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ATLANTIC CITY - Billionaire investor Carl Icahn plans to surrender the casino license for his shuttered Trump Taj Mahal casino and wants to make sure that anyone who buys it in the future can't use it as a casino.
New Jersey gambling regulators revealed Tuesday that the Icahn company that owns the casino petitioned the state Division of Gaming Enforcement on Dec. 22 for permission to surrender the license.
The company also filed a deed restriction in state Superior Court prohibiting any future purchaser from using the premises as a casino - unless they pay an unspecified fee.
The moves seem to undercut a widely held suspicion among former Taj Mahal workers that Icahn plans to reopen the casino in the spring, with or without a union contract.
Trump Taj Mahal closed Oct. 10.
New Jersey lawmakers approved a measure last month to impose a five-year license suspension for anyone shutting down a casino after Jan. 2016.
Icahn says the bill is unconstitutional, would discourage investment in Atlantic City, and make it virtually impossible to reopen the casino should he decide to do so in the future.
