliminating lots of the older games at the period. The move comes not long after a marketing that is strong for the game, one that prompted speculation that the Internet company may be seeking to enter the world of real money online gambling.
‘As of December 31st, 2014, Yahoo Games will no longer offer the Yahoo Classic Games including Yahoo Poker, Yahoo Pool and Yahoo Bingo on web or mobile devices,’ read a statement on the main Yahoo Poker page. The details also reappeared in a message that is pop-up players whenever game packed.
Marketing Drive Suggested Big Plans for Poker
Yahoo Poker has existed in various forms for several years, dating back to at least the 1990s that are late. However, the site just recently started getting a noticeable marketing push that made some wonder in the event that company had larger plans for the Texas holdem game. In November, ads for the game started turning up on Yahoo’s dream football web pages, which can be some of the company’s most valuable ad space for attracting young male consumers, the same demographic frequently targeted for internet poker.
This version of Yahoo Poker shared much more in common having a social game than any real cash poker site, however. Players could buy chips that are additional a handful of other perks in the game, but there had been no rewards and no games were really played for cash. But at least one analyst saw the advertising push being a sign that Yahoo might be looking to do more into the poker globe.
‘The new Yahoo Texas Hold’em portal could be easily monetized if the legal environment were to become more favorable,’ wrote Marc Edelman, an Associate Professor of Law at the town University of the latest York’s Baruch College, in a piece for Forbes. ‘It seems for the present time that Yahoo is certainly planning beforehand for the potential time of widespread, appropriate online poker.’
That analysis may have been a bit optimistic, as Yahoo has made no indication that they truly are moving towards providing money that is real poker or gambling any place in the world. Nonetheless it established speculation throughout the poker community, with a few players saying they would welcome a heavyweight that is new the planet of online gambling.
Yahoo Poker Could Return in Brand New Form
The announced shutdown, however, should put an end to such speculation, at least for the time being. According to Yahoo, the move had been made because many of their classic games are now outdated. These games are now ‘incompatible, insecure with no longer functioning correctly. as the company’s sites now have greater security requirements and make use of new supporting technologies’
Forbes also quoted an email by Yahoo Games PR Manager Sean Hamel, which said that the main reason the games were being dropped was ‘to streamline our item offerings and focus our energy and resources on developing for Yahoo’s core experiences.’
For people who will miss Yahoo’s poker game, there might be hope in the future. While no details are yet available, Yahoo has said that new games will be launched which may better meet their security and software needs. It’s likely that these games will mostly take on the modern ‘free-to-play’ format that enables players to buy in-game perks for real cash, a model known well to players of games like Farmville and Candy Crush.
Assemblyman Mike Gatto Wants California On-line Poker Bill Passage in 2015
California Assemblyman Mike Gatto, sponsor of Bill AB 9, that will be yet another make an effort to legalize online poker in the Golden State. (Image: AP/Rich Pedroncelli)
A bill that is new seeks to legalize Ca online poker in 2015 has been introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto this week. Bill AB 9, dubbed the ‘Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2015,’ aims to establish a framework that is regulatory would let the offering of on-line poker for players located physically within hawaii’s borders.
If passed, it would allow games to be installed and operating within 180 days.
‘California has led the planet in computer and Internet innovation, and there is no reason that is good we can not continue to lead having a sensible online-poker framework,’ announced Gatto. ‘AB 9 borrows from time-tested business practices that may improve our government funds and keep our money inside our home state.’
The bill adopts a lot of the language utilized by previously proposed legislation which have so far foundered in California.
It limits potential licensees to current tribal operators and cardrooms, and pledges become tough on ‘bad actors,’ outlining the unwelcome status of ‘any brand or business name, including any derivative brand with similar or similar wording casino games ladbrokes, or any trade or solution mark, software, technology, operational system, customer information, or other data obtained, derived, or developed directly or indirectly from, or associated with, any operation that has accepted a bet or engaged in a monetary transaction related to that bet from any person in the United States on any form of Internet video gaming after December 31, 2006.’
Door Somewhat Ajar
At first look, this language appears to preclude PokerStars’ entry to your market, but the bill also contains a clause stating that regulators will have a way to waive the effective use of the above paragraph provided that the operator’s ‘use of the covered assets in connection with intrastate Internet gaming will not adversely affect the integrity of, or undermine public confidence in, intrastate Internet poker or otherwise pose a danger to the public interest or towards the effective regulation and control of intrastate Internet poker.’
In other words: ‘We actually might let PokerStars in, but only like it,’ is the implied message if we feel. The door is definately not wide available, but it really is slightly ajar.
The PokerStars question has become a huge sticking point that has prevented stakeholders from agreeing in the language of past bills, plus it’s one of many reasons internet poker hadsstalled in California into the past.
A big coalition of tribal operators is vehemently opposed to a regulated internet poker space that may include PokerStars. On the reverse side of the coin, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, allied aided by the poker clubs that are largest in the state, such as the Commerce, the Bike and the Hawaiian Gardens, have finalized an agreement with PokerStars to work together in a potential post-regulatory environment.
The San Manuel Band also recently defected to the PokerStars camp. But, it might well be there is enough within the language of this bill to appease both camps.
Land-Based Sign-Ups Only
Another aspect that is crucial of bill is that players will be needed to create records in individual at the poker web site’s affiliated land-based cardroom, a measure presumably built to restrict underage play, but which might well stymie the growth of the game in the state. Nonetheless, Gatto is confident that this bill could finally make 2015 the that California gets fully legal, regulated, and taxed online poker year.