SYLLABUS
(This syllabus is not part of the opinion of the Court. It has been prepared by the Office of the Clerk for the convenience of the reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the Supreme Court. Please note that, in the interests of brevity, portions of any opinion may not have been summarized).
IMO the Petition of Adamar of New Jersey, Inc. (A-41-08)
(NOTE: This Court wrote no full opinion in this case. Rather, the Court’s affirmance of the judgment of the Appellate Division is based substantially on the reasons expressed in Judge Cuff’s opinion below.)
Argued November 17, 2008 -- Decided November 25, 2008
PER CURIAM
Adamar of New Jersey, Inc. (Adamar), the owner and operator of the Tropicana Casino and Resort Atlantic City (Tropicana AC), appeals from the Appellate Division’s affirmance of a final order of the Casino Control Commission (Commission) denying its application for renewal of Tropicana AC’s casino and casino hotel alcoholic beverage licenses (collectively casino licenses) and for plenary qualification of Tropicana Casino and Resorts, Inc. (TCR), as the parent company of Tropicana AC. Unless otherwise specified, all further references to Tropicana AC encompass Adamar and references to TCR encompass Tropicana Casino and Resorts, Inc., its subsidiaries and predecessors.
The effect of the Commission’s order was to activate the Interim Casino Authorization (ICA) trust and to institute a conservatorship for the casino to remain in continuous operation, to ensure that all prerogatives attendant to the former casino licenses remained in place, and to ensure an orderly disposition of the property. In addition, the Commission imposed penalties of $750,000 against TCR and Tropicana AC (collectively Tropicana) on a complaint filed by the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) because of Tropicana’s failure to constitute and utilize an independent audit committee. In this appeal, the Supreme Court must determine if the Commission’s decision, which was upheld by the Appellate Division, is reasonably supported by substantial credible evidence in the record.