Atlantic City’s Trump Plaza Casino, as seen in 2013, closed in 2014 and was demolished in early 2021.
By Joshua Burd
A group led by South Jersey business magnate George Norcross has acquired the former Trump Plaza Casino property in Atlantic City, setting the stage for a significant but still to-be-determined development at the oceanfront property.
Norcross, the Camden-based insurance executive and political power broker, purchased the site with his adult children Lexie and Alex and other partners, spokesman Dan Fee confirmed Wednesday night. The group will announce plans for the tract in the future, he said.
George E. Norcross III
Multiple reports identified billionaire investor Carl Icahn as the seller and the sale price as $5 million. The once-prominent casino, one of three Atlantic City properties once owned by President Donald Trump, shuttered in 2014 amid a rash of closures sparked by a contraction in the city’s gaming market and the loss of its East Coast gaming monopoly. The boardwalk property has sat vacant since it was largely demolished in early 2021
The deal sparked immediate excitement by some of the city’s most prominent public officials.
“When successful business leaders like Mr. Norcross choose Atlantic City, it sends a strong message and helps attract additional investors who recognize the opportunities here,” Mayor Marty Small Sr. said in a statement to NJ.com.
Reports note that Norcross has other investments in the city, including the iconic business long known as Formica Bros. Bakery. In the broader business community, he is best known as the influential board chair of Cooper Norcross Health, to which he donated $100 million earlier this year, and as the executive chairman of the insurance brokerage Conner Strong & Buckelew. He is also a driving force and investor in key development projects in and around Camden, including the waterfront tower that houses his company and ongoing residential projects.
This is a developing story. Check back to RE-NJ.com for additional updates.
