1. Trump Taj Mahal Casino Atlantic City
2. Trump Casino Atlantic City Wikipedia

Donald Trump has a long history in Atlantic City. During the big boom period of New Jersey's gambling capital, Trump built the Taj Mahal (now the Hard Rock Casino and Resort) and also ran the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.

At the time, the Taj Mahal was one of the most impressive casinos on earth. Trump invested $1 billion in the monstrous casino, and it was poised to be the most luxurious casino in the U.S.

Both of Trump's casinos went bankrupt. And many contractors and employees fell on hard times as a result.

But how much of this has to do with the up-and-down nature of the casino industry, and how much with Trump's business practices?

Trump Taj Mahal Casino, Atlantic City: Address, Phone Number, Trump Taj Mahal Casino Reviews: 3.5/5. Donald Trump has a long history in Atlantic City. During the big boom period of New Jersey's gambling capital, Trump built the Taj Mahal (now the Hard Rock Casino and Resort) and also ran the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino. At the time, the Taj Mahal was one of the most impressive casinos on earth.

Read to get the details below.

Table of Openings and Closings of Trumps Atlantic City Properties

Trump Plaza (1984-2014)

Trump Plaza (a casino and hotel) was Trump's first and more successful business venture in Atlantic City. Trump Plaza would grow to have 906 hotel rooms. The casino contained over 86,000 square feet of gaming space.

Breaking ground, then filling it, then breaking it again

Trump seized upon the opportunity during the height of the casino boom in Atlantic City. He struck a deal with the Holiday Inn company to build the casino and hotel buidling. Harrah's was already at the marina and looking to expand, so the deal was made that Harrah's new casino would be in Trump Plaza.

Despite the fact that Trump was having his building constructed by Holiday Inn and the casino organized by Harrah's, he was slow to break ground. In his Art of the Deal, Trump wrote that had his builders dig a hole, to satisfy Holiday Inn inspectors, and then fill it again when they left.

Trump Plaza's First Years

Trump Plaza cost $210 million to build. When it opened on May 15th, 1984, it was the largest casino in Atlantic City.

While it had a rather strong beginning, by 1990 Trump Plaza was having serious financial problems. In part, this was due to competition from none other than Trump's Taj Mahal.

After seeking a backer for years, the Trump Plaza closed in 2014, laying off around 1,000 employees.

Trump Plaza and Scorsese's Casino

Gambler Akio Kashiwagi lost $10 million in baccarat at Trump Plaza in 1990. Not long after, Martin Scorsese's made it the subject of his film, Casino (1995).

Trump's Taj Mahal (1990-2016)

Trump's Taj Mahal opened with some serious publicity. It was declared the Eighth Wonder of the World. Indeed it was covered with marble, enormous glass walls, and onion domes. Modeled after the white marble Taj Mahal in Agra, India, Trump's Taj Mahal was no less visually spectacular.

Funding the Taj Mahal

The Taj was financed with $700m worth of 'junk bonds.' Junk bonds are high-risk, high-yield loans given to companies with low-credit ratings. This meant the Taj had to come up with $94m a year just to pay off its debts, and $1m a day to be profitable

Trump and Unpaid contractors

“You have to be very rough and very tough with most contractors, or they’ll take the shirt right off your back.” --- Donald Trump: The Art of the Deal

'Atlantic City fueled a lot of growth for me'

- Donald Trump, to New York Times (June 11, 2016)

At the opening of Trump’s Taj Mahal in 1990, he owed $70 million to various contractors. While the casino was not a complete failure, it did not make the kind of money it needed. By 2016, the casino had closed completely bankrupt.

Trump's bankruptcy meant that several contractors were never paid for their work and materials. Below are some claims for unpaid debts to contractors:

• $2 million to Robert Morrison of the Molded Fiber Glass Co. for creating onion domes
• undisclosed amount to Michael MacLeod, sculptor of elephant statues
• $1.2 million for the paving stones leading up to the Taj to Mario Paone
• $1.1 million to Marty Rosenberg for floor-to-ceiling curtain walls of glass
• $3.9 million owed to John Millar, marble supplier
• more than $500,000 owed to landscaper Herman Caucci
• $580,000 owed to Frank Lundy for overseeing construction clean-up
• $232,000, George Jenkins, the bathroom partition man who had to lay off his brother

The contractor who made the Taj's eye-catching onion domes claimed $2 million in losses. The contractor who supplied the Carrara marble from Italy ended up filing for personal bankruptcy. The contractor who put in the bathroom partitions had to lay off his brother.

Marty Rosenberg, who was installing floor-to-ceiling curtain walls of glass, was owed $1.1 Million.

Competing Atlantic City Casinos

Although the Trump Taj Mahal was deeply in debt and filed for bankruptcy, thus leading to Trump losing many of his assets, Atlantic City continued to boast huge revenues. By the early 2000s, revenues hit $4 billion.

Trump’s reign in Atlantic City came to an end in 2004, when his consolidated company Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts filed for bankruptcy, with Trump resigning as chairman.

Many other Atlantic City casinos' revenues saw constant growth throughout Trump’s public battle against bankruptcy. These revenues would only see a decline following the 2008 recession.

Sources

After years of back-and-forth over the future of the former Trump Plaza Casino in Atlantic City, a date for the implosion has finally been set.

The main tower of the hotel will be imploded on Jan. 29, Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small said. The implosion will mark the end of President Donald Trump’s presence in Atlantic City. His other two former casinos, the Trump Taj Mahal and Trump Marina, have since been rebranded into the Hard Rock and Golden Nugget, respectively.

There will still be months of clean-up work to be done after the implosion, Small said. The debris pile will be about eight stories high, Small said.

Haines & Kibblehouse will spearhead the demolition. The company previously demolished the Mayflower Hotel, which came down in the late 1980s, Small said.

Crews have already begun working, with a chunk of the hotel already ripped out earlier this week.

Trump Taj Mahal Casino Atlantic City

The other tower, which includes a Rainforest Café and a parking deck, will remain standing, Small said.

The bulk of the post-implosion clean-up is scheduled to be finished by June 10, 2021, but Small is optimistic it can be completed before Memorial Day.

“We, hopefully, expect we are over COVID by then so our city can bounce back with a vengeance,” Small said of summer next year.

Small originally called a June 2021 completion date “unacceptable” at a press conference announcing plans for demolition had been submitted. After completing the permitting process, June 2021 became a more realistic timeline, he said.

After clean-up ends at the site, the future of the land is uncertain. Billionaire Carl Ichan’s Icahn Enterprises took ownership of the casino in 2016, two years after it was closed to customers, and has not announced what it plans to do next.

“My pitch would be to anyone, although it’s not the city’s property, some type of family fun entertainment, which is something the city is sorely lacking,” Small said.

Although the next step is ultimately up to Ichan, Small is optimistic whatever is built will help bolster the city’s future. The property is located along the boardwalk, and it’s been years since there was a fresh start at an oceanfront property, he said.

“With the same aggressive energy that we took to get this building down, we’ll put even more into developing because we have to get that piece right,” Small said.

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Trump Casino Atlantic City Wikipedia