Donald Trump once built a $ 1.2 billion casino and sold 4 cents

USA When the Trump Taj Mahal casino was opened in Atlantic City in 1990, Donald Trump declared it the eighth wonder of the world.

On April 2, 1990, Donald Trump prepared for his big day at the Taj Mahal. But it's not a marble mausoleum in India, it's a casino just a 2-hour drive from Trump Tower in Manhattan. He called it the "eighth wonder of the world", worth $ 1.2 billion. But while King Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal out of love, Trump Taj Mahal was a place of good fortune. Photo: Shabai Liu / Flickr.

Located on the walkway of the casino paradise south of New Jersey, Atlantic City is Trump Taj Mahal, the jewel in Trump's real estate empire. Photo: myLoupe / Universal Images Group.

This casino was built with huge funding, flashy stairs, crystal ceiling lamps worth $ 14 million and a luxury hotel with chrome-domed towers, a series of Indian elephant statues. Photo: Tony Ward / Mirrorpix.

At that time, Trump Taj Mahal was one of the largest casinos in the world with a 1.1-hectare card room, 3,000 gaming machines, the largest Atlantic poker room, 11 restaurants, swimming pools, gyms and many other amenities. entertaining. Three days after the opening, the owner organized a lavish party with a list of all the powerful people from Hollywood stars, senators, governors, including Michael Jackson and Elton John.

The hotel in the casino has hundreds of high-end rooms, costing about $ 10,000 a night. It started out, but only a year later the casino was in a financial crisis. The casino violated anti-money laundering laws 106 times in just over a year in operation since the early 1990s. By 1998, Trump's casino had to pay $ 477,000 in penalties because it was impossible to accurately count players withdrawing from $ 10,000. in one day. Photo: Tony Ward / Mirrorpix.

The financial crisis plus the strike of all employees forced the owner to sell the casino for 4 cents. At 5:59 am on October 10, 2016, when the lights of Trump Taj Mahal went out after 26 years of casino opening day and night, about 3,000 workers fell into unemployment. Photo: AP.

The hotel inside has been converted to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. The huge Trump sign on all casino towers was removed in 2016, when its once boss was running for US president. Photo: Hard Rock.

The new hotel opened in 2018, with about 2,000 rooms priced between $ 300 and $ 400 per night. The new owner retains the casino's entertainment system, investing an additional 2,100 machines and 120 gaming tables. Funding for upgrading the facilities is up to US $ 500 million. Photo: AP.