When you hear Taj Mahal, you think of India and the beautiful marble structure that's been a tourist attraction for ages. Well, now, thanks to Donald Trump, maybe you'd better think twice. The original Taj Mahal was begun in 1632 by the mogul Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife, for more than 300 years a symbol of serenity, purity and eternal love. Well, move over mogul Jahan and make room for mogul DonaldJ. Trump and his version of the Taj Mahal. Nothing serene or pure here,and if there's evidence of eternal love, it is our eternal love of money and gambling. The Trump Taj Mahal Casino & Resort officially opened last night with a laser ribbon-cutting ceremony and fireworks. At $ 1 billion,this is the largest and most expensive casino resort ever built,according to Trump. And if that hype doesn't get you, he adds that it is the eighth wonder of the world. Its opening coincided with the latest round of headlines in the Trump divorce case dubbed, at least one way, the eighth blunder of the world.The casino alone at Trump's Taj Mahal covers 120,000 square feet, and that's where we caught up with Donald Trump yesterday morning just before the grand and grandiose debut. And good morning, Donald. Good morning, Paula. How are you? We can't see you, but we see some flashing poker signs. Oh, here you go. Well, that sounds good. Congratulations. Thank you very much. It's a great honor. You describe your place as the eighth wonder of the world. Where are you standing now? Well, right now I'm in the casino. It's just about ready to open,so we have a lot of people working here right now. But the people are going to be streaming in in another 15 minutes or so, and it really has become -- it's the largest casino in the world. But, more importantly, Ithink, it's far and away the most beautiful. Tell about what is hanging from the ceiling above you there. Well, this is a crystal chandelier. We have a combination, I guess -- in combination, 48 of these chandeliers. They're extremely expensive and, I guess, overall we have close to $ 20 million worth of chandeliers in this room alone. Do you think that makes any difference to the people who come in there? I was asking that question myself. In fact, I said: Why did I spend the money? The casino would have looked just fine without them.Why did we have to spend -- I think it probably makes that little bit of an edge. It gives me an edge. It's a lot of money, but it's a greatquestion. I literally was asking that question this morning. As beautiful as they are, will anybody appreciate them? We'll let you know in about a year. Is the allure here the idea that it's the largest this, the most expensive that? With all of those superlatives, is that what is going to draw people into this place? Well, I think I've been successful with those superlatives, but you have to produce. You can't just use the words, and this is really the -- the biggest and the best. It's the most beautiful. People have come from the Mirage in Las Vegas, and they've said: This is far more beautiful. And it is a far more beautiful casino, and, you know, that is very much of an honor, because I think that's also a very nice hotel. I really . . . How do you compete with an exploding volcano, though? Well, that's easy to compete with. I mean, they haven't got the chandeliers. They haven't got the opulence of -- in the casino. Donald, there are lots of folks out there -- analysts -- who are very concerned that you're not going to be able to pull in the $ 1.3 million in cash that you need to to meet your . . . I thought it was one million. . . . debts, sir. Hey, the numbers are going up all the time. No, I know. Now it's going up. When I built Trump Plaza, which is now number one in Atlantic City -- far and away number one -- we beat outCaesar's for the year. Everybody said: How are you going to do $ 250,000a day? Well, we're doing almost $ 900,000 a day. Trump Plaza does$ 900,000 a day, and it's only one-third the size of this particular hotel, so I think a $ 1 million is going to be very easy. So how much of your own cash is at risk, Donald? We know how you financed this with junk bonds. How much cash is in the deal? Well, not a lot. You sound like a very good businesswoman, Paula.I'll have to talk to you. Well, I know a little about real estate. You just signed a hell of a contract, I'll tell you. You just signed a hell of a contract -- not very much of my own cash, but my reputation's at risk. I mean, if this doesn't turn out as successfully as I want it to, my reputation's at risk. At that, to me, in a sense, is more important than perhaps the money involved. All kinds of gewgaws there. For instance, this thing behind you -- what's it made of? Well, this is a beautiful wood piece with copper fittings and toppings, hand-carved in Marrakesh, and it really came out beautifully.This is ancient carvings and we have a lot of great works of art throughout the building. Why don't you describe to us what some of the other opulent things are that you can see around the place, and we will show pictures as you talk about them? Well, we also, as you saw -- you saw the chandeliers. I really think the chandeliers are one of the great features of the building, butI will take you you upstairs to look at the suites, because I've never seen -- I own the Plaza Hotel in New York, and yet I've never seen anywhere in the world suites like we've been able to build at the Taj Mahal. Who's going to be the first one to stay in the suites up there? Why, I think we have a number of main suites, but MichaelJackson's coming in, and a lot of the big stars are coming in and a lot of the high rollers are coming in. Perhaps the high rollers don't want their names mentioned, but they're all coming. Do they have to pay? The high rollers generally don't pay. It depends on who we're talking about. But generally speaking, a high roller coming who spends literally millions of dollars over the course of a year on gaming and gambling doesn't pay for a suite. Well, you're under a tremendous amount of pressure lately. Why do you say that? Both in your professional life and your personal life. How you doing? I've never heard anyone say such a thing. I'm doing well. How are you doing? I feel great. I'm doing well. This was a very big undertaking,and this has turned out to be far more successful than I had thought,because I never realized the kind of accolades we'd be getting for it and the numbers of people that would be coming. I feel good. Do you think all of the publicity about your personal life actually may be enhancing what's going on here -- all of this publicity? I mean, Donald Trump has not been out of the newspaper for -- what? -- three or four months now. Unfortunately, yes. That's right. I mean, this may be . . . I think . . . . . . this may be making money for you. I think probably it is. I think that, in a sense, it's unfortunate. I think that, you know, I like doing things on their own merit. I suspect that perhaps you wouldn't be here today had it not been for that. I'm not sure. I mean, you'll have to ask your producers . .. Oh, don't be that cynical. I wonder if you would be here if it weren't for that. Huh? I don't know. I'm not even sure, but I really think probably it's -- we have as an example in the opening on Thursday, we have2,400 press credentials coming. That's monstrous. When I did theTyson-Spinks fight, which was the biggest fight probably in the last 10years, I had 700 press credentials. We have 2,400 press credentials. We expected -- let's say, three or four months ago, we expected to have maybe100 press credentials, maybe 150 and possibly 200, and we end up with2,400, so I realize probably that they're not here only because of the brick and mortar. Donald Trump, we thank you for giving us a little tour here today. Well, thank you and good luck and congratulations on your ratings.I've been watching. Terrific. You're creeping up. You just keep creeping up. Congratulations. Thank you, Donald. We appreciate it. So long. Good-bye. Good-bye, Paula. Good-bye, Harry. We'll be back.