Hard Rock International has reached a definitive agreement with investor Carl Ichan to purchase Atlantic City’s former Taj Mahal.
Hard Rock will become the majority owner of the property, in partnership with the Morris and Jingoli families. The group will invest more than $300 million to purchase and substantially renovate the casino, which will reopen as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
Prior to its reopening, which Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian told the Press of Atlantic City could happen in summer 2018, the property will undergo a complete remodel. It sits on 17 acres of real estate on Atlantic City’s Boardwalk and offers guestrooms with views of both the city and the ocean.
The Taj Mahal, which was once owned by U.S. President Donald Trump, was purchased by Icahn back in 2014. The casino closed last October during a strike by the Unite Here Local 54 union.
When it closed the Taj Mahal was the latest in a series of major Atlantic City properties forced to shut down after falling on hard times. Revel, a $2.4 billion casino and resort project that made a big splash when it opened in 2012, was forced to close in September 2014 after filing for bankruptcy. Revel's current owner, Glenn Straub, had told the Press of Atlantic City that the resort, now rebranded as TEN, could reopen by President’s Day of this year, but that deadline has since passed. TEN’s official website currently has a message reading “Opening 2017.”