Demolition of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino is currently underway, with the shell of the building being slated for eventual implosion.
Dating back to 1984 when it started operation as a 39-story casino and hotel venue, the $210-million Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino became one of the iconic buildings situated at the very center of the Atlantic City Boardwalk. Throughout the years, the casino and hotel venue was owned by several companies under Donal Trump’s name.
Several bankruptcies later, now-President Trump decided to cut his ties with Trump Entertainment Resorts, which was his casino business, and by 2014 managed to do that.
The casino and hospitality complex was subject to expansion in the early 1990s, with the works spreading the venue to a second tower. Unfortunately, this was not enough for the place to remain competitive with larger gambling resorts in close proximity. Back in 2012, the annual winnings of the casino equaled to the winnings of Trump Plaza’s rivals generated in a couple of months only. The stagnation turned out too serious for the property to recover, and eventually, Trump Plaza ceased operation in 2014. It has not been operational ever since.
Trump Plaza Has Not Been Operational Since 2014
Demolition of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino has been one of the paramount priorities of Atlantic City mayor Marty Small Sr. since he took over the position. Mr. Small has been describing the place as dangerous for everyone in the vicinity, as well as “a dead spot” in the Atlantic City skyline.
Of course, Trump Plaza is not the only place preserving now-President Trump’s legacy. His name was used by two other Atlantic City casinos. The businesses, however, were also led into bankruptcies and ended up dismissing thousands of local employees in the process. At the time, Trump managed to transfer the ownership of these casino venues to a publicly-traded company that sold them at a later stage. The one known as the Trump Marina became the Golden Nugget casino, while the other – Trump Taj Mahal – is now known as the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
As mentioned above, the demolition of Trump Plaza is already underway. For a few months now, the inside of the venue has been cleared out, with the workers now removing parts of the casino and hotel’s exterior. The building will ultimately be imploded, which is a commonly-used method of demolishing high-rise buildings.
The owner of the place, a subsidiary company of Carl Icahn that acquired Trump Entertainment Resorts in bankruptcy in 2016, submitted Trump Plaza’s demolition plans to Atlantic City authorities over the summer. As confirmed by the city’s mayor, the demolition is currently scheduled for January 29th. Mr. Small explained that he had wanted the work done before that but that would probably not be possible due to safety reasons.
The Atlantic City mayor also shared he remains hopeful that the prime location of the former casino venue will be turned into something better, such as a family-oriented entertainment center or a mixed-use project.
