Trump Plaza's Planned Implosion Spurs Talk Of What Might Replace It

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) -  The long shuttered Trump Plaza Hotel Casino in Atlantic City is coming down early next year to make way for something new. What that "something" is remains to be seen.

Billionaire businessman Carl Ichan closed the Plaza more than three years ago. The building was in bad shape then and has only gotten worse, so imploding it is a given.

What's next has been a matter of much speculation. Rummy Pandit, executive director of the Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University, suggests there are lots of options.

"It's a market segment that you could cater to that's not just gaming centric but people might be coming to visit and want to get involved with retail," Pandit told KYW Newsradio.

Something else to consider -- one end overlooks the boardwalk.

"It's a prime location for any kind of facility that would be augmented by a view of the ocean, would it be a hotel or a casino or a condominium complex," he added.

The fact that the Atlantic City Expressway comes to an end nearby certainly doesn't hurt.

Pandit notes that Las Vegas these days is far less dependent on gaming than it used to be. Atlantic City is making the same transition, and whatever is put on the Plaza site could go a long way to help.