1,153 Trump Plaza workers to lose jobs in casino shutdown

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Job losses at Trump Plaza when the Atlantic City casino shuts down in September will be even worse than expected.

Trump Entertainment Resorts began mailing notices to its workers on Monday, informing them that while a final decision has not been reached, management expects to close the casino on Sept. 16.

The notice says 1,153 people will lose their jobs, up from estimates of just over 1,000 last week.

The figure is contained in federally-required WARN notices that must be sent to workers at least 60 days before an anticipated shutdown or mass layoff. In the notice, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, the company lists 1,153 under a section that reads, "Number of employees to be terminated."

The job losses are sending shock waves through what until just a few years ago was the nation's second-largest gambling market. New Jersey has now lost that position to Pennsylvania.

The Atlantic Club shutdown in January closure cost 1,600 workers their jobs. An additional 2,100 at the Showboat Casino Hotel will be unemployed as of Aug. 31 when that casino closes, and Revel Casino Hotel has more than 3,100 workers who could lose their jobs if the 2-year-old casino resort is not sold next month at a bankruptcy auction.

Trump Plaza has been the worst-performing of Atlantic City's 11 casinos.