After opening in 1993 when poker was legalized in New Jersey, "the Taj" became "the center of the East Coast poker world, certainly the legal poker world," said Brian Koppelman, who used the mix of locals, tourists and pros as inspiration for scenes in his 1998 film "Rounders." Koppelman and Levien traveled there for research after deciding to make a film about the New York underground poker scene. "When we went there, the Taj Mahal poker room was kind of a mess," said former World Series of Poker tournament director Jack McClelland, who Trump hired to launch the tournament that was broadcast on ESPN. "They ran the poker room like you run the blackjack pit. Connecticut's Foxwoods Casino had already begun splitting up the lucrative New York market, but it was the opening of Atlantic City's Vegas-style Borgata casino in 2003 that started the end of the Taj poker room.

Source: New Zealand Herald October 08, 2016 13:07 UTC