Business news in brief

New Jersey gambling regulators are allowing Carl Icahn to double down on his casino holdings in Atlantic City. The Casino Control Commission on Wednesday approved the billionaire investor to own the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort. The approval was one of the requirements that needed to be met before Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. can exit bankruptcy. Icahn already owns Atlantic City's Tropicana Casino and Resort. He has been locked in a battle with the city's main casino workers' union over the elimination of health insurance and pension plans by Trump Entertainment last October after a bankruptcy judge approved those moves. The union has appealed that decision. Icahn will not take over the company unless that appeal is resolved in his favor. Icahn plans to swap $292 million worth of Trump debt for ownership of the company. He has agreed to invest as much as $100 million to refurbish the property. - Associated Press

The University of Pennsylvania's Center for Innovation was among seven university and hospital research organizations named by drugmaker Sanofi for a funding program designed to spur early drug discovery. Sanofi has a research facility in Malvern. The Sanofi Innovation Awards will be dispensed after proposals are reviewed by a scientific steering committee, composed of representatives from each participating institution. Sanofi is committing $3 million a year for the first three years of the program. Besides Penn, the group includes Johns Hopkins University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Columbia University, Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the University of Texas System. - David Sell

The head of Comcast Corp.'s local cable operations, LeAnn Talbot, will retire as senior vice president of the company's Freedom Region on July 1. The Freedom Region encompasses the Philadelphia area, New Jersey and Delaware, with about 6,000 employees and two million subscribers. Jim Samaha will replace her. He has headed local cable operations in western and central Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia and parts of Maryland. The Freedom Region is based in Trevose, Bucks County. - Bob Fernandez

Comcast Corp.-owned Universal said it will open the Volcano Bay water park by 2017, its third park in Orlando, Fla. The theme park business has been one of Comcast's fastest growing units in recent years. Universal did not disclose the cost of Volcano Bay or provide an estimate of the number of tourists who may pay to visit. Comcast also has said it will add hotel rooms to the Universal attraction in Orlando. - Bob Fernandez

Corporate naming rights of stadiums and arenas involve big money, but the Philadelphia 76ers don't get any cash from Wells Fargo bank for playing their games in the Wells Fargo Center, so the team has taken the unusual step of not referring to its arena by that name. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that the Sixers approached the bank about becoming a business partner with the team, but the bank declined. Comcast Spectacor, a division of Comcast, owns the Flyers and the building, for which Wells Fargo has naming rights through 2024. But the Sixers are merely a tenant in the arena. Chris Heck, the Sixers' chief revenue officer, was quoted by AP as saying that the team enjoys its relationship with its landlord, but "that particular bank is currently not a sponsor of the Philadelphia 76ers." AP reported that Wells Fargo declined comment. Tuesday's Sixers news release announcing auditions for the halftime acrobatic and dunking team referred to the location as "the Sixers' home arena." On the team's website, the 3D seating chart to help sell tickets for the 2015-16 season doesn't mention the Wells Fargo arena name. - David Sell

Guests staying in certain Marriott Hotels in the United States will now be able to access Netflix on their room televisions. The partnership with the Los Gatos, Calif., streaming video service makes Marriott Hotels the first hotel brand to give guests direct access to their Netflix accounts as part of in-room entertainment, according to Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott International Inc. The streaming video service is offered at six hotels - New York Marriott East Side, San Jose Marriott, Princeton Marriott, Newport Marriott in Rhode Island, Bethesda Marriott Suites, and Dallas/Fort Worth Marriott Solana - with six more hotels slated for the summer. Marriott said it plans to expand Netflix access to more than 300 U.S. locations by the end of 2016. - Los Angeles Times

Pizza Hut, contending with sluggish sales, is betting that a hot-dog crust will help draw customers. The pizza chain, owned by Yum! Brands Inc., will debut the new Hot Dog Bites Pizza on June 18 at its 6,300 U.S. restaurants. The item features 28 "premium hot dog bites," baked into the crust and meant to be pulled off and dipped in mustard. - Bloomberg News