Atlantic City is offering bidders a chance to blow up Trump's former casino
Atlantic City is giving people the chance to bid on imploding President Trump's former casino in February. The Trump Plaza casino has been empty and deteriorating for the last six years.
Mr. Trump opened the casino in 1984, but it was closed in 2014 and fell into a state of disrepair. Bodnar's Auction, the auction house collecting bids for the planned implosion, labeled the experience to push the button and demolish the building as a "once in a lifetime opportunity."
"This will be done remotely and can be done anywhere in the world as well as close to the Plaza as we can safely get you there!" the auctioneer posted online.
"For several years it has been sitting empty and now is the time to end an era and replace it with something new," it added.
All of proceeds from the auction will go to the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City. The city's mayor hopes it can raise more than $1 million with the stunt, CBS Philadelphia reported.
"I think it's extremely important that we do something worthwhile," Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. said during a news conference Thursday. "And there's not a better organization than the Boys and Girls Club of Atlantic City."
Mr. Trump cut most ties with Atlantic City in 2009 aside from a 10% fee for the use of his name on what were then three casinos in the city. That stake was extinguished when billionaire Carl Icahn took ownership of the company out of bankruptcy court in February 2016.
"Not often does inner-city oceanfront land open up," Small said. "We have one chance to get this right."
The implosion will happen after Mr. Trump leaves office. It was scheduled for January 29, but it will be delayed until February, according to Small.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
