The owners of Atlantic City's former Trump Plaza casino plan to keep it shut for at least 10 years as a tax-saving measure, The Associated Press reported yesterday. Trump Entertainment Resorts has filed a deed restriction for the casino, which closed last September, preventing it from being used again as a casino for at least a decade. It could still be used for another purpose. The move was done to avoid potentially higher taxes under a bill that Gov. Chris Christie could sign soon allowing casinos to make payments in lieu of taxes for 15 years as part of an Atlantic City rescue plan. The bill applies to any property that was licensed to operate as a casino in 2014 and that does not have a deed restriction. Trump Plaza operated for about nine months during 2014, and the company feared it might be included in the alternative tax program. Trump Entertainment wants a bankruptcy judge to approve the restriction on July 9.
