Trump couldn’t contribute to political campaigns as a casino owner in New Jersey but he could woo politicians in other ways. He always kept several lobbyists on retainer and they introduced him to influential people. He would play golf with them and build relationships with the political hierarchy of the time. Trump could leverage the political connections he had in New Jersey. It was how he survived the failures of his casinos and caught a lot of breaks.
Trump built his brand off his New Jersey casinos
In the early 1980s, Donald Trump began purchasing property along the Atlantic City boardwalk. In 1982 he received a casino license from the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. He built his brand off his New Jersey casinos, all of which eventually went bankrupt.
Hilary Clinton said on her campaign trail that he would bankrupt America in the same way as he bankrupted his own companies. She wondered how anybody could lose money running casinos.
Perhaps Trump would have been luckier if online casinos existed in the past. Today, online casinos are flourishing in New Jersey. A NJ online casino offers players the opportunity to play many kinds of online casino games and place sports bets.
Trump in the 1980s and 1990s
Trump would lobby for tax breaks for his casinos. Officials in public office at the time had frequent encounters with Trump.
The construction of a state-funded tunnel to a rival casino project saw Trump appealing to politicians to oppose it. He invited Atlantic City Members to dinner which prompted investigations about whether he was trying to put undue influence on them. All his efforts worked at the time although the tunnel was built at a later stage.
New Jersey casino regulators
New Jersey casino regulators repeatedly gave Trump approval to build more casinos. A focus on businesses that were going bankrupt didn’t stop them or probe into his mob ties. Two regulators who approved casino licenses were later appointed to judgeships. Everyone was eager to please Trump as one of the biggest employees in the state with casinos that could fill state coffers.
Trump no longer owns casinos
Trump sold off his casinos years ago after three of them went bankrupt. The Trump Taj Mahal is now the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and Trump Marina is the Golden Nugget Atlantic City. In 2021, crowds watched the demolition of Trump Plaza. When it opened in 1985, it was a symbol of a decade of excess. Trump cut ties with it in 2009 after a number of bankruptcy filings. A year after Trump Plaza finally closed its doors, Trump announced that he was running for president. He would cite Atlantic City as proof of his business acumen.
No one will forget the years of Trump’s controversial presidency. Jumping forward to the 2024 US elections, Trump is running for president again and performing well in the polls. This is despite the fact that a number of Republicans are running against him and that he is presently facing a number of legal disputes and claims.
