For years in this seaside gambling resort, Donald Trump's name and face seemed to be everywhere — in neon letters across the facades of three casinos, on billboards, and in ads on the side of shuttle buses, the Associated Press reported on Friday. But the man who is now the Republican presidential nominee has been mostly gone from Atlantic City since 2009, when a well-publicized decline was starting its third year. Today, the last vestige of Donald J. Trump will vanish from Atlantic City when the new owner of the Trump Taj Mahal casino shuts it down. Trump's business record in Atlantic City was mixed. His casinos took in tons of money, but they were so thoroughly laden with debt that it led to four bankruptcies under his watch, and one more after he was gone. He grew somewhat wistful while discussing the impending demise of the last of his onetime casino empire. Carl Icahn, the billionaire investor and Trump friend who owns the casino, and Atlantic City's main casino workers' union were unable to reach a deal to restore union workers' health insurance and pension benefits that were terminated in its most recent bankruptcy.
