Trump Taj Mahal closes in Atlantic City

Once billed as the “eighth wonder of the world” by former owner Donald Trump, the Trump Taj Mahal formally closed Monday morning at 5:59 a.m. after 26 years in Atlantic City.The Boardwalk property is now the fifth casino to have shuttered in the city since 2014, when the Atlantic Club, Showboat, Revel and Trump Plaza also closed their doors over the course of the year.

Owner Carl Icahn and Trump Entertainment Resorts, the management company for the casino, announced in August that they planned to close the property after Labor Day due to poor performance and an ongoing labor strike over what members of Unite Here Local 54 deemed to be inferior benefits included in recent contract negotiations.

Altogether, approximately 3,000 employees were put out of work as a result of Monday’s closure.

On Monday, Icahn called it a “sad day for Atlantic City.”

“Despite our best efforts, which included losing almost $350 million over just a few short years, we were unable to save the Taj Mahal,” said Icahn in a statement. “I am extremely grateful to all of the almost 3,000 employees for their hard work, especially those that stayed loyal to us during this trying period.

Icahn added that he felt it was “simply impossible to find a workable path forward that would not have required funding additional investments and losses in excess of $100 million over the next year.”

“Like many of the employees at the Taj Mahal, I wish things had turned out differently,” Icahn said.

On its website and on social media, Local 54 commended its members for standing up to Icahn over the course of the 102-day long strike.

“We held the line and we will be back,” a blog post read.

Despite maintaining his name on the building, Republican presidential nominee and real estate mogul Donald Trump no longer has an ownership state in the casino, and has not for several years.

While casino gaming is currently restricted to properties within Atlantic City, voters next month face a ballot referendum seeking to expand it to the northern half of the state.