The former Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino on the Atlantic City Boardwalk is no longer standing.
The building, which was imploded on Wednesday morning, was built in 1984, decades before its creator launched his political career. The Trump casino closed in 2014.
Even though the building had once been a marquee spot for celebrities, it deteriorated so much since it closed that chunks had begun peeling off. According to the New York Times, the debris and deterioration was an “imminent hazard,” leading to the demolition.
Carl Icahn, the current owner of the property, acquired it in 2016. Former President Donald Trump cut ties with the casino in 2009 after a series of bankruptcy filings, though it briefly retained his name afterward.
“The way we put Trump Plaza and the city of Atlantic City on the map for the whole world was really incredible,” said Bernie Dillon, the events manager for the casino from 1984 to 1991, according to NBC10. “Everyone from Hulk Hogan to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was the whole gamut of personalities. One night before a [Mike] Tyson fight, I stopped dead in my tracks and looked about four rows in as the place was filling up, and there were two guys leaning in close and having a private conversation: Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty.”
“It was like that a lot: You had Madonna and Sean Penn walking in, Barbra Streisand and Don Johnson, Muhammad Ali would be there, Oprah sitting with Donald ringside,” he said. “It was a special time. I’m sorry to see it go.”
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small hopes Icahn will develop the property into a family-friendly spot to go along with a new indoor water park planned for the boardwalk, adding that the city needs a “new industry” and “can’t depend on casino gaming anymore,” the New York Times reported.
“Everyone is looking forward to the implosion, and we ultimately are looking forward to the cleanup and the rebuild,” he said.
