'He trampled everyone - the shareholders, the bondholders, the employees, the contractors,' said Sebastian Pignatello, who lives in Flushing, N.Y., near where Trump grew up. Today, some still love him here, even people who lost money. When he decided to leave, in 2009, the exit was far from smooth and graceful he gave up after last-ditch battles with bondholders.

As he expanded, though, Trump's aggressive borrowing and go-go strategy left them laboring under high-interest debt. The real story of Trump's rise and fall in Atlantic City is more complicated. I left Atlantic City before it totally cratered,' Trump said during the first Republican debate. 'I had the good sense - and I've gotten a lot of credit in the financial pages. With his showman's knack for positive spin, he depicts his history in Atlantic City, bankruptcies and all, as more proof of his genius for timing. In his presidential campaign, Trump sells himself as a brilliant businessman and consummate dealmaker.

It was also before the financial crisis and competition from other gambling venues pummeled the casino industry here, throwing thousands out of work and pushing the city to the edge of insolvency. That was before Trump lost control of the casinos after a series of bankruptcies and two decades of battles with banks and bondholders.

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