Trump International Hotel Las Vegas

History

Early years

In April 2002, Phil Ruffin announced that he had partnered with Donald Trump to build Trump Tower Las Vegas, a $300 million 60-story condominium tower with 300 units and the possibility of a casino, to be constructed on Fashion Show Drive, near Ruffin's New Frontier Hotel and Casino. Trump had initially approached Ruffin two years earlier about developing a property on or near the Las Vegas Strip. Construction on Trump Tower Las Vegas was to begin in six to seven months and was expected to last approximately 18 months. In August 2003, Ruffin said the tower had been decreased to 43 stories and was expected to cost $272 million.

In November 2003, Trump denied that the project had been delayed or that it was suffering from a lack of financing. Trump also said he was considering "something on a larger scale" for the project. In July 2004, Ruffin said the project had been delayed up to that point because of other business ventures, including Trump's reality television show, The Apprentice. That month, Trump and Ruffin announced revised plans for Trump International Hotel and Tower, a $300 million condominium-hotel with over 1,000 units. Donald Trump's son Eric Trump later said, "We have no problem getting a gaming license, but we wanted to do something different here. We wanted a true luxury resort experience. It's hard to have a high-quality product when you walk into 'ding, ding, ding' and there are people walking around in Hawaiian shirts with big plastic drink mugs."

Ruffin appeared in an October 2004 episode of The Apprentice to sign a $300 million deal with Trump regarding the project. The project was referenced again in the show's second-season finale, when winner Kelly Perdew was offered a job at the property. Groundbreaking was initially scheduled for May 2005, with completion expected by the end of 2006.

Trump and Ruffin held a groundbreaking ceremony for the project on July 12, 2005. The Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote that the event was "really a ribbon-cutting and photo opportunity". News programs such as Access Hollywood and Extra provided coverage of the event, which was attended by approximately 300 state and local government representatives, as well as Carolyn Goodman, showgirls, Steve Wynn and his wife Elaine Wynn, and Miss USA 2005 winner Chelsea Cooley.

Condominium units went on sale the same day with the opening of a $3 million temporary sales center at the corner of South Las Vegas Boulevard and Fashion Show Drive, in front of the New Frontier. The building was 8100 sqft, and featured a 10-foot replica of the tower. That month, an NBA team was in negotiations to purchase an entire floor of the tower, while Trump was considering an alternative version of The Apprentice that would involve the tower. Construction was expected to begin by the end of that summer, and was expected to last 24 to 30 months.

Construction began in November 2005, when the building's foundation was poured. After the completion of a 36,000-square-foot recreational deck in March 2006, an average of 800 workers constructed one new floor for the tower approximately every six days. on 3 acres of land that was part of the rear parking lot for the New Frontier. The project was designed by Bergman, Walls & Associates and built by Perini Building Company.

Trump Hotel Las Vegas opened on March 31, 2008. An opening ceremony was held by Trump and Ruffin on April 11, 2008. By October 2008, only 21 percent of condo unit sales had closed, as potential buyers had trouble securing mortgages. , Eric Trump oversees operations at the tower.

Second Tower proposal

By April 2005, a second, identical 64-story tower was being planned. Sales of the second tower were planned to begin by the end of 2005, with a 35 percent increase in prices from the first tower.

In April 2007, the second tower was the subject of an episode of The Apprentice in which the show's candidates were tasked with creating a marketing program for the new tower. Condo units for the tower went on sale the next day.

In April 2008, Trump said he had not decided on a start date for the second tower, choosing to wait until all sales had closed on the first tower's rooms. At that time, reservations were still being accepted for the second tower's units. The second tower was ultimately put on hold because of bad credit markets.

Recent history

Labor relations

On December 4–5, 2015, employees voted in favor of unionizing the hotel property. It was organized by the Bartenders Union and the Culinary Workers Union and supervised by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) under the Obama administration. Donald Trump owns a penthouse on the 61st floor.

2023 death of Diana Truschke

In 2025, the property was sued for wrongful death following the death of Diana Truschke, a 78 year old woman from California. Truschke died from injuries she sustained after being ejected by a revolving door at the property. The suit claims that employees at the property should have been aware of the door malfunctioning and that it was not complying with safety regulations. The incident occurred when she was attempting to exit the property in March of 2023. Truschke died in October of 2023 as a result of injuries she sustained at the property. The family is suing on the grounds of negligence, negligent hiring and negligent training.

Potential sale of property

In 2024, there were discussions over whether or not the property might be sold or seized by New York Attorney General Letitia James following Donald Trump's civil fraud trial in New York. The property could sell for $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion. This speculation occurred prior to Donald Trump winning the 2024 United States presidential election.

2025 Tesla Cybertruck explosion

Main article: 2025 Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion

On January 1, 2025, a rented Tesla Cybertruck exploded and caught fire in the valet area of the hotel resulting in the death of the driver, Matthew Livelsberger, and seven injuries. Authorities believe fireworks, gasoline, and gas tanks were connected to a detonator operated by Livelsberger. The incident was investigated by Las Vegas police and the FBI as a potential terrorist attack, but was later confirmed as a suicide. It was not connected to the truck attack in New Orleans which took place earlier that day. Elon Musk stated that Tesla's senior team is investigating the explosion using telemetry last reported by the Cybertruck, and also concluded that the explosion was not caused by the vehicle, but fireworks and/or a bomb in the bed of the vehicle. Livelsberger's body was recovered from the vehicle, and seven bystanders were treated for injuries. The vehicle had fireworks-style mortars onboard.

DJT restaurant

Main article: DJT (restaurant)

The DJT restaurant is a full-service New American restaurant at the hotel.

Gallery

File:Lobby Trump International Hotel Las Vegas (38532499500).jpg|Lobby File:Lobby Trump International Hotel Las Vegas (38532498610).jpg|Entrance File:Trumplvtowermarch2006.jpg|Construction in March 2006 File:Trump Tower Las_Vegas - August_2007.jpg|Construction photo taken in August 2007 from the Riviera Hotel and Casino File:Trump and FashionShow Las Vegas Strip.jpg|Completed first tower as seen from south of Wynn Las Vegas File:Trump hotel Las Vegas 2009.jpg|Trump Hotel in 2009 File:Las-Vegas-Trump-Hotel-8480.jpg|Trump Hotel in 2013 File:Trump Hotel in Las Vegas-2017.jpg|Trump Hotel in 2017 File:Las Vegas Trump Tower P4220699.jpg|Trump Hotel in 2018

References

References

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2. It has two restaurants: [[DJT (restaurant)
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