ATLANTIC CITY -- As Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders took the stage at a campaign rally Monday morning in Atlantic City, he did more than simply rattle off his message about how billionaires and corporations are crushing America.

He told the hundreds of supporters gathered around him at Boardwalk Hall that Atlantic City is the embodiment of that message.

"What we're seeing in Atlantic City, N.J., capsulizes the ugliness and the greed we're seeing all over this country," the U.S. senator from Vermont declared at the beginning of the event.

And, of course, he didn't forget Donald Trump, the former Atlantic City casino magnate who is now the presumptive Republican nominee for the White House.

"I don't have to tell you about Donald Trump," Sanders said. "You know more about him than most Americans. But in addition to what he's done for the workers of Atlantic City, he is not going to be elected president of the United States."

It was the second New Jersey rally in two days for Sanders, who faces increasingly long odds in the battle against front-runner Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nod. Sanders spoke at Rutgers University in New Brunswick on Sunday.

The recent math shows it is mathematically impossible for Sanders to collect the number of pledged delegates he needs to beat Clinton, though he does have a shot to win over superdelegates.

"Don't let anybody tell you this campaign is over," he said Monday. "We're going to fight for the last vote."

New Jersey, which hosts its primary June 7, appears to have become a battleground. Clinton will hold an event in Camden County on Wednesday.

And no New Jersey city has gained more attention lately than Atlantic City.

Struck by the closure of four casinos, the famed seaside gambling resorts is days way from running out of money and going bankrupt.

Trump was once a symbol of the city, owning up to four casinos from 1984 to 2009. He left when his casino company filed for bankruptcy for a fourth time.

Boardwalk Hall is located next door to the now-shuttered Trump Palaza. And down the street is the Trump Taj Mahal, which is now owned by billionaire investor Carl Icahn -- a man whom Trump has said he might tap for U.S. treasury secretary.

Icahn took over the Taj in bankruptcy, and a judge allowed him to strip away health and pension benefits from workers amid the casino's financial struggles.

The city's main casino union, Local 54, is appealing the decision and considering a strike this summer, said union president Bob McDevitt. The union has endorsed Sanders for president.

"I stand with those workers," Sanders told the rally crowd, drawing massive cheers.

For his part, Trump has said he simply used the country's bankruptcy laws to his benefit in Atlantic City. But critics say he did that on the backs of less wealthy people, leaving investors sometimes with much less than they put in.

And Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, has built his campaign arguing that Wall Street and corporate America is sucking the life out of the middle class and causing poverty to rise.

"We're going to tell the Carl Icahns of the world that greed is not acceptable," Sanders sad. "Greed is destroying America."

"Carl Icahn and Donald Trump, you are not going to get it all," he added. "We are going to create an economy that works for dishwashers and maids."

McDevitt, the union leader, said Sanders met with casino workers before Monday's speech.

"He listens to what you're saying," McDevitt said.

Icahn issues a statement later in the day noting that Local 54 endorsed Sanders and that the candidate has not bothered to call him to "hear my views and the real facts."

The investor also argued that the Taj would have closed, with thousands of job losses, if he didn't step in and "save it." Plus, he said, the Tropicana, another casino on the Atlantic City boardwalk, would have shuttered without his help.

"But, I do agree with Bernie Sanders on one thing: The income gap in this country is a major problem and I agree (with certain exceptions) that those that manage capital, as well as many CEOs, are ridiculously overpaid," Icahn added. "If this problem is not addressed, there may well be disastrous consequences for the country."

Sanders made no mention of the possible bankruptcy in Atlantic City, which is inching closer as Gov. Chris Christie and state lawmakers are divided in a bitter battle over how to provide assistance.

But warming up the crowd for Sanders, Atlantic City councilman Mo Delgado shot barbs at Christie, who wants a state takeover of the city.

"We've got a guy who likes to talk tough," Delgado said.

State Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), the chair of Sanders' New Jersey campaign, also fired at Christie, a Republican who has endorsed Trump.

Wisniewski reminded the crowd that he was the driving force behind the legislative investigation into the George Washington Bridge scandal that has engulfed Christie's administration.

"Now, Donald Trump and Chris Christie have teamed up," said Wisniewski, who is a possible candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor next year.

Sanders, he noted, is the antidote.

"He best understands what working men and women are going through," Wisniewski said. "He knows what we need. What we need is a political revolution."

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.