Even in the party atmosphere surrounding the opening of the new Hard Rock Atlantic City—formerly the Trump Taj Mahal—hard Rock CEO Jim Allen said the company still has its eyes on building a casino in the New Jersey Meadowlands.
“We have an ownership in the Meadowlands, and we have an exclusive right to operate the casino gaming operation there,” Allen said speaking at the opening June 28. “Yes, we would certainly be interested.”
Hard Rock has signed a deal to develop a casino with Jeff Gural, owner of the Meadowlands racetrack. However, the plan suffered a huge setback in 2016 when New Jersey voters overwhelmingly defeated a referendum to allow for expanding casinos beyond Atlantic City.
Though technically, a similar referendum could be put before voters this year, most politician see the issue as dead since the 2016 measure was defeated by an almost 4 to 1 margin. Still, proposals to re-introduce the idea surface occasionally in Trenton. But most estimates—including one by Gural—say it could be at least five years before proponents try to present another proposal to voters.
Speaking at the opening of Hard Rock Atlantic City, Allen said every study his company conducts projects a casino at the Meadowlands would be successful. The Meadowlands is adjacent to New York City and projections estimate a casino there could take in $800 million to $1 billion a year—at least until New York allows casino gambling in the city.
But Allen said any move at the Meadowlands would be done in a way that does not threaten the company’s investment in Atlantic City.
“If that (Meadowlands casino) looks like it’s going to happen, we will certainly not forget about the half-billion dollars we have invested in this building,” he said.
Also, Hard Rock has moved quickly to enter New Jersey’s online gambling market and has already completed regulatory testing and launched an online casino site at Hardrockcasino.com.
“Our online gaming team has done an amazing job launching one of the most dynamic online gaming experiences in the industry,” said Matt Harkness, Hard Rock’s Atlantic City president in a press release. “We’re excited to extend the Hard Rock brand beyond the Boardwalk and let casino players play across the Garden State.”
In some other Atlantic City notes, the city’s casinos as well as the state’s racetracks dodged a bullet as the state legislature and Governor Phil Murphy reached a last-minute, $37.4 billion budget deal and avoided a state shutdown.
In the event of shutdown, the city’s casinos and racetracks would have been allowed to stay open for seven days even as state regulators were furloughed. However, reports surfaced that sports betting operations—which only began last month—may have had to close immediately.
Also, former employees of the closed Trump Taj Mahal received settlement checks as a result of a labor dispute with the former casino’s management. The checks were issued on the same day the property was re-opened as the Hard Rock, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
The $1 million settlement was between Unite Here Local 54—the city’s largest casino union—and the casino hotel’s former ownership group, Trump Entertainment. The figure was divided equally among 944 employees Thursday and Friday. Each employee received a check for $850.76, the Press reported.
According to the Press, the settlement dates back to 2014, when Local 54 members at the Taj Mahal went on strike for 102 days. The casino hotel filed for bankruptcy and then filed a motion to reject the terms of employment contracts with former employees, which a bankruptcy court upheld.
Local 54 filed numerous unfair labor practice charges against the casino. The National Labor Relations Board found the charges to have merit. Before the issue went to trial last year, the union and the former casino reached a settlement.
“I think it’s very satisfying that on the same day that we were able to reopen Hard Rock we were able to deliver these checks,” said Bob McDevitt, president of Local 54 told the paper. “It helps to ease some of the pain and suffering our members went through.”
Of the 450 Local 54 members who were former Taj Mahal employees, 385 were hired by Hard Rock and a total of 800 former Taj Mahal employees were given jobs with the new casino hotel, the Press reported.
