Atlantic City boarding house that outlasted two casinos goes to auction

A landmark Atlantic City property is for sale. A rooming house that threatened to kill a casino project now might fetch a fraction of what was offered for it before. 

Twice, Vera Coking refused to sell her 29 room boarding house to clear the way for casinos. Structural steel for the proposed Penthouse Casino even was erected around the building before that project was abandoned. After she turned down an offer from Donald Trump, he tried and failed to take Coker’s building by eminent domain to clear the way for a parking lot next to Trump Plaza casino.

Now Coking is 91, living in California, and the home will be auctioned July 31st.

Auction Advisors will sell the property. Joshua Olshin of that firm says the property could be a risky bet, so the starting bid is just $199,000.

“I think there is some value so it’s not like an all or nothing,” Olshin said. “It’s not like putting some money on a certain number on the roulette wheel.”

The company says there has been interest in the property even though Trump Plaza is slated for closure in September.

It says Coker’s children and grandchildren are initiating the sale, planning to use the money to care for her.

The property was listed last fall with a sale price close to $1 million, but just sat on the market.