[5] The complex contained 614 rooms, seven restaurants, a health club, a 750-seat showroom and a 60,000 sq ft (5,574.2 m2) casino, all on a narrow 2.6 acres (1.1 ha) plot of land next to Caesars Atlantic City.

Five months after opening, the name was changed to simply Trump Plaza, to avoid confusion with Harrah's Marina.

[6] Part of the reason for this is that Harrah's was commonly associated with and attracted low-rolling gamblers, but Trump had built 85 high-roller suites, which were rarely used.

[13] The casino was the scene of a notorious baccarat session in May 1990, in which the Japanese high roller Akio Kashiwagi lost $10 million.

[20] The plan called for demolition of the unfinished Penthouse casino, the addition of 30,000 square feet of gaming space, and renovation of the former Holiday Inn building to become Trump Plaza's East Tower, with 361 hotel rooms.

[20] The expansion was at the center of a major eminent domain court case, when Trump sought to obtain the property of Vera Coking, a retired homeowner whose house was adjacent to the Penthouse casino.

[21] Coking, represented by the Institute for Justice, was victorious,[22] and plans to build a limousine parking lot were thwarted.

On May 24, 2011, Trump Entertainment Resorts announced that a decision would be made within two months to either sell the casino or to renovate and expand it, possibly with a joint venture partner.

[30] The deal fell through when Carl Icahn, senior lender for Trump Plaza's mortgage, declined to approve the sale for the proposed price.

[31][32] On July 12, 2014, it was reported that the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino would close on September 16, 2014, if a buyer was not found, putting an estimated 1,000 employees out of work.

[40] On June 11, 2020, Mayor Marty Small Sr. announced that Icahn has submitted plans for the hotel towers to be imploded, as they were considered a danger to public safety because of falling debris.

[43] The auction was cancelled after lawyers for IEP AC Plaza LLC, a subsidiary company of Icahn Enterprises which owns the building, said they were unaware of the fundraiser and demanded it be stopped.