How many of us have ever wanted to blow up a building? Not a little shack on the back 40 acres, but this is an honest-to-goodness many-storied building that belonged to Donald J. Trump. Well, for the right price, you could push the button and watch it collapse upon itself, with any luck, like an evil magician’s disappearing act.
The Atlantic City, New Jersey casino had become an eye-sore and with a burst of inspiration born out of a COVID-19 virus shutdown, the city decided to turn it into a fundraiser. The funds will go to benefit the Boys & Girls Club, and Mayor Marty Small has hopes that the event will bring in over one million dollars.
Trump opened the casino to much fanfare in 1984. Then, Trump Plaza fell into disrepair, much like its former owner, and became an eyesore blotting the prime New Jersey Shore landscape.
Trump Plaza demolition started earlier in 2020. After the winner of the auction has his or her fun, whatever remains standing will be dynamited on January 29, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Mayor Marty Small said:
‘Some of Atlantic City’s iconic moments happened there, but on his way out, Donald Trump openly mocked Atlantic City, saying he made a lot of money and then got out. I wanted to use the demolition of this place to raise money for charity.’
The Boys & Girls Club hired a professional auction company and turned the bid solicitation over to it. Bids will be open through January 19. At that time, the winning bids will be announced. At that point, a live auction will decide the winner for the Boys & Girls Club:
‘The organization provides after-school and summer recreation, education and career-training programs for Atlantic City children and teens.’
Trump was a real-estate developer when he opened the casino in its prime location, at the center of Atlantic City’s Boardwalk. It was located in the location where the Atlantic City Expressway fed into the resort.
Trump held a number of high-profile boxing matches and pulled off many over-the-top marketing stunts, such as dropping $10,000 worth of loose bills from the ceiling onto the crowd in attendance.
After going bankrupt, Trump pulled out of Atlantic City in 2009. His only tie has been a 10 percent fee for using his name on the three city casinos. All that ended when the billionaire Carl Icahn bought the company from the bankruptcy court in 2016.
Altogether, four Atlantic City casinos shuttered their doors in 2014. The infamous Trump casino jewel, the Taj Mahal closed in 2016. Now, the Taj Mahal has been reinvented as the Hard Rock Casino.
One of the four casinos, Trump Marina went to Texas billionaire Tilman Fertita in 2011. He returned it to life as the Golden Nugget.
The Trump Plaza fell into disrepair after six years of vacancy. Large chunks of the building’s facade fell from one of the hotel towers. In a storm, more of the debris was blown off of the building and onto the Boardwalk.
Icahn still owns the Trump Plaza building and was amiable to the demolition. Mayor Small hopes that Icahn will use the land for some type of family attraction.
Mayor Small said:
‘Not often does inner-city oceanfront land open up. We have one chance to get this right.’
Atlantic City has not had a casino implosion since the Sands Casino in October 2007. The land was designated for a new casino-hotel project, but then plans fell through.
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