Trump casino firm names new executives

The company on Tuesday night named Mike Mellon as general manager of its lone remaining casino, the Trump Taj Mahal. It said that, following approval by state casino regulators, Mellon will assume the duties of CEO of the company.

Mellon succeeds Robert Griffin, who resigned as CEO on Oct. 13.

Trump Entertainment is waiting to emerge from bankruptcy, the fourth bankruptcy filing for the company or its corporate predecessors. Donald Trump, the real estate mogul and Republican presidential candidate who once owned the company, no longer has any role with it other than a 10 percent ownership stake.

“I look forward to the opportunity to emerge from bankruptcy and continue Bob Griffin’s work to return the Taj Mahal to its previous position of prominence in East Coast gaming,” Mellon said in a statement.

He is a veteran casino executive who has been with the Taj Mahal since 2010. Before that, he held senior executive positions with Isle of Capri casinos, Mountaineer Gaming and several Atlantic City casinos.

The company also appointed two existing members of its board of directors — David Licht and Michael Elkins — as co-chairmen of the board.

The Taj Mahal has been struggling recently and nearly shut down a year ago before Icahn agreed to acquire it from bankruptcy.

It is awaiting an appeals court ruling on whether it must restore health insurance and pension benefits to workers that it canceled in October 2014.

Icahn has called the benefits unaffordable in Atlantic City’s slimmed-down gambling market, where four of its 12 casinos shut down last year. He has said that if the court orders the benefits to be restored, he will withdraw financial support from Trump Entertainment, which would force the Taj Mahal to close.