Icahn slaps deed restriction on AC’s Trump Taj Mahal casino

Billionaire Carl Icahn has slapped a deed restriction on his shuttered Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City that would prevent future owners from operating gaming on the premises.

On Tuesday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement confirmed that Icahn’s Trump Taj Mahal Associates LLC had filed papers formally seeking permission to return his gaming license for the Taj Mahal, which closed its doors last October following months of labor strife.

The filing was made on December 22, one day after the New York Post reported that Icahn was looking to sell the Taj. However, Icahn also filed papers with the Atlantic County Clerk’s office on December 19 that slapped a deed restriction on the Taj which would prohibit future owners from operating gaming on its premises, unless the new owner pays Icahn an unspecified fee.

While deed restrictions aren’t new to AC, Icahn’s condition resembles a ‘from hell’s heart, I stab at thee’ retort to the New Jersey legislature, which approved a bill in late December that would impose a five-year gaming license suspension on any casino owner who closed an AC casino after January 2016. Gov. Chris Christie has yet to indicate whether he’ll sign the bill, which passed both legislative chambers by veto-proof margins.