The Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City has started the process of shutting down, beginning with the closure of 1 casino tower.

The Trump Taj Mahal has entered the first phases of the shutdown, even while the Atlantic City resort continues to talk to union representatives and state officials about deals the home’s owners say could save the casino.

Trump Entertainment filed a petition the other day looking for permission to formally close the casino on the scheduled December 12 date that has been floated for some time now, and actions working towards that closure started initially to take spot on Monday this week.

The signs that are first the resort could be headed for a shutdown began on Monday, whenever Chairman Tower associated with hotel was closed. The Chairman could be the more recent regarding the two hotel towers at the resort. In addition, the casino has stopped credit that is issuing customers, though gambling and hotel services are otherwise uninterrupted for the time being.

Concessions Wanted from Government, Unions

Trump Entertainment Resorts has said that the casino could remain open through a transfer of ownership to investor Carl Icahn. However, both the company and Icahn have stated that this could only take place if they could receive tax breaks from Atlantic City and the state of the latest Jersey, and if they could get concessions through the labor union that represents employees at the casino.

Neither the government nor the union has shown much of a need to give in to these demands. However, speaks have been ongoing and there may be some signs of movement within the last few days, which could offer at least a small glimmer of hope to those who want to see the Taj Mahal stay static in company.

Local 54 of the UNITE-HERE union, which represents about 2,700 workers at the resort, has been appealing a bankruptcy court decision that would break the current contract between the union and Trump Entertainment, which would in change enable the company to finish payments to the union health fund and retirement plans.

Icahn has publicly stated in turn will drop their appeal of the bankruptcy court ruling that he would be willing to agree to restore those health benefits for at least two years and create a new pension plan for workers, but only if they. The union has yet to comment on whether they would accept this kind of deal.

New Legislation Could Provide Tax Relief

Meanwhile, a piece that is new of introduced on Tuesday by State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3rd District) and State Senator James Whelan (D-2nd District) would offer a few of the tax relief that Icahn and Trump Entertainment happen lobbying for. The brand new bill would allow Atlantic City’s gambling enterprises to pay $150 million in place of their normal tax payments on the next 2 yrs, while additionally redirecting money originally designed for redevelopment jobs to help pay down Atlantic City’s financial obligation.

While the tax relief has some features in common with exactly what the Taj Mahal is asking for from the continuing state, Trump Entertainment CEO Robert Griffin would just say that ‘ we are going to see’ if the bill is enough to keep the Taj Mahal open.

The bill would also help secure some associated with the demands being created by casino worker unions by mandating minimum wellness insurance coverage and retirement packages for casino employees.

‘My plan is made to protect Atlantic City from bankruptcy and position the city for future growth that is economic’ Sweeney stated.

Four casinos have already closed in Atlantic City this year; if the Trump Taj Mahal had been to close, only seven would stay in the town.

Yahoo Poker Coming Off US Market Amid Classic Game Elimination

Yahoo will remove poker along with other games from its collection that is online on 31. (Image: Yahoo.com)

Yahoo Poker will be taken off the market by the end of the year, as Yahoo has established which they will be eliminating lots of these older games at that point. The move comes not long after a marketing that is strong for the game, one that prompted speculation that the Internet company may be trying to enter the world of a real income online gambling.

‘As of December 31st, 2014, Yahoo Games will no longer offer the Yahoo Classic Games including Yahoo Poker, Yahoo Pool and Yahoo Bingo on web or mobile devices,’ read a statement on the yahoo Poker page that is main. The details also reappeared in a pop-up message for players if the game packed.

Advertising Push Suggested Big Plans for Poker

Yahoo Poker has existed in various forms for quite some time, dating back to at least the late 1990s. Nonetheless, the site just recently started getting a noticeable marketing push that made some wonder in the event that company had larger plans for its Texas hold em game. In November, ads for the game started showing up on Yahoo’s dream football webpages, which is a number of the company’s most effective ad room for attracting young male consumers, the same demographic often targeted for on-line poker.

This version of Yahoo Poker shared much more in common by having a social game than any real money poker site, however. Players could purchase chips that are additional a handful of other perks in the overall game, but there were no rewards and no games were actually played for cash. But one or more analyst saw the advertising push as being a sign that Yahoo might be looking to do more into the poker globe.

‘The new Yahoo Texas Hold’em portal could be effortlessly monetized if the legal environment were to become more favorable,’ wrote Marc Edelman, an Associate Professor of Law at the City University of New York’s Baruch College, in a bit for Forbes. ‘It seems for the present time that Yahoo is certainly planning ahead of time for the potential time of widespread, legal online poker.’

That analysis may happen a bit optimistic, as Yahoo has made no indication that they’re moving towards providing real cash online poker or gambling anywhere in the world. However it launched speculation throughout the poker community, with a few players saying they might welcome a heavyweight that is new the planet of Web gambling.

Yahoo Poker Could Return in New Form

The announced shutdown, nevertheless, should stop speculation that is such at least for now. According to Yahoo, the move had been made because many of their games that are classic now outdated. Because the business’s sites are in possession of higher security requirements and make use of new supporting technologies, these games are now actually ‘incompatible, insecure with no longer functioning properly.’

Forbes also quoted an email by Yahoo Games PR Manager Sean Hamel, which stated that the main reason the games were being dropped was ‘to streamline our product offerings and focus our energy and resources on developing for Yahoo’s core experiences.’

For those who will miss Yahoo’s poker game, there might be hope within the future. While no details are yet available, Yahoo has said that new games will be launched that may better meet their security and software demands. It’s likely that these games will mostly undertake the modern ‘free-to-play’ format that allows players to get perks that are in-game real money, a model known well to players of games like Farmville and Candy Crush.

Assemblyman Mike Gatto Wants California Online Poker Bill Passage in 2015

California Assemblyman Mike Gatto, sponsor of Bill AB 9, which will be still another try to legalize poker that is online the Golden State. (Image: AP/Rich Pedroncelli)

A new bill that seeks to legalize Ca internet poker in 2015 has been introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto this week. Bill AB 9, dubbed the ‘Internet Poker Consumer Protection Act of 2015,’ aims to ascertain a regulatory framework that would enable the providing of internet poker for players located physically within the state’s borders.

If passed, it would allow games to be ready to go within 180 days.

‘California has led the planet in internet and computer innovation, and there’s no reason that is good we can’t carry on to lead by having a sensible online-poker framework,’ announced Gatto. ‘AB 9 borrows from time-tested business practices that will improve our government finances and keep our money in our house state.’

The bill adopts much of the language used by previously proposed legislation which have so far foundered in California.

It limits potential licensees to current tribal operators and cardrooms, and pledges become tough on ‘bad actors,’ outlining the unwelcome status of ‘any brand or business name, including any derivative brand with the same or similar wording, or any trade or service mark, software, technology, functional system, consumer information, or other information acquired, derived, or developed directly or indirectly from, or associated with, any procedure that has accepted a bet or engaged in an economic transaction related to that bet from any person within the United States on any form of Internet video gaming after December 31, 2006.’

Door Slightly Ajar

At first look, this language seems to preclude PokerStars’ entry to the market, nevertheless the bill also contains a clause stating that regulators will have a way to waive the effective use of the above paragraph provided that an operator’s ‘use of the covered assets in connection with intrastate Internet video gaming will not adversely influence the integrity of, or undermine public confidence in, intrastate Internet poker or otherwise pose a danger to your general public interest or to your effective regulation and control of intrastate Internet poker.’

In other words: ‘We actually might let PokerStars in, but only like it,’ is the implied message if we feel. The home is far from wide available, but it really is slightly ajar.

The PokerStars question has been a huge sticking point that has prevented stakeholders from agreeing in the language of past bills, also it’s one of the reasons on-line poker hadsstalled in California into the past.

A sizable coalition of tribal operators is vehemently opposed to a regulated internet poker space that might consist of PokerStars. On the other side of the coin, the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, allied with all the poker clubs that are largest in the state, including the Commerce, the Bike and the Hawaiian Gardens, have finalized an understanding with PokerStars to work together in a possible post-regulatory environment.

The San Manuel Band also recently defected to the PokerStars camp. But, it may well be there is enough in the language of this bill to appease both camps.

Land-Based Sign-Ups Only

Another important aspect of the bill is the fact that players will be needed to generate accounts in individual at the poker web site’s affiliated land-based cardroom, a measure presumably made to restrict underage play, but which could well stymie the growth of the game in the state. However, Gatto is confident that this bill could finally make 2015 the that California gets fully legal, regulated, and taxed online poker year.