Demolition crews seen at two Donald Trump-linked properties this week, imploded the former Trump Plaza Casino in New Jersey and separately demolished a helipad from Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
The Trump Plaza casino in Atlantic City was destroyed in a series of explosions at 9 a.m. Wednesday that saw the luxury boardwalk building crumble into a giant cloud of dust in less than 20 seconds.
The implosion of what was once the premier gaming destination in Atlantic City came less than a month after its best-known former owner, Donald J. Trump, left the White House after losing re-election and became the first president in history to be impeached twice. He was acquitted on Saturday of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
The tower came down shortly after 9 a.m. amid a huge cloud of dust and an eruption of cheers.
“It’s an end of a not-so-great era,” said Jennifer Owen, 50, who bid $575 to win a front-row seat at a V.I.P. breakfast in an oceanfront pavilion with a direct view of the implosion.
Trump’s decades-long relationship with Atlantic City has been marked by both grandiose ambition and rocky finances. His most noted property, the Trump Taj Mahal hotel and casino, which he once dubbed “the eighth wonder of the world,” officially closed in 2016 with little fanfare. It has since reopened under the Hard Rock brand.
In 2014, Trump sued Trump Entertainment Resorts to take his name off both casinos. He said in the lawsuit that Trump Resorts had allowed the Taj and its sister casino, Trump Plaza, “to fall into an utter state of disrepair,” which tainted the “superior reputation” of his brand.
By the time of its closure, Trump owned only the name attached to the Taj, with Icahn controlling the rest. At its peak, the Plaza hosted world-famous boxing matches, high-profile concerts and celebrity ebents.