New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney failed to gain the necessary support from fellow Senate members to override a Governor’s veto of a bill that many believed was intended to teach billionaire investor Carl Icahn a lesson.
Mr. Icahn is the owner of the recently shuttered Trump Taj Mahal casino resort, which had once been owned by US President Donald Trump. The New York business magnate bought the property out of bankruptcy back in 2015. However, it was not meant to be for the once-popular gambling complex and its doors were permanently closed in October 2016.
Following the Trump Taj Mahal’s closure, the New Jersey Legislature passed a measure, sponsored by Senate President Sweeney, under which a casino owner that closed their property after January 1, 2016 would be prohibited from receiving a new casino license for a period of five years. Although it was not explicitly stated in the proposed piece of legislation, Mr. Icahn was the only casino owner to have seen his property close last year.
Last week, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed Sen. Sweeney’s bill, arguing that it did not paint the state Legislature in its best light. According to New Jersey’s highest ranking official, the measure represented legislators’ bland attempt to punish Mr. Icahn for making a decision that concerned his own business.
Back in October, the bill was approved overwhelmingly by both the Senate and the Assembly. Sen. Sweeney needed 27 positive votes to override the Governor’s decision. However, he fell short of support by four votes at a preliminary Monday vote. The Senate President decided to pull the bill before a final vote took place. He said that he would try to lift the ban on his proposal at a later stage.
Despite the Governor’s veto, Mr. Icahn announced last week that he intended to sell the shuttered property and to leave Atlantic City as he did not consider it the best time to invest in the once-popular casino resort.
The billionaire investor had previously announced that he would put a $100-$200-million investment to save the casino resort that was dubbed the eighth wonder of the world when it opened doors in the early 1990s. However, he said last week that he preferred selling it at a loss than trying to breathe new life into it.
Mr. Icahn blamed Sen. Sweeney’s attitude towards the state gambling industry for his decision to give up local investment.
As mentioned above, Trump Taj Mahal was closed in October 2016 after its owner had decided that a more-than-a-month-long workers’ strike had cost him too dearly to keep the property alive. Workers at the venue picketed it last summer in an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate fairer health insurance and pension contract terms.
