Yes Virginia, There is a Taj Mahal

[yankees4ever31]

Taj Mahal is here to stay......for now.

Happy Holidays and A Very Prosperous New Year to All!

-yankees4ever31

[DaBurglar]

?????Read that article as it exists right now (as of 5 pm EST).......wtf is going on??   Will the Taj remain open for business into 2015, or not?The article starts off by saying that, while the supposed "Grand solution/deal" has fallen apart for reasons no one specifies, Icahn instead is allotting 20 million so that the company can go into bankruptcy....ok fine, but is this a FUNCTIONING bankruptcy where the company continues to operate, or is this a bankruptcy that essentially allows the company to exist in a state of limbo until the "grand solution/deal" finally gets resolved???What a colossal, ridiculous, absurd, pathetic, pathetic....PATHETIC situation.  All these people involved, including Icahn, have made themselves look like idiots.    If Icahn truly is being shrewd and truly has a solid business plan, or something else, up his a...er, sleeve then it better be something REALLY amazing and/or profitable for himself to at least justify all this B.S.    we already know the other guy, McDevitt is a callous, myopic, semi-corrupt goofball.......from my perspective, Icahn better clear a whole lot of cash when all is said and done in order to justify what he is doing to the 3,000 taj employees (plus the city, plus all the people with businesses that were enmeshed with the Taj, plus the state, plus......oh who knows, a lot of other people.)   Icahn better increase his net worth by at least 25-30 million bucks in order for me to have closure on this whole spectacle......See, at this point, today, with the GAP between the ultra rich and everyone else being EVEN more colossal and expansive than ever with projections that it will keep growing even more in the next 2-3 years, I am throwing my support to the filthy uber rich plutocrats who truly rule this country and the world......its the only logical thing to do....maybe, just maybe I'll catch some scraps from their gluttonous excessive wealth......and what is truly sick is that I myself, actually am in the top 6-10% of net worth in this country, and yet comparatively I feel I am actually at my lowest in terms of being "well off".....in other words, whenever i read the finance page these days I feel "poor" (Note:  to qualify as TOP 5%, a person must have a net worth of around $1.5 million.....so 6-10% means you probably fall into a range of $800k up to 1.4 million, give or take......I derived these figures quickly from Yahoo finance research pages.)The Steve Wynns, and Sheldon Adelsons, and Icahns, et al  who accumulate their obscene wealth via the "gaming industry" are truly the most dubious of the Plutocracy (along with Tobacco heirs) in that they make their money off of the vice(s) (or addictions even) of other people......

[kmartin5111]

Question - this means that the Taj is good for 2015 but at this same time next year the employees will be going through the exact same uncertainties they are experiencing now?  Will we/won't we have a job?
As a player , does this mean I should avoid the Taj because the machines will be tight with the hope of us gambling but not winning much in order for them to make more money?   If I do visit and gamble and lose, would it be considered a legitimate Charitable Contribution on my part for tax purposes next year?

[JIMDUECE`SWILD]

I wouldn't play at the taj. If you earn cashback or comps will you be able to redeam them. I was at the Taj several weeks ago to redeam some comemorative casino chips from the Taj and the Trump Marina. It was sad for me to see that place in that kind of shape. The parking garage was filthy dirty. I went into the bathroom by the pokerroom and Dynasty restaurant. Half the stalls were out of order. I walk out and went to Resorts. It's sad to see these people work in these kind of conditition. We only see what is happening on the public side of the building. What's going on behind the scene? I heard from friends that are/was working there. What they told me as to what was going on. They should gut the place and start over.I have had MANY good memories there over the years.I would wait and see as to what will happen with the place.

[DaBurglar]

Question - this means that the Taj is good for 2015 but at this same time next year the employees will be going through the exact same uncertainties they are experiencing now?  Will we/won't we have a job?
As a player , does this mean I should avoid the Taj because the machines will be tight with the hope of us gambling but not winning much in order for them to make more money?   If I do visit and gamble and lose, would it be considered a legitimate Charitable Contribution on my part for tax purposes next year?Here is my advice:   IF (and it is a big  IF)  you are close (within 500 points) to earning/retaining your chairman status (i.e.  10,000 points for the period spanning july 1 thru june 30) for the playing year/period, then go ahead and earn the poiints quickly so as to continue to receive comp rooms and other offers.....you may then employ a strategy of staying at these "free" rooms and utilizing any free slot play or free table play for as long as the year lasts, all the while PLAYING and earning status at other places (like RESORTS right next door, or at the other more worthy and desirable places still standing in AC, like Borgata or Golden Nugget, or Tropicana.)     THEN, when June 30  2015  passes you build upon what you have earned at these other places and leave Taj in the dust/dirt.....until such time they truly revamp/rebuild/revitalize the place (which is also a HUGE IF).......I myself earned my 10,000 back in late October so I will (as much as possible) take advantage of the weekly/monthly comp room offers I get for being Chairman, since the chairman tower rooms at the taj STILL are passable (even "nice') in terms of "live-ability."    The Steakhouse (Roberts), while extremely overpriced, is still worth patronizing ....IF .....you happen to have a crapload of comp dollars and want some dead cow prepared the way you enjoy.   The Chinese restaurant (Dynasty) is also a good place to eat and use up Excess Comp Dollars (both places allow a 1 to 1 redemption rate so that, too, is good....not like the idiotic policy of CET Atlantic City where they enforce a 2 to 1 rate at otherwise good establishments like "mortons" steak house, where Mortons' prices are just as ridiculously excessive as Roberts' (same goes for the Steakhouse in Harrahs.....Ballys now offers Guy Fieri and his infamous "Chophouse", which currently lists prices that actually are close to reasonable, but still  requires a 2 to 1 ratio!!)     And of course, we all know how hard it actually is to earn Reward Credits playing Video Poker at CET Atlantic City properties!!!As to the other issue(s) raised by the other poster, about how awful and "Filthy" the Taj actually is......I sadly must concur with these viewpoints.   The place has been allowed to COMPLETELY fall apart and rot and decay......I have no clue how they were allowed to permit this to happen, nor do I know WHY they are allowed to remain open in the current shapr (it is actually  UNSAFE in many areas, and in many ways....)   I will not list all the specifics, lest someone with mischief and greed in their heart get any ideas on how to actually perpetrate a fraudulent accident or injury....but suffice it to say that, so far in the current winter of 2015, the TAJ truly has been lucky there have not been any prolonged (or even short) periods of extremely cold (below 15-20 degrees Fahrenheit) weather, similar to what happened last year.     On at least two instances that I am aware of last year, the PIPES above the casino flat out gave way/burst, drenching numerous slot machines on the floor, shorting them out and causing several near conflagrations from the electrical mayhem that ensued.   The Taj was LUCKY no one was actually sitting or playing these machines when it happened, as the would be player(s) would surely have been electrocuted, Barbecued, or otherwise thrown into shock from the ice cold water falling upon them in such a sudden and forceful fashion.      I inquired recently if the "problem(s)" with the plumbing have been addressed in a decisive fashion with truly permanent and legit solutions being implemented......what do think was the "Answer" I received to such inquiries????   (Hint:   If I were any of you with plans or desires to play at the Taj, I'd diligently check the weather forecasts for each day for all of South Jersey/Atlantic County, paying particular attention to the Temperature projections.

[Tedlark]

Wow what a horrific depiction DaBurglar, so descriptive.

[alpax]

Not that I have interest in this place, but there is a forum post on the American Casino Guide with the latest promotions in January, so its continuing to operate.

http://forum.americancasinoguide.com/ca ... 015-a.html

[DaBurglar]

Not that I have interest in this place, but there is a forum post on the American Casino Guide with the latest promotions in January, so its continuing to operate.

http://forum.americancasinoguide.com/ca ... tmlAwesome post alpax, thanks for referencing this website (american casino guide)....believe it or not I had never heard of it and actual looks like it might be useful!I am still getting my monthly mailers and email updates from the TAJ and it is nothing new under the sun......on that website , and specifically the POST you referenced about the taj, there follows a REPLY post by someone, a poster named  "MR ISLAND"  , echoing the sentiments of myself, and others here at THIS forum.....read:"The Taj Mahal is going to need more than some promotions to stay
relevant. I was there two days before Christmas and the place was a
ghost town. Not to mention it needs a major cleaning and refurbishing."  No kidding, eh?!?!!?

[alpax]

Glad I was able to bring up the American Casino Guide to your knowledge, in my opinion, they do a great job at their purpose, which is giving advice and educating new/recreational gamblers to all the common games found on the casino floor. An experienced gambler who already knows Video Poker is the best bets at the casino will not benefit from their advice, but whenever you make plans to go to Las Vegas, its one of the best places (along with LasVegasAdvisor.com) to look for coupons or deals of the week. I went to buy the 2015 guide for the coupons until I saw that on their front page.

As for Taj, I hope things can turn around from there; not many times a 2nd chance in given in life. All that negative publicity about the bankruptcy certainly did a ton of harm, cannot blame the players for thinking it is not operational. Probably need more good publicity ads or TV commercials to inform the public its still running.

[notes1]

just heard on CNBC, that donald trump and carl icahn have come to an agreement to keep trump name on the TAJ. do not know anymore, but would not surprise me that this indicates that the TAJ will be here for a while. maybe the clsong of 4 casinos and a better bargaining position gives icahn the idea that there is value in AC.