Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal casino and hotel will close its doors permanently after Labor Day. The Taj Mahal becomes the fifth Atlantic City casino to go out of business since 2014, when four others, including Trump Plaza, shut their doors. But this shutdown is different: it involves a. Trump Taj Mahal Casino (Atlantic City) - 2020 All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos) - Tripadvisor. Trump Taj Mahal Casino - CLOSED. Sorry, there are no tours or activities available to book online for the date (s) you selected. Please choose a different date. Atlantic City’s Trump Taj Mahal casino, owned by Carl Icahn, will close at the end of the summer, the billionaire investor’s company said on Wednesday. Closure of the casino, which is in the midst of a strike by its unionized workers over wages and health insurance costs, would be another blow to the struggling New Jersey beach resort.

Trump Taj Mahal is a casino that has a long and storied history. At one point in time, it was not only the crown jewel of East Coast gambling, but also one of the most popular casinos in the whole world. The casino bearing the name of Donald Trump opened with an extravagant party, befitting of the Trump mantra that everyone would come to know. Performers like Michael Jackson attended the grand opening, and it seemed like Taj Mahal Atlantic City was going to be an unstoppable force. In reality, Atlantic City was nowhere near its peak (that would be reached in 2006), and Trump did not have the proper wherewithal to run an efficient casino. A long and troubled history over the past few decades will end with a final nail in the coffin this September.

Troubles Through the Years

Financial and operational struggles have been just about the only thing consistent in the history of Taj Mahal AC. Just a year after its opening in 1990, Trump was forced to enter into a prepackaged bankruptcy where he would be forced to give away half of his entire stake in the casino. It was five years after this move that Trump would eventually buy the property outright. At this time in 1996, its value was under $1billion, but the reality is that this was likely a high number, even in the booming times of Atlantic City in the 90’s and early 2000’s.

Peak and Downfall

During the early 2000’s, Atlantic City was seeing tremendous gaming revenue and visitor numbers. These numbers were so large that Taj actually expanded its presence by adding an entirely new tower, known as The Chairman Tower, in 2006. Fittingly, 2006 would also be the best year that AC would experience in its history. After this, however, everything began to go downhill, both in AC and especially with Taj Mahal itself.

The Borgata was the worst thing that has happened to Taj Mahal in the last decade. The new, much more luxurious and modern, casino opened off the Atlantic City boardwalk in 2003. Much of Taj’s casino action went to The Borgata over the next few years. Taj Mahal was once known as the poker room capital of the East Coast, but this title quickly shifted to The Borgata. There were more games running, more space, nicer tables, and a higher end atmosphere. At one point featured in movies, Taj Mahal’s poker room went from being the premier in the East Coast to outright closed by 2014.

When the majority of their poker action left, so too did many of their gamblers and visitors. There was little benefit to staying at or coming to Taj Mahal if a tourist could instead stay at The Borgata. Outside of being on the boardwalk itself, Taj Mahal did not have many selling points.

By 2014, Taj Mahal would enter its first round of bankruptcy. As has been the case in each bankruptcy instance, the dispute was between Taj management (now operated by Tropicana), and their employee unions. The bankruptcy would go back and forth from pending closure to promises of a prosperous future. By early 2016, things were looking up at Taj Mahal, as its primary backer (Icahn Enterprises) led the company out of bankruptcy. The good news did not last for long, however.

Icahn and Taj Mahal Closing

Carl Icahn was said to be the savior of Taj Mahal, When the city and investors had effectively given up on the property, Icahn agreed to put a virtually endless supply of money into the Taj Mahal in the hopes of returning it to its former glory. This process started in late 2014, and it will conclude in September 2016. Multiple on site changes took place (closing The Chairman Tower being one of them), but not nearly enough was done, and the casino continued to bleed money. Carl Icahn says that he has lost around $100 million in his efforts to revive the Taj Mahal. In our opinion, not nearly enough was done to encourage a real turnaround for the casino, and as a result the final end is now in sight.

Future of Taj Mahal and Atlantic City Closed Casinos

In the past several years, Atlantic City has seen a number of casino closures, including Trump Plaza, Showboat, Revel and AC Hilton. The closure of Taj Mahal will mean another several thousand employees will lose their jobs, and another large vacant building will take up space on the AC boardwalk. Eyesore aside, it is certainly a sign of the times. AC has fallen well behind the competition, both in Las Vegas and among its nearby competition in Philadelphia, Maryland and other cities. While it is not impossible for the Taj Mahal to once again be saved at the last minute, this time it looks more improbable than ever.

Donald Trump has a long history in Atlantic City. During the big boom period of New Jersey's gambling capital, Trump built the Taj Mahal (now the Hard Rock Casino and Resort) and also ran the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino.

At the time, the Taj Mahal was one of the most impressive casinos on earth. Trump invested $1 billion in the monstrous casino, and it was poised to be the most luxurious casino in the U.S.

Both of Trump's casinos went bankrupt. And many contractors and employees fell on hard times as a result.

But how much of this has to do with the up-and-down nature of the casino industry, and how much with Trump's business practices?

Read to get the details below.

Table of Openings and Closings of Trumps Atlantic City Properties

Trump Plaza (1984-2014)

Trump Plaza (a casino and hotel) was Trump's first and more successful business venture in Atlantic City. Trump Plaza would grow to have 906 hotel rooms. The casino contained over 86,000 square feet of gaming space.

Breaking ground, then filling it, then breaking it again

Trump seized upon the opportunity during the height of the casino boom in Atlantic City. He struck a deal with the Holiday Inn company to build the casino and hotel buidling. Harrah's was already at the marina and looking to expand, so the deal was made that Harrah's new casino would be in Trump Plaza.

Despite the fact that Trump was having his building constructed by Holiday Inn and the casino organized by Harrah's, he was slow to break ground. In his Art of the Deal, Trump wrote that had his builders dig a hole, to satisfy Holiday Inn inspectors, and then fill it again when they left.

Trump Plaza's First Years

Trump Plaza cost $210 million to build. When it opened on May 15th, 1984, it was the largest casino in Atlantic City.

While it had a rather strong beginning, by 1990 Trump Plaza was having serious financial problems. In part, this was due to competition from none other than Trump's Taj Mahal.

After seeking a backer for years, the Trump Plaza closed in 2014, laying off around 1,000 employees.

Trump Plaza and Scorsese's Casino

Gambler Akio Kashiwagi lost $10 million in baccarat at Trump Plaza in 1990. Not long after, Martin Scorsese's made it the subject of his film, Casino (1995).

Trump's Taj Mahal (1990-2016)

Trump's Taj Mahal opened with some serious publicity. It was declared the Eighth Wonder of the World. Indeed it was covered with marble, enormous glass walls, and onion domes. Modeled after the white marble Taj Mahal in Agra, India, Trump's Taj Mahal was no less visually spectacular.

Funding the Taj Mahal

The Taj was financed with $700m worth of 'junk bonds.' Junk bonds are high-risk, high-yield loans given to companies with low-credit ratings. This meant the Taj had to come up with $94m a year just to pay off its debts, and $1m a day to be profitable

Trump and Unpaid contractors

“You have to be very rough and very tough with most contractors, or they’ll take the shirt right off your back.” --- Donald Trump: The Art of the Deal

'Atlantic City fueled a lot of growth for me'

- Donald Trump, to New York Times (June 11, 2016)

At the opening of Trump’s Taj Mahal in 1990, he owed $70 million to various contractors. While the casino was not a complete failure, it did not make the kind of money it needed. By 2016, the casino had closed completely bankrupt.

Taj Mahal Casino Atlantic City Close

Trump's bankruptcy meant that several contractors were never paid for their work and materials. Below are some claims for unpaid debts to contractors:

• $2 million to Robert Morrison of the Molded Fiber Glass Co. for creating onion domes
• undisclosed amount to Michael MacLeod, sculptor of elephant statues
• $1.2 million for the paving stones leading up to the Taj to Mario Paone
• $1.1 million to Marty Rosenberg for floor-to-ceiling curtain walls of glass
• $3.9 million owed to John Millar, marble supplier
• more than $500,000 owed to landscaper Herman Caucci
• $580,000 owed to Frank Lundy for overseeing construction clean-up
• $232,000, George Jenkins, the bathroom partition man who had to lay off his brother

The contractor who made the Taj's eye-catching onion domes claimed $2 million in losses. The contractor who supplied the Carrara marble from Italy ended up filing for personal bankruptcy. The contractor who put in the bathroom partitions had to lay off his brother.

Marty Rosenberg, who was installing floor-to-ceiling curtain walls of glass, was owed $1.1 Million.

Competing Atlantic City Casinos

Although the Trump Taj Mahal was deeply in debt and filed for bankruptcy, thus leading to Trump losing many of his assets, Atlantic City continued to boast huge revenues. By the early 2000s, revenues hit $4 billion.

Trump Taj Mahal Casino Atlantic City Closing

Trump’s reign in Atlantic City came to an end in 2004, when his consolidated company Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts filed for bankruptcy, with Trump resigning as chairman.

Many other Atlantic City casinos' revenues saw constant growth throughout Trump’s public battle against bankruptcy. These revenues would only see a decline following the 2008 recession.

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