The Trump Taj Mahal opened in 1990, becoming then the tallest and most extravagant casino in Atlantic City, costing $1.1 billion to build. 

Like the games tables inside of it, the Taj Mahal had its ups and downs during its 26-year tenure. Now-President Donald Trump's casino company declared bankruptcy several times, and for years, the building belonged to him in name only. Eventually, the casino came under the control of billionaire Carl Icahn, who also owned the Tropicana. 

But the transition wasn't so smooth. Icahn went to battle with the casino workers' union, disputing contract obligations like health care and pension pay put in place before the key to the landmark casino was in his pocket. 

Following a two year legal battle, courts ruled in 2016 that Icahn was not required to honor the expired contract. Workers walked out on their jobs in protest that July, and a month later, during the longest strike in the Atlantic City casino era's history, it was announced that the Taj Mahal would close after hemorrhaging millions of dollars a month. 

The fate of the landmark, once dubbed the "eighth wonder of the world" by Trump himself, was uncertain.