[imagesource: John Taggart/The New York Times]

The demolition of what was once Donald Trump’s Atlantic City Plaza and Casino in New Jersey was initially going to be used to raise money for charity.

When announcing that people could bid on pushing the big red button that initiates the explosion, Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small said that “Donald Trump openly mocked Atlantic City, saying he made a lot of money and then got out”.

Well, the auction didn’t pan out, and was shut down due to safety issues and liability concerns, but the main event still went ahead yesterday.

Here’s NPR:

At about 9 a.m., a series of controlled explosions were heard before the 39-story building imploded on itself. The whole process unfolded in less than 30 seconds, from start to finish…

The rubble, which stands nearly 80 feet tall, is scheduled to be removed by June 10. The lot will be paved for parking until a new project comes about.

A 30-second implosion? According to Stormy Daniels, that’s about par for the course.

Let’s see the moment it all came tumbling down:

Again, from multiple angles:

Even though the auction never worked out, Mayor Small still enjoyed himself, saying he got chills during the demolition.

Clearly, no love lost there.

Small wasn’t the only one enjoying the show, reports Bloomberg, with a few hundred people in cars paying $10 to park at a former airfield around three kilometres away to get a firsthand glimpse of the action.

Whatever it takes to get your kicks, I guess.

[sources:npr&bloomberg]