Tropicana Casinos license extended until next week
State casino regulators extended the Tropicana Casino and Resorts license until next week, when a final decision on whether it should be renewed can be made.
The state Casino Control Commission has heard two weeks of testimony on whether to relicense the casino in light of concerns about cleanliness, staffing levels and compliance with state regulations. But testimony only came to an end Friday morning, and more work remains to be done.
The Tropicanas license was due to expire on Friday, so the commission agreed to extend it until it can make a final decision, which it expects to do next week.
Closing statement in the case are scheduled for Tuesday, when the state Division of Gaming Enforcement expects to make its recommendation on whether the Tropicanas license should be renewed.
New ownership has cut nearly 900 jobs -- about a quarter of the Tropicanas workforce -- since taking over in January.
Yvonne Maher, the divisions acting director, would not say Friday what she expected the recommendation to be. But she engaged in harsh questioning of many executives of the Tropicana and parent company Columbia Sussex Corp. during the hearings.
2007-12-05
