TRUMP ENTERTAINMENT-SALE

Pedestrians enter the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City in this July 8, 2006 file photo. (AP Photo/Mary Godleski, file)

ATLANTIC CITY — Driving into Atlantic City, the towering casinos that jut into the sky resemble dominos, and it looks like one more is about to fall.

Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino may close in September and employees will receive WARN notices next week, according to a Press of Atlantic City report published late Friday.

"We are hearing from several credible sources that Trump Plaza will be announcing next week that it is expected to close its doors. This news is both sad and angering," U.S. Congress candidate William Hughes Jr. said in a release. "A major casino right at the gateway to Atlantic City will be dark, thus sending a further signal to the world of Atlantic City's distress."

State Senator Jim Whelan said he'd heard word of the possible closure from "multiple sources," deeming them "credible," according to reports.

Trump Plaza is located next to the Atlantic City Convention Center and located near the middle of the Boardwalk.

"If this is true, I cannot even begin to imagine how difficult it must be for all of the dedicated employees and what they and their families are going through right now," state Senator Chris Brown told The Press in a statement.

Atlantic City-based talk radio host Harry Hurley broached the issue on his show earlier on Friday.

"It's a very sad day for Atlantic City. This pattern of contraction has been very painful and has directly affected many thousands of lives in our community," said Hurley. "We have to all stay close and support one another during these incredibly challenging times.



"As a former senior executive for Donald Trump, it is so painful to watch the decline of this once mighty property," he added.

The dust surrounding last month's announcement that Showboat casino will close hasn't even settled, with hundreds of workers protesting the move as recently as Wednesday.

"Although it is sad today, it's part of the transition that Atlantic City needs to have," Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian told the Associated Press late last month, mere hours after the Showboat shutdown was announced.

"There is pain as we go through this transition, but it's critical for Atlantic City to realize we are no longer the monopoly of gaming on the East Coast. If you build more and more casinos and don't increase the amount of people coming to them, you're sharing that wealth. We're just going through a very difficult time," he continued.

Showboat is set to close on Aug. 31.

Revel, right next door to the Mardi Gras-themed hotel and casino, is also in trouble. The $2.4 billion casino could close come September is a new buyer doesn't step in.

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Contact online editor Greg Adomaitis at 856-686-3661 or gadomaitis@southjerseymedia.com