The auction for the right to witness the Feb. 17 implosion of the old Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino ended with a little less of a bang than hoped for.
The 10 pairs of front row tickets to the event — which includes a VIP get-together with city officials (yawn), as well as a night’s stay at either the Ocean Casino Resort or Hard Rock Hotel and Casino along with a $200 dining credit, plus a second night’s stay at Caesars and another $200 dining credit — ended up being quite a bargain for the winners, most of whom spent between $500 and $600 for the package.
In total, over $16,000 was raised in the viewing package auction to witness former President Donald Trump’s former centerpiece property come tumbling down, which included a $10,000 donation from Hard Rock. All of the monies — in addition to another $175,000 donated by Carl Icahn, the current owner of the property — are being donated to the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City.
“Overall, it’s an added bonus to what we were able to accomplish with the original auction, in which Icahn donated at the end,” said Joe Bodner, the owner of Bodnar’s Auction, the Edison auction house that handled the sale. “And the people who bought the tickets got a great deal.”