Even before Atlantic City’s first casino, Resorts International, opened in 1978, its owners planned to build a second, 1,000-room building on the site of the old Chalfonte Hotel. They even built a bridge to the site—a bridge that still goes nowhere.

In 1980, Harrah’s bought the Chalfonte land. Resorts President James Crosby then turned his sights to Pennsylvania and Virginia avenues, envisioning a 38-story hotel atop a massive convention complex. A sky bridge would link it to a renovated Steel Pier, whose attractions would bring back the glory days of Atlantic City.

The enormous resort—more than twice the size of the average casino—needed a theme. A Venetian theme was considered, as was a Byzantine look. Architect Francis X. Dumont finally decided to model it after a marble mausoleum built in India in the 17th century. The Taj Mahal was a curious inspiration for a casino, but its onion domes and minarets became Dumont’s design signature.

Construction began in 1985. With the Showboat under construction next door, it seemed the balance of power might soon shift to the far end of the Boardwalk. In fact, the Taj was the centerpiece of a larger “Fantacity” master plan, which was to transform the original Resorts, the Taj, the Showboat and a rebuilt Steel Pier into the world’s largest hotel and convention center.

Although connecting bridges were built between the four properties, they never became more than the sum of their parts—a disappointment, since this kind of project would have predated CityCenter on the Las Vegas Strip by 15 years and might have set Atlantic City down a different path.

Crosby died in 1986 but the project continued, despite bigger questions about the future of Resorts. Slowed construction pushed  costs from $185 million to an estimated $525 million. In 1987, Donald Trump made a bid for Resorts, not so much for its existing casino but for the Taj.

By October, Trump had received regulatory approval to open the Taj Mahal. He projected that the casino would cost $800 million to complete. In true Trump fashion, he turned an apparent 332 percent cost over-run into another superlative, bragging that this was “the largest and most expensive single building ever built.” To get around the statutory limit of three casinos per owner, Trump proposed closing Resorts, converting it into convention space and operating both buildings as a single unit—an approach he later used with the former Atlantis/Playboy and Trump Plaza.

But in April 1988, a deal was struck that enabled Trump to acquire the Taj Mahal while keeping Resorts open. TV personality and real estate developer Merv Griffin agreed to buy Trump’s Resorts stock and all outstanding shares, then sell the Taj back to Trump. In another savvy transaction, Trump paid less for the Taj than Resorts had invested in it, thanks in part to his reputation as a talented builder who could finish the project and bring additional foot traffic to Resorts.

Trump picked Mark Grossinger Etess, a fourth-generation hotelier, as the casino’s president. Together with Trump CEO Stephen Hyde, Etess crafted a strategy to lure enough patrons to the Taj to meet its enormous overhead. With more than $220 million in debt service and payroll each year, the casino would have to be more profitable than any other. To underscore his faith in the project, Trump dubbed it “Trump Taj Mahal,” with his name in giant red letters at the top of the tower.

But Trump and Atlantic City suffered a tragic loss on October 10, 1989, when a helicopter flying Hyde, Etess and Trump Plaza executive Jonathan Benenav from New York to Atlantic City crashed near Forked River. The crash robbed Trump of three of his most capable leaders. The casino’s arena was named after Etess as a tribute to his leadership.

Finally, on April 2, 1990, the casino opened. At the launch, speculation about Trump’s recent split with his wife Ivana and whether reputed paramour Marla Maples would show (she didn’t) overshadowed the festivities.

Crowds booed the first speaker at the opening, recently indicted Atlantic City mayor James Usry. Finally Merv Griffin introduced Trump, who told the 10,000 assembled revelers that the casino was beyond his “wildest expectations.”

Inside, gamblers ogled the pink and purple décor and threw fistfuls of money into the slot machines. Locals who didn’t play came to sample the restaurants, including Rock ‘n Rolls, a 1950s-themed diner, and the New Delhi Deli.

The hotel’s 1,250 rooms included animal-themed hospitality suites (Zebra, Tiger, Lion, Giraffe, Camel and Elephant), in what was then New Jersey’s tallest building. The penthouse suites, named for great historical figures with no obvious connection (King Tut, Napoleon, Da Vinci and Cleopatra) were reserved for the highest of the high rollers, though it was said that the 4,500-square-foot Alexander the Great suite could be rented for $10,000 a night.

At the opening, Trump prophesied that the Taj would revive Atlantic City’s fortunes. Less than 15 months later, the Taj landed in bankruptcy, but the casino, like its master, would rise again, and continue to make history on the Boardwalk.

By David Schwartz

David G. Schwartz (www.dieiscast.com), an Atlantic City native, is the Director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV and the author of several books, including Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.