Former Trump Plaza Employees, Guests Reflect On Atlantic City Landmark's Heyday Ahead Of Implosion
Watch the implosion live on CBSN Philly at 9 a.m. on CBSPhilly.com, the CBS Philly app, or streaming service.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) -- The former Trump Plaza in Atlantic City will be reduced to a massive pile of rubble Wednesday morning. When the Trump Plaza opened back in 1984, it was the resort town's biggest gambling hall and overlooked Atlantic City at 39 stories high with more than 600 hotel rooms.
As crews prepare for Wednesday's implosion of the former Trump Plaza, many people are coming by to get one last look at it.
"Got a lot of great memories. Some I remember, some I don't, some I can't tell," Atlantic City resident Mike Lopez said.
"It's kind of sad remembering what it was, it's sad it's come to this," Jackson resident Bonnie Bischoff said.
At its heyday in the mid-90s, the beachfront property turned into a big employer, having roughly 6,100 people on staff.
"There was a point when the casinos had employed so many people, that all of a sudden Egg Harbor Township had a boom in housing," former Trump Properties employee Suzé DiPietro said.
DiPietro was a public relations executive for Trump Properties from 1991 to 2002.
"It was, I'll tell you what, the best job I ever had," she said.
"I enjoyed it, it was a good job," Van Jones II said.
Jones worked in the food and beverages department at Trump Plaza from 2005 to 2014.
He never met Donald Trump. But his dad, who worked at the Plaza as a slot attendant in the 1980s, did.
"He didn't ask what his name was. He just walked over to my dad, put his hand on his shoulder, and looked at him and said, 'Is everything alright?' My dad said yes, and then Trump just walked away," Jones said.
The old casino welcomed celebrities and gamblers alike. But after 30 years, it shut down. Eyewitness News was there when its doors closed for good back in 2014.
At the time, Trump's stake in the property diminished to just 10%.
"From what I know, they just used his name for marketing," Jones said. "A lot of people are happy to see it come down because they dislike him, which, that's fine, you can dislike him all you want. But to me, it has nothing to do with him."
Meantime, many roads surrounding the building will be closed off. Atlantic Avenue to the boardwalk and between Georgia and South Arkansas Avenues will be closed starting at 6 a.m. Wednesday before the big bang at 9 a.m.
"It's sort of poetic justice to what happened to the entire Trump empire -- started out pretty strong and now the last vestiges of it are being imploded," DiPietro said.
If you want to watch the implosion in person, people can park at Bader Field for $10. The gates open at 7 a.m. The city asks for people to stay in their vehicle.
You can watch the implosion live on CBSN Philly at 9 a.m.
