On a lead-gray day last week, Lesley Kittler of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, drove to this city by the sea to play a little poker, maybe try her luck on the slot machines, too.

But soon enough, she found herself staring into the hollowed casino legacy of Donald Trump.

As a cut-to-bone wind swept off the choppy Atlantic and across a mostly deserted boardwalk, Kittler took in the ragged remains of the former Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino. The casino’s tower was blown up on Wednesday – an event Atlantic City saw as a tourist attraction and moneymaker, with spectators buying viewing spots at a nearby airport for $10 a car.

“It’s exciting,” said Kittler, 41, a former Mary Kay cosmetics saleswoman. “But it’s like a piece of history, a piece of life, is going down the tubes.”