Atlantic City's gaming community is no doubt reeling from today's unexpected news that Borgata President and CEO Larry Mullin is headed to Australia.

Mullin, a former Trump exec who joined the Borgata organization before it opened in 2003, is headed Down Under to assume the reins of Tabcorp which, as the owner of four "Oz" gambling dens, is that nation's largest casino operator. His resignation is effective Jan. 5.

As the guiding hand at the Big B since 2004, Mullin is universally admired and respected as the first among equals on the top tier of AyCee's casino industry leaders. He has proven himself as not only a savvy casino head, but as a "lifestyle" trendsetter, especially in the realm of contemporary music. More than  anyone else, it has been Mullin who has made Atlantic City a rock music capital, bringing to town David Bowie, The Who, Prince, Van Halen, The Killers, Kid Rock and The Eagles and many other artists who before Borgata, dismissed A.C. as an "elephant's graveyard" for entertainers.

At a time when leadership has never been more crucial, Mullin's departure will be keenly felt, not just at his property, but throughout the city. After all, Borgata has been the industry pacesetter since its debut.

Interestingly, Bob Boughner, the man who, along with Boyd Gaming Chairman Bill Boyd, was most responsible for Borgata's conception and construction, is returning to run the mega-resort on an interim basis. Boughner had been in Las Vegas the past four years, overseeing Boyd Gaming's $4 billion Echelon Place project on the site of the old Stardust hotel-casino. But the decimation of the credit market has, caused Boyd to shut down construction.

Since Mullin joined Borgata as a Boughner lieutenant, it is doubtful they'll be many noticeable changes in the way the property conducts business.

OVERSHADOWED: Mullin's announcement definitely trumps (you should pardon the expression) the other big news out of Atlantic City during the past 24 hours or so: That the New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled Tropicana Entertainment LLC, the current owner of Tropicana Casino and Resort, cannot keep control of the casino-hotel, and that a state-mandated auction must proceed.

That hopefully will leave the door open for Baltimore-based Cordish Co. to assume ownership some time next year. Cordish, whose holdings include The Walk, the outdoor outlet mall in midtown Atlantic City, Baltimore's Inner Harbor and the planned Philly Live! development on the site of the Wachovia Spectrum, is making a move on the Trop in partnership with Dennis Gomes, who ran the property for Aztar Corp. for a decade, and was the brains behind The Quarter, the casino's successful retail, dining and entertainment complex.

Gomes boasts the kind of vision and out-of-the-box thinking the town desperately needs in these lean times, and his return should, at the very least, return Tropicana to the A.C. casino A-list.

ONE FINAL THOUGHT: Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!!