Trump Plaza Casino in Atlantic City Reduced to Rubble

The Trump Plaza Casino used to be one of the gambling jewels of Atlantic City. However, after being closed for seven years, the time came for new investors to demolish the once-great casino and to clear the way for a new project on the prime development location.

What’s interesting, though, is that the controlled demolition of the towering casino building took place on Wednesday, less than a month after the former US President Donald Trump left office.

The timing of the casino implosion has caused many people to speculate that it wasn’t a coincidence that New Jersey authorities decided to demolish the casino now.

One of the Largest Atlantic City Casinos

The Trump Plaza Hotel first opened in 1984. It had 39 floors and 906 rooms. It also boasted one of the largest gambling floors in the US with over 8,000 square meters of gambling space that accommodated a whole host of casino games from popular slot machines to high-stakes table games.

The clouds of dust that drifted from the demolition site on Wednesday were in stark contrast to the casino’s former days of glory.

As most people know, before Trump decided to run for US President, he was a real estate mogul and developer. When it was first opened, the Trump Plaza Casino in Atlantic City was one of the most frequented gambling venues in the gambling capital of the East Coast.

Celebrities’ Hotspot

Trump Plaza was most famous for the high-profile boxing events it hosted, and Bernie Dillon, the Trump Plaza events manager from 1984 to 1991, fondly remembered those days in an interview with VOA.

He said that, together with Trump, they put Atlantic City on the map. Everyone from Hulk Hogan to the likes of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards visited the place.

Mr Dillon said that one night, during a Mike Tyson bout, he was shocked to see Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty talking to each other while the casino was still filling up.

He added that celebrities visiting the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City was nothing out of the ordinary and that he had also seen the likes of Madonna, Sean Penn, Don Johnson, Barbara Streisand, Oprah, and Muhammad Ali all sitting ringside with Donald Trump.

Lost Its Appeal

However, those Trump Plaza glory days are now long gone and the casino was one of several Atlantic City gambling venues that used to be very popular but have recently either lost their appeal or have been closed.

Trump’s casino was closed in 2014 and all that was left from the once luxurious gambling venue was the bare structure of the building with exposed concrete and plumbing sticking out everywhere.

The prime development spot that the Trump Plaza was on is now owned by billionaire investor Carl Icahn who is yet to announce his plans as to what will replace the former Trump structure.

Demolition Not About Politics

Many people think that the demolition of the former Trump casino was planned to take place now, only a month after he has left office, to further undermine the authority of the former US President.

However, Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small has been quick to dismiss those claims saying that the demolition of the casino “is not about Donald Trump” and that it had nothing to do with politics.