Last weekend saw Trump Taj Mahal pass into the hands of Carl Icahn, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Tropicana Entertainment. That is cause for optimism at the Taj, which has gone from being one of Atlantic City‘s three top casinos to one of its 
two lowest-grossing. Oversight of the property now passes from MTR Gaming refugees to TropEnt’s Anthony Rodio, who performed a dramatic turnaround at the Tropicana Atlantic City and gets a chance to repeat his magic at the Taj. “The Taj is one of Atlantic City’s signature properties. Although both Atlantic City and the Taj have had a few tough years, today marks the beginning of the turnaround,” said Icahn in a rare public statement. “Just a few years ago Tropicana was in bankruptcy and its fate uncertain, but since emerging in 2010, we have turned that property around and it has become one of Atlantic City’s few success stories. I am confident we can and will do the same for the Taj.”
Rodio must now turn his attention to hammering out a new collective-bargaining agreement with Unite-Here. Local prexy Robert McDevitt expressed cautious optimism at how Icahn would treat Taj workers now that he was actually responsible for them. (The two men had been trading colorful epithets for months.) Unite-Here has staged nine protests at the Taj it would be in the interests of all parties to avoid a tenth. Although the Trump name will stay on the marquee, Donald Trump is now completely bought out of Atlantic City and that’s good riddance. Although he is generally a hands-off owner, Icahn inspires more confidence at the helm. Maybe he and Rodio could start by installing skill-based slots, newly legal in New Jersey.
* For those who believe that no news is good news, February in Macao was cause for euphoria. Gaming revenues were flat with last year’s and considerably better than 
January’s. JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff deemed MGM Resorts International‘s stock the most mispriced of any Macao operator, adding that Las Vegas Sands was another good buy “given its sizable Macau mass market exposure, stable Singapore performance overall, strong balance sheet, and attractive/relatively safe dividend.” (Gaming analysts were less sanguine about Melco Crown Entertainment‘s prospects.) Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli cautioned against interpreting the results to mean that Macao had bottomed out, noting that — with Chinese New Year behind us — March would probably see a 10% decline.
* Caesars Entertainment caught a break from federal bankruptcy Judge Benjamin Goldgar, who stayed a New York lawsuit by junior bondholders until May 9. The latter are trying to enforce guarantees Caesars placed on its debt, while Caesars maintains that — if reimposed — it would topple the parent company into bankruptcy. Goldgar is awaiting the results of attorney Richard Davis‘ investigation into the Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., including the controversial transfer of valuable assets for low prices or sometimes, as in the case of Total Rewards, for nothing whatsoever. Caesars stock climbed modestly on the news.
