Trump’s Plaza casino demolished in ‘Las Vegas-style implosion’ - best reactions

In a spectacle heavy with symbolism, the last remnant of Donald Trump’s Atlantic City empire has literally come crashing down in what was billed as a “Las Vegas-style implosion”.

Closing its doors in 2014, the Plaza was the first of three Atlantic City casinos owned by the now twice-impeached former president before his gambling empire in the city went bust, allegedly leaving an array of unpaid workers and suppliers among the fallout.

Now on Wednesday, just weeks after Trump begrudgingly departed the White House after a single term, ticketed viewers gathered to watch the decrepit building come tumbling down in a planned demolition.

While onlookers in the immediate vicinity were reportedly been charged $10, tens of thousands also tuned in online. “The city can’t be naive to think that no one will show up,” the city’s mayor Marty Small warned at a recent press conference.

Demonstrating the levels of schadenfreude on display, an auction over the privilege of pressing the button to ignite the thousands of sticks of dynamite saw bidding reach $175,000 before it was kiboshed by the property’s owner Carl Icahn.

The destruction could make way for “greenscapes” and provide access to the city’s boardwalk and ocean for non-gambling visitors to the “new” Atlantic City, according to a previous state report.

Unsurprisingly, people couldn’t help but joke about the demolition.

More: Republicans’ confusion over the Paris Agreement would be funny if it wasn’t so sad