NAMES IN THE NEWS : Maples Off Taj’s Opening List

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. —  The scorned Marla Maples won’t be at Donald Trump’s side today for the lavish grand opening of his $1-billion Taj Mahal Casino Resort.

Trump made headlines several weeks ago when he announced that he had invited Maples, the Georgia model and fledgling actress said to be at the heart of the Trumps’ marital woes, to be his guest at the Taj’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Requests for press credentials for the Taj opening soared at the news that Maples, who has been in hiding since she was identified as the “other woman,” would finally be unveiled in Atlantic City.

Taj officials had anticipated issuing about 200 press credentials for the grand opening ceremony but that number has blossomed to more than 1,000. However, after all the hoopla, Trump ended up retracting Maples’ invitation and reportedly has broken off his relationship with her.