Donald Trump's Atlantic City Casino Building Demolished; Former Trump Plaza Hotel Reduced To Rubble

The former jewel in the crown of Donald Trump's bankrupted Atlantic City casino empire was demolished on February 17 with 3,000 sticks of dynamite. The detonator button was pressed shortly after 9 am (1400 GMT), reducing the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino to a pile of rubble in just a few seconds. Closed since 2014, the casino was Trump's first property in the US coastal gambling town in which he came to own several properties. It opened in 1984 & has undergone little to no maintenance since shuttering. On several occasions during storms, pieces of its exterior have fallen onto the seaside promenade that runs alongside the building. In mid-June, Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small announced the building's demolition, after taking legal action over what he considered to be a danger to residents. Trump had already filed a lawsuit in 2014 asking that his name be removed from the building's facade, believing its presence there was bad for the Trump name and brand. Apart from Trump Plaza there was also Trump World's Fair which closed in 1999, Trump Marina which was sold by creditors in 2011, and the Trump Taj Mahal which closed in 2016.