If any other casino found itself in the same situation, "Do you think they would get licensed?" Chief Justice Stuart Rabner pointedly asked Tropicana attorney Karen Confoy.

Confoy replied that the regulations don't specify what is meant by a first-class facility. She also maintained that the regulations don't fully spell out the requirements for an independent audit committee. She said Tropicana tried to form an audit committee, but the New Jersey Casino Control Act didn't make it clear how the panel was supposed to be "independent."

But Confoy's main argument in favor of Tropicana winning back its license focused on alleged political interference by state Senate President Richard Codey, D-Essex. She said a letter written by Codey on behalf of a labor union improperly influenced the Casino Control Commission's decision to deny the license.

Before the licensing hearing got under way, Codey wrote to the commission on Nov. 14, 2007, expressing concerns about hundreds of job cuts made by Tropicana Entertainment. He also urged the commission to allow a casino labor union that opposed Tropicana to intervene in the licensing case.

State attorneys told the justices that the commission ignored Codey's letter, saying it was not a factor in the license denial. They also said Tropicana Entertainment did not object to the hearing going forward at the time the letter was made public.

"This really is a red herring," Josh Lichtblau, director of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, said of claims that the commission was pressured by Codey.

Codey's office issued a statement that said the letter was never meant to influence the commission. The letter, Codey's office said, simply endorsed the idea of the casino union having a voice in a licensing hearing that affected its members.

The union, Local 54 of UNITE-HERE, ultimately was not allowed to intervene in the hearing but was given the opportunity to make a statement opposing Tropicana's license. If the union had been permitted to intervene, it would have been allowed to submit evidence and question witnesses.

Rivera-Soto said Local 54's involvement in Tropicana's hearing was the first time ever that "an outsider" was allowed to have a say in a casino licensing case. He wondered whether Codey's letter may have had some influence on the commission after all.

"You don't think that's not enough to raise a question?" Rivera-Soto asked Lichtblau.

"They were allowed an extremely limited role here," Lichtblau responded.

William J. Yung III, Tropicana Entertainment's former chief executive officer, blamed Local 54 last year for undermining his company's attempts to secure a license. Yung has since been ousted as CEO and removed from the company's board of directors in a management shake-up. He sat in the audience during Monday's Supreme Court hearing but refused to comment afterward.

Tropicana Entertainment says its corporate overhaul has transformed it into a new company and purged any elements that the Casino Control Commission found objectionable. Its appeal to the Supreme Court has delayed efforts to find a new owner for Tropicana.

The casino continues to operate under the control of a state-appointed conservator. Tropicana hopes the Supreme Court will stop the proposed sale and give it back the gaming hall.

The justices have agreed to hear the case on an expedited basis, but it is not known how long it will take them to rule. Tropicana's appeal is regarded as a long shot because of the difficulty of overturning a decision by a state regulatory agency.

E-mail Donald Wittkowski:

DWittkowski@pressofac.com