Trump Plaza

Whatever Hue Q. To was doing to annoy casino patrons in Trump Plaza the night of Sept. 8 - hustling for change, pickpocketing - it was only after casino security stepped in that the real trouble began. Within about 45 minutes, the 25-year-old native of Vietnam was dead, slammed so violently against the wall of a casino back room that the damage to his neck stopped his breathing, according to the county prosecutor and medical examiner. That explanation came later. In the days after To's death, Trump Plaza officials gave this statement, apparently relying on statements from the five security guards who were present when To died: To "stumbled into the arm of a chair.

When Buster Douglas returns from Tokyo, chances are he will not have to check his senses at customs. They probably will have been separated from him by that pugilistic mugger, Mike Tyson. The undisputed heavyweight champion, returning to the scene of his two- round demolition of Tony Tubbs two years ago, will meet Douglas on Saturday night in Tokyo. While Douglas should become Tyson victim No. 38, at least one group hopes for a competitive fight - the officials at Trump Plaza, which will host the match between Tyson and Evander Holyfield on June 18 in Atlantic City.

ONCE UPON a time, Trump Plaza was a jewel in the crown of the East Coast's gambling monopoly. In the late 1980s, the midtown gaming hall was, for lack of a better description, the Borgata of its day. Such was its prestige that cartoonist Garry Trudeau chose it as the location for a series of "Doonesbury" cartoons that imagined a comeback concert by an in-hiding-for-a-decade Elvis Presley. It was also the casino that sponsored Mike Tyson's championship boxing matches at what was then Convention Hall.

The Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino expects to become the third of Donald Trump's three casinos to file a bankruptcy plan, officials said yesterday. Trump attorney Joseph Fusco told the Casino Control Commission that the casino intends to file a prepackaged bankruptcy - one that has won approval beforehand from creditors and is designed to speed the trip through bankruptcy court. Under the offer, bondholders would exchange $225 million in bonds paying 12 7/8 percent and an additional $25 million in long-term debt for $200 million in bonds paying 12 percent and $100 million in preferred stock with an annual dividend of 10 percent.

You can tell a lot about Atlantic City casinos' "target customer" by looking at the talent booked into the main show rooms this summer. As usual, the schedule is monopolized by conservative nightclub standbys who attract an older, monied crowd. Note, as examples, the umpteenth coming this weekend of Gladys Knight and the Pips at the Trump Plaza, The McGuire Sisters plus the Count Basie Orchestra at Harrah's, song and dance man Ben Vereen at the Tropicana and Dolly Parton at the Golden Nugget.

Frank Gelb. A Philadelphia native, Gelb made his promotional debut in Atlantic City in 1973 - 5 years before the first casino-hotel opened - with a show headlined by a fight between Richie Kates and Roger Russell that ended the town's 10-year boxing drought. For the next 20 years, Gelb either staged his own events or served as the knowledgeable middleman for various promoters, using his array of contacts at Resorts, Harrah's Marina, Bally's Park Place, Trump Plaza and TropWorld to get deals done.

Restaurant manager Sharon Elhari knew something was wrong yesterday when she walked into the Trump Plaza executive offices and found the receptionist crying. A few minutes later she found out why. Three top executives in the Trump organization, including business magnate Donald Trump's right-hand man in Atlantic City, Stephen Hyde, were among five people who had just been killed in a helicopter crash on the Garden State Parkway. "Everyone is stunned. I'm surprised that there wasn't a moment of silence, but I guess that isn't in keeping with the mood of a casino," Elhari said last night, several hours after the crash.

Total revenues for Atlantic City's 11 casinos declined last month 6.3 percent from a year ago to $245.1 million. The decrease continued a streak of year-over-year losses to 39 consecutive months. Larger properties had revenue increases, such as Borgata, up 2.4 percent; Harrah's Resort, up 3.4 percent, and Caesars, up 17.6 percent. Casinos reporting the largest declines were Trump Plaza, down 31.8 percent; ACH, down 26.9 percent, and Trump Taj, down 26.5 percent. The resort continues to feel competitive pressure from casinos in Pennsylvania and New York and from racetracks with slot machines.

New York developer and casino owner Donald Trump has retained Frank Miller, architect and a principal in the firm of DJ Associates in Ventnor, N.J., to spearhead his company's Atlantic City construction projects. Miller - who already has had a hand in the development and design of five casinos - Trump Plaza, Trump's Castle, Caesars, the Sands and the Claridge - will pull together a group that will work on Trump's present and future projects, the Trump Organization announced. "Frank Miller's rare talent for designing some of the most innovative and operationally efficient structures on the East Coast today, as well as his experience in low- and moderate-income housing, make him and the group two invaluable assets as they coincide with my commitment to Atlantic City," Trump said.

To understand how the casinos take care of their most valued customers, meet the Corkers. For the last 12 years, the Corkers have driven from Queens to the Trump Plaza casino hotel every Friday afternoon and stayed until late afternoon or early evening Sunday. The casino considers the Corkers "RF&Bs" - players who get "room, food and beverage complimentaries," whenever they stay at their "home" casino. They reached the ranking based on the level of play on slot machines or table games recorded on their Trump Plaza player cards.

In the Region A.C. casino revenues down Total revenues for Atlantic City's 11 casinos declined last month 6.3 percent from a year ago to $245.1 million. The decrease continued a streak of year-over-year losses to 39 consecutive months. Larger properties had revenue increases, such as Borgata , up 2.4 percent; Harrah's Resort , up 3.4 percent, and Caesars , up 17.6 percent. Casinos reporting the largest declines were Trump Plaza , down 31.8 percent; ACH , down 26.9 percent, and the Trump Taj , down 26.5 percent.

Total revenues for Atlantic City's 11 casinos declined last month 6.3 percent from a year ago to $245.1 million. The decrease continued a streak of year-over-year losses to 39 consecutive months. Larger properties had revenue increases, such as Borgata, up 2.4 percent; Harrah's Resort, up 3.4 percent, and Caesars, up 17.6 percent. Casinos reporting the largest declines were Trump Plaza, down 31.8 percent; ACH, down 26.9 percent, and Trump Taj, down 26.5 percent. The resort continues to feel competitive pressure from casinos in Pennsylvania and New York and from racetracks with slot machines.

ATLANTIC CITY - Gov. Christie, in hopes of salvaging the highly profitable Labor Day weekend for this city of casinos and more, dispatched his lieutenant governor to the Boardwalk on Monday to declare: "Atlantic City is open for business. The lights are on. " It was only Friday when the governor himself, in emphasizing evacuation orders against the coming hurricane, ordered seashore stragglers to "get the hell off the beach. " But on a glorious day that showed no hint that a hurricane had roared through over the weekend, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno said with a smile: "I'm here to tell you to get the hell back on the beach.

ATLANTIC CITY - Gov. Christie, in hopes of salvaging the highly profitable Labor Day weekend for this city of casinos and more, dispatched his lieutenant governor to the Boardwalk on Monday to declare: "Atlantic City is open for business. The lights are on. " It was only Friday that the governor himself, in emphasizing evacuation orders against the coming hurricane, ordered seashore stragglers to "get the hell off the beach. " But on a glorious day that showed no hint that a hurricane had roared through over the weekend, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno said with a smile: "I'm here to tell you to get the hell back on the beach.

ATLANTIC CITY - For only the third time in gambling's 33-year history here, the casino industry shut its doors Friday in anticipation of Hurricane Irene. By 8 on Friday night, Caesars Entertainment Inc., which owns four gambling venues; Trump Entertainment, which owns two; Resorts, Tropicana, ACH, and the Golden Nugget closed their hotels and casinos for the weekend. The Borgata, which closed at 6 p.m., asked all patrons to leave Friday afternoon and said it was not taking new reservations through Sunday.

ATLANTIC CITY - After running out of food on July Fourth and having "crazy, nonstop" business every day since then, one pizzeria owner in this tourist town is rethinking his numbers for the rest of the summer. "I don't want to go through that again," Michael Hauke said of the experience of turning away potential customers who had trekked to his Tony Boloney's, off the beaten path at Oriental and Vermont Avenues in the resort's Inlet section. It had been an extremely busy holiday weekend, and by 4 p.m. Monday, Hauke and his crew had run out of everything from cold cuts for sandwiches to the flour, cheese, and spices they use to make pizzas.

ACH, Boardwalk at Boston Avenue, 609-347-7111, hiltonac.com. Guess Who, 8 p.m. tomorrow, $40. Bally's Atlantic City, Boardwalk at Park Place, 609-340-2000, ballysac.com. "Legends in Concert," 7 and 10 p.m. tomorrow, 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, $30. Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, 1 Borgata Way, 609-317-1000, theborgata.com. Sheryl Crow, 8 tonight (Event Center), $86, $76 and $66. Aaron Lewis, 8 p.m. tomorrow (Music Box), $60 and $55. Jim Gaffigan, 9 p.m. tomorrow (Event Center), sold out. Johnny Mathis, 8 p.m. Sunday (Event Center)

HISTORICALLY, ATLANTIC City presentations of Broadway musicals have been a "Forrest Gump" affair - like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. Gambling-den audiences have, through the years, tasted everything from high art (Trump Plaza's 2004 production of "Cabaret") to the highly ridiculous (Tropicana's mind-bogglingly bad, 2009 take on "Fame the Musical") and everything in-between. It's a pleasure to report that while the rendition of "42nd Street" that runs through July 3 at Resorts Atlantic City doesn't set the bar any higher, it is an all-around excellent program that deserves attention.

Food and eating, extreme and exquisite, top the summer menu at Atlantic City casinos, as the Jersey Shore prepares for its most important stretch of the year. Memorial Day weekend, the beginning of the summer season, will feature the reopening of several beach bars, including one at the Trump Plaza , where the New Jersey Hot Dog Eating championship will be held May 28 at 2 p.m. The Atlantic City event, which will feature 100-pound eating superstar Sonya Thomas of Virginia - her personal record is 41 dogs and buns - is a qualifier for the Nathan's Hot Dog national championship July Fourth at Coney Island.