It’s a common complaint: Las Vegas has a bad habit of ignoring its history; quickly tearing down, imploding, or rebranding its hotels and casinos in a race to have the latest, hot, new attraction. Yet nobody’s really begging to keep the Tropicana around as the resort closes Tuesday, April 2 to clear way for a planned Athletics baseball stadium.
Is it worth visiting the Tropicana one more time this weekend? Not really. The property has been treading water for years, barely introducing anything new since Robert Irvine’s Public House in 2017. You can still check out the last handful of shows at the Laugh Factory, but longtime resident headliners Rich Little and Murray the Magician have already taken the stage for their final performances.
Then again, you might want to just hang out, play some slots, and appreciate the legacy.
🚨 Criminal Connection
Vegas loves its mob history. The Tropicana opened in 1957 and there was little doubt it was a mafia operation when crime boss Frank Costello was shot in New York with numbers from the hotel found in his pockets.
🎭 Strip Entertainment
The Tropicana helped usher in the era of the Vegas showgirl with Les Folies Bergère, a topless revue from Paris that went on to become the longest-running show in Vegas history. The Tropicana was also the first resort to host Siegfried & Roy and welcomed Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, and other jazz greats to the Blue Room.
👙 Poolside Betting
Did the Tropicana introduce swim-up blackjack tables to Las Vegas? I couldn’t lock down a firm answer when profiling the Tropicana last year. Yet it was one of the things that made the resort’s classic pool deck special, along with a lagoon-style environment of grass and palm trees.
⛳ A Shifting Landscape
The Tropicana was originally a motor lodge and some of those rooms are still part of the property, but shadowed by two hotel towers that came later. At one point, the Trop had an 18-hole golf course across the street where the MGM Grand now stands. A stained glass ceiling was installed above the casino in 1979, and many hope it’s saved and preserved after the Tropicana closes. It’s one of the last endearing things it has left.
- Meanwhile, there’s a mad dash on weddings at the Tropicana chapel 👰💗🤵[KVVU]
- And our own Dayvid Figler has thoughts on seeing Glenn Danzig perform Elvis songs at the Tropicana. [Hey Las Vegas ✍️]
