Plan B Forum

Trump Plaza, his former casino in Atlantic City, that is.

Atlantic City to auction chance to blow up a Trump casino

One of three casinos Trump owned in Atlantic City (the other two were the Trump Marina, sold in 2011, and the Trump Taj Mahal, which closed in 2016), the casino closed in 2014.  Since then, the building has been neglected and allowed to deteriorate to the point that parts of it have been falling from the facade, and demolition was the only viable option.  And if you, like Jamie Hyneman from the old 'Mythbusters' show, "want big boom!" — and can come up with enough moola — you can be the person who gets to push the button and bring it down.

As noted, Atlantic City has decided to raze the building, part of which will be brought down by a controlled implosion.  Atlantic City's mayor, Marty Small, commented that he wanted to try to use the event to raise money for charity so it was decided that an auction would be held for the privilege of pressing the detonator button and bringing it all crashing down, with all proceeds from the auction to go to the Atlantic City Boys and Girls Club.  They estimate they will raise approximately a million dollars for the privilege of triggering the implosion.

Personally, I think he missed the boat.  With 70 million people who voted against Trump, if he had decided to hold a raffle instead, with tickets selling for, say, $5 or $10 each, he would probably have raised ten times the money or more — and people WITHOUT pockets as deep as Trump's own would have had the opportunity to deliver a symbolic "Fuck You" to our out-going political joke.

-"BB"-

It’s disgusting that a building only 40+ years old has been allowed to deteriorate to the point where demolition is the only viable option for it.

And by the way, 81 million voted against Trump, and 74 million voted for him.

BoSoxGal wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 4:17 pm

It’s disgusting that a building only 40+ years old has been allowed to deteriorate to the point where demolition is the only viable option for it.

Agreed, but if something was built for a specific purpose, renovating it to fit some other use could cost more than just taking it down and starting over.  And knowing Trump's track record, the damned thing might not have been able to be brought up to current code ... or he cut so many corners (and greased enough palms) when he built it in the first place it might have not even have complied with the original building codes to start with!

Also, consider the location — right along the Boardwalk, in the high-rent district (you do remember that Monopoly was based on Atlantic City, and Boardwalk is the highest-priced property?).  Other than another casino/hotel or some sort of public events venue, what else were they going to use it for?  Sure they could have maybe converted it to public housing, but there's a reason that Cabrini Green in Chicago wasn't built on the shores of Lake Michigan or along downtown's 'Magnificent Mile', too.

-"BB"-

BoSoxGal wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 17, 2020 4:17 pm

It’s disgusting that a building only 40+ years old has been allowed to deteriorate to the point where demolition is the only viable option for it.

40 years for a hotel is a fairly typical lifespan...renovating it often costs more than demolishing it and rebuilding something else, especially since even renovated, the design is frequently visibly dated.

Name another 40 year old hotel that had chunks of itself fall off spontaneously. It was built like crap, probably not even up to code at the time.

Anything not maintained can deteriorate rather quickly

I don't know if it was built like crap, although with Trump involved I'd bet it was, but it was pretty much the unliest casino in Atlantic City; it's like they bought their carpets and tables at some kind of unclaimed freight and salvage store. But then again, no one ever said he had any taste.

Casinos were never known for taste.

And again: 40 years seems to be a fairly typical casino lifespan. The Sands lasted 43 years. The Boardwalk lasted 40. Dunes/Oasis 28. The Landmark less than 30. The Stardust lasted 48 years, though its tower annex <20. The SIlver Slipper lasted 38. The Silver City only lasted 26 years.

Any of them have chunks of their facade fall off and crash to the ground?

The basic point that BSG was making is still valid. "It’s disgusting that a building only 40+ years old has been allowed to deteriorate to the point where demolition is the only viable option for it." My house is 70 years old and no bits are calling off it. The first flat I bought in London was in a 100 year old building that is still there. (And BTW there was another thread recently about house prices in the NYC area - I paid £21000 for it in 1981 and sold it for £26000 in 1985. Judging from rightmove.co.uk [more or less equivalent to zillow.com in the US] equivalent flats in that street are now going for £350,000 and up. Woulda, coulda, shoulda.) I'm appalled when I see sports stadia, built at public expense, being knocked down after 30 years when the owners find that they want more skyboxes because companies use them to entertain clients while quietly taking it as a tax deduction (cost of doing business) and once again stiffing the average taxpayer.

ex-khobar Andy wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 18, 2020 5:59 pm

My house is 70 years old and no bits are calling off it.

Mine was built in 1875, and is still up and running.