The end of an era — and in some ways, the perfect metaphor.
The former president’s Trump Plaza casino was scheduled to be demolished in Atlantic City this week after shuttering its doors to the public in 2014, amid a wave of bankruptcies and financial hardships for establishments along the city’s iconic boardwalk.
Officials were preparing for thousands of spectators to watch the Trump Plaza demolition, described as a “Las Vegas-style implosion,” scheduled for Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. Reports indicated local hotels with views of the shutdown casino were offering late-stay packages for visitors interested in observing the fall of the tower.
A drive-in event and live stream will also be offered for viewers as part of an attempt to curb the risk of Covid-19 infections, as Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small warned at a recent press conference: “The city can’t be naive to think that no one will show up.”
The former president has lost virtually all of his major investments in the city. Local news outlets like the Courier Post and NJ.com have covered the Trump Plaza implosion with headlines reading “After Plaza falls, only Trump’s legacy will remain in Atlantic City” and “Trump Plaza implosion marks the end of an Atlantic City empire.”
In its heyday, the Trump Plaza was a bustling 32 story casino and only the tenth of its kind built in Atlantic City, costing an estimated $210 million in 1984.
But over time, the Plaza became the lowest performing casino in the city and was over $500 million in debt by the early 1990s, when it entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Mr Trump shifted ownership of the Plaza casino and was no longer owner of the building ahead of its scheduled implosion.
Speaking at a press briefing earlier this month on the demolition, Atlantic City Council President George Tibbit said the implosion of the Trump Plaza marked the “end of an era.”
Atlantic City has demolished other venues in major viewing spectacles, including the 2007 implosion of the Sands casino, which was reportedly watched by an estimated 100,000 viewers.
The city was planning to live stream the Trump Plaza implosion on its Facebook and website beginning early Wednesday morning.
