There isn’t much these days that is around casinos that hasn’t been touched by the Trump name in some way or another. A recent lawsuit filed by Ivanka and Donald Trump seeking to remove the Trump name from an existing New Jersey attraction has been filed. Though Trump is used to getting everything that he wants, it is now apparent that he does not own everything.
The lawsuit centered around the Trump Taj Mahal Casino. Though Trump sought to have his name removed from the casino altogether, the people running it wanted to keep the iconic name intact. The casino is currently under the control of Icahn, the company that put up over $20 million to keep the casino running during bankruptcy proceedings that would have otherwise shut it down. Trump and his daughter wanted their name removed from the casino following the money troubles that it recently suffered.
The pair believed that it tarnished the family name and as such that it should be removed to help keep their name in good graces. The Trumps claimed that the disrepair of the two casinos that do bear their name in Atlantic City have tarnished the family brand. Though the Trumps were not granted their request to remove their name, they are now hopeful that with new management the Trump Taj Mahal will continue to grow and hopefully someday bring good to the name.
The deal that Ivanka and Donald Trump reached with Icahn will allow the casino to retain its current name and therefore its current notoriety. However, the Trumps would not leave it at that. They maintain that they have the right to monitor and watch the hotel and casino to make sure that it lives up to their standards. If at any time it does fall below their standards, they have the right to intercede on behalf of their name and make sure it is brought up to their standard.
The lawsuit resulted in most of the buildings in Trump Plaza being stripped of the name. The Plaza was closed on September 16th of last year and the only remaining casino fought to keep its name. Trump does not currently retain any control over Trump Entertainment or Trump Casinos but he does have a ten percent stake in it. In order to prevent full-on bankruptcy, Icahn is working to take up the debt that is owed in favor of keeping these casinos open. Time is the only real factor that will tell if the Trump Taj Mahal can keep up and can really change and improve in order to become a reputable and valuable asset to the Trump name.
In the meantime, Trump and his family have continued development and Trump Entertainment has moved ahead in their efforts to revamp their name and revamp their existing casinos.
