I was at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City early Monday morning and picked up some interesting pieces of Casino History and Memorabilia.
I was at the Taj from 12 Midnight until the Casino closed at 6:00 am on Monday morning. I did not cross the picket line on the Boardwalk which was manned by striking Taj employees, but entered the Casino from the skywalk that connects Resorts Casino to the Taj Mahal. When the Casino closed at 6:00 am there were only a small handful of gamblers in the Taj - I would say less than 10 people in total.
There were only 6 table games open when I got to the Taj at Midnight (2 Roulette tables, 1 Crap Table and 3 Blackjack Tables). From Midnight until about 4:30 am the table games closed one at a time as the players left the Casino. At 4:30 am ALL table games were shut down. I have been to other Casino closing in Atlantic City over the last couple of years - Atlantic Club, Revel and Trump Plaza and this was the smallest group of gamblers I saw at any closing. From Midnight on the Casino was virtually empty - it was really kind of sad to see this once magnificent gambling hall simply "Fade Away".
When I left the Casino there were probably over 100 Strikers milling around on the Boardwalk in front of the Casino. I went up the escalator to the second floor and walked back across the skyway to Resorts. The Trump Taj Mahal was now part of the Gaming history of Atlantic City.
It was kind of ironic the Trump Taj Mahal closed only a few hours after a Presidential debate between Donald Trump (Former owner of the Taj Mahal) and Hillary Clinton. The Trump Taj Mahal is now a footnote in history, but we still have to see what fate has in store for Donald Trump !!!
Shown in the scan below are - NON-VALUE ROULETTE CHIP INVENTORY sheet (this was one of the main items (Tis was one of the main items I wanted for my Roulette collection), 2 Roulette Guides, 2 TITOs from the final minute when the Casino closed at 6:00 am and a Slot Card that was made up for me by a pit boss at around 3:30 am (this might well be the last Slot card ever issued at the Taj).
Take care,
Jerry "The Closer" Birl
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