What Happened To Atlantic City Casinos
Trump Plaza was a hotel and casino on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, owned by Trump Entertainment Resorts.Designed by architect Martin Stern Jr., it operated from May 15, 1984 until September 16, 2014. The building was demolished in a controlled implosion on February 17, 2021. It was the second hotel and casino in Atlantic City to be imploded, the first being the Sands Atlantic City.
Vera Coking is a retired homeowner whose Atlantic City, New Jersey, boarding house was the focus of an eminent domain case involving Donald Trump.
History[edit]
Whether a first time visitor or a long-time fan, we are excited to welcome you back to Atlantic City to enjoy some of the many amenities we have to offer. The nine destination Casino Hotels and Resorts are now open. The Boardwalk and beaches are open for your enjoyment! The many hotels. The casino suffered financial difficulties from the start, and was eventually sold outright to Elsinore Corporation. The name was changed to the Atlantis Hotel and Casino in 1984, but the property went bankrupt in 1985. Donald Trump bought it in 1989, and closed the casino to operate the property solely as a hotel named the Trump Regency. Trump cut most ties with Atlantic City in 2009 aside from a 10 per cent fee for the use of his name on what were then three casinos in the city. Since then, all three casinos have closed or been. A look back at headlines detailing the rise and fall of casino development in Atlantic City The best local coverage, unlimited Sign up for a digital subscription to The Press of Atlantic City now.
In 1961, Coking and her husband bought the property at 127 South Columbia Place as a summertime retreat for $20,000.[1]
In the 1970s, Penthouse magazine publisher Bob Guccione offered Coking $1 million ($3.5 million in 2018)[2] for her property in order to build the Penthouse Boardwalk Hotel and Casino. She declined the offer, and Guccione started construction of the hotel-casino in 1978 around the Coking house, but ran out of money in 1980 and construction stopped. The steel framework structure was finally torn down in 1993.[3]
In 1993, Donald Trump bought several lots around his Atlantic City casino and hotel, intending to build a parking lot designed for limousines.[4] Coking, who had lived in her house at that time for 32 years, refused to sell. As a result, the city condemned her house, using the power of eminent domain. She was offered $251,000,[5] a quarter of what she was offered by Guccione 10 years earlier.
With the assistance of the Institute for Justice, Coking fought the local authorities and eventually prevailed.[6]Superior Court Judge Richard Williams ruled that because there were 'no limits' on what Trump could do with the property, the plan to take Coking's property did not meet the test of law. But Williams' ruling did not reject the practice of using eminent domain to take private property from one individual and transferring it to another, which would eventually be upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in Kelo v. City of New London.
What Happened To Atlantic City Casinos Reopening
Two other properties that prevailed against eminent domain eventually did sell: Sabatini's restaurant received $2.1 million and a pawnshop sold for $1.6 million. Their lots became part of a large lawn flanking a taxi stand for Trump's casino.[1][7] Coking remained in her house until 2010, when she moved to a retirement home in the San Francisco Bay Area near her daughter and grandchildren.
Property records show that on June 2, 2010, Coking transferred ownership of the house to her daughter, who put it on the market in 2011 with an initial asking price of $5 million.[1][8] By September 2013 the price had been reduced to $1 million.[9]
The property was finally sold for $583,000 in an auction on July 31, 2014.[10] The buyer was Carl Icahn, who held the debt on Trump Entertainment, owner of Trump Plaza. He subsequently demolished the house on November 19, 2014.[11] Neither the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority nor the owners of Trump Plaza expressed any interest in the auction.[1]
The adjacent Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, the property for which Trump wanted Coking's property, to begin with, closed in September 2014, due to lack of business, and it was demolished on February 17, 2021.[12][13][14]
See also[edit]
- Other real-estate holdouts:
- Edith Macefield, Seattle
- Figo House, Oregon
- Michael Forbes, Scotland
- Wu Ping, southwest China
References[edit]
Taj Casino In Atlantic City
- ^ abcdMatt A.V. Chaban (July 21, 2014). 'A Homeowner’s Refusal to Cash Out in a Gambling Town Proves Costly'. The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
- ^'Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator'. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Missing or empty
url=(help) - ^'Public Power, Private Gain: The Abuse of Eminent Domain'. Institute for Justice. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
- ^' IN BRIEF; Follow-Ups: Judge Rejects Property Seizure'. The New York Times, July 26, 1998. Accessed December 5, 2007.
- ^Nelson, I. Rose (1998). 'Court Condemns Casino Condemnations'. The Gambling and the Law. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
- ^Herszenhorn, David M. (July 21, 1998). 'Widowed Homeowner Foils Trump in Atlantic City', The New York Times. Accessed December 5, 2007.
- ^'Penthouse Casino.jpg'. The Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
- ^Wittkowski, Donald (August 28, 2011). 'Empty Atlantic City boarding home near casinos selling for $5 million'. The Press of Atlantic City. Accessed August 28, 2011.
- ^Cohen, Lauren (September 24, 2013). 'Asking price drops on house Vera Coking refused to sell to Trump'. The Press of Atlantic City.
- ^Wittkowski, Donald (16 February 2016). 'Coveted by developers, Atlantic City rooming house finally falls to wreckers'. The Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^NBC10 Philadelphia (November 20, 2014). 'Atlantic City House of Woman Who Heldout Against Donald Trump Comes Down'. NBC10 (Philadelphia). Retrieved 16 February 2014
- ^https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-17/trump-plaza-casino-demolished-in-atlantic-city-marking-end-of-era
- ^'Thousands out of work in Atlantic City as big casinos shut doors'. Atlantic City News. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^[1]
Atlantic City mayor hopes to raise $1 million for youth charity
It’s not something you hear every day: one of Donald Trump’s former Atlantic City casinos is being blown up.
And someone is paying to do it.
The casino, which was formerly known as the Trump Plaza, closed in 2016 and was partially demolished.
Now, instead of simply continuing with the demolition, the mayor of Atlantic City wants it to end with a bang.
The building has already been partially demolished, but is set to be completely blown up on Jan. 29. (Image credit: Wayne Parry/The Associated Press)
How it works is pretty simple: a professional auction company has been accepting bids.
The person who bids the most money gets to blow it up.
That winner will be revealed in a live auction on Tuesday.
Then, on Jan. 29, that winner will press a button that will blow up the structure.
And it’s all for a good cause.
The proceeds of the fundraiser will go toward the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City, a local youth charity that provides after-school and summer recreation, education and career-training programs for Atlantic City children and teens.
Casino opened in 1984
U.S. President Donald Trump opened the casino in 1984 in a prime spot at the centre of Atlantic City’s boardwalk.
It was the site of many high-profile boxing matches, which Trump would regularly attend.
The Trump Plaza was opened in 1984 in a prime spot at the centre of Atlantic City’s boardwalk by Donald Trump, who was a real estate developer at the time. (Image credit: Tom Brenner/Reuters)
Trump cut most ties with Atlantic City in 2009 aside from a 10 per cent fee for the use of his name on what were then three casinos in the city.
Since then, all three casinos have closed or been sold.
The Trump Plaza was sold in 2014 and is now owned by billionaire businessman Carl Icahn.
It has been in a worsening state of despair ever since.
The Trump Plaza casino, the remains of which are pictured here, is one of four Atlantic City casinos to have been shut down in 2014. (Image credit: Wayne Parry/The Associated Press)
More than $1 million could be raised
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small said he wanted to use the demolition as a way of raising money for charity.
He said some of Atlantic City’s most iconic moments happened at the plaza, but Trump openly mocked the city, saying he “made a lot of money and then got out.”
Now Small is hoping the fundraiser will raise more than $1 million for the local youth group.
Why Did Atlantic City Casinos Fail
With files from The Associated Press