Atlantic City’s Defunct Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino Scheduled for Demolition
The city of Atlantic City, New Jersey announced on Thursday that it will be demolishing the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino which operated from 1984-2014 under Trump Entertainment Resorts.
The controlled implosion has been delayed several times since billionaire Carl Icahn purchased the property in 2018 and will take place on February 17th – Ash Wednesday – at 9:00 a.m.
Mayor Marty Small Jr. explained that although the decision to bring the building down has everything to do with its prime location and nothing to do with former President Donald Trump, the public is nonetheless interested in witnessing the event.
“People tried to make it about President Trump. Take that name off the building … people would be interested,” Small said.
“We can’t be naive to think that no one would show up,” he added. “It has nothing to do with the former president.”
Per The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Officials reluctantly canceled a high-profile auction to press the button to start the implosion that had garnered a high bid of $175,000 and interest from celebrities, after the building’s current owner, billionaire Carl Icahn, objected to the spectacle.
A new date was announced Thursday: Feb. 17, at the very un-primetime hour of 9 a.m. Icahn agreed to write a $175,000 check to the Boys & Girls Club, the intended beneficiary of the auction.
And a new auction was announced: to secure one of ten viewing spots inside One Atlantic, a wedding venue located on the end of the Pier owned by Caesars, with floor to ceiling windows, and an overnight stay in either Hard Rock or Ocean casinos.
A spokesperson for Icahn said in a statement that “from the beginning, we thought the auction and any other related spectacle presented a safety risk, and we were always clear that we would not participate in any way.”
Twitter users – one of whom claimed to be a former employee – were elated over what they see as a symbolic end to Trump’s tumultuous single presidential term.
As an Atlantic City native and former employee of Tr*** Plaza, let me just say how thrilled I am to see this monstrosity destroyed.
It has been a blight for years, as well as a constant reminder of how Tr*** f'ed the city over.
I will be toasting it from a suite at Ballys.— Christine (@cccapone) January 21, 2021
Honestly furious I don't get to push the button https://t.co/5GgqV7XKyT
— Jennifer BOO-lidge (@thewordunheard) January 21, 2021
New date for the implosion party! Best viewing spot by boat!
— Helen Duda (@PERsisterER) January 21, 2021
Maybe Biden can come up and press it
— Chris Myers (@MindfulChef16) January 21, 2021
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Hey Amy!
— Vonda Paige (@VondaPaige) January 21, 2021
oh jeez
— Amy S. Rosenberg (@amysrosenberg) January 21, 2021
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