Sin City Bids Farewell to the Tropicana in Spectacular Demolition

As announced earlier in the week, Tropicana Las Vegas’ planned demolition took place right on schedule on Wednesday, following Bally’s decision to donate part of the memorabilia to the University of Nevada. 

Las Vegas marked the end of an era as the Tropicana, the last true mob-connected building on the Strip, was demolished in a dazzling pre-dawn implosion.

Las-Vegas Style Implosion with Fireworks in the Sky

Fireworks were seen lighting up the sky as the iconic hotel’s towers crumbled to the ground, ending a 67-year chapter of the city’s storied past.

The Tropicana’s implosion was the first of its kind in nearly a decade, reviving a long-standing tradition in a city known for constantly hitting the refresh button and reinventing itself. 

In fact, casino demolitions have become as much a part of Las Vegas’ identity as gambling and entertainment. 

As Geoff Schumacher, historian and vice president of exhibits and programs at the Mob Museum, remarked, “What Las Vegas has done, in classic Las Vegas style, they’ve turned many of these implosions into spectacles.”

This theatrical approach to demolition began in 1993 when former casino mogul Steve Wynn who co-founded Wynn Resorts with his then-wife in 2002 famously blew up the Dunes to make way for the Bellagio.

Wynn decided to televise the event, adding a dramatic flair with a storyline involving pirate ships from his other casino firing at the doomed building. 

Since then, Schumacher notes, Las Vegas embraced destruction as a spectacle worth watching. 

The last major casino to be demolished on the Strip was the Riviera in 2016, making room for a convention center expansion.

“Old Vegas, It’s Going”

The Tropicana’s demolition is ushering in a new era, as the city continues to rebrand into a sports hub with the Flamingo as the only standing reminder of its mob era. 

Opened in 1957, the Tropicana was once dubbed the “Tiffany of the Strip,” a nod to its elegance and popularity with celebrities like the Rat Pack. 

Its past, however, is deeply intertwined with organized crime. Reputed mobster Frank Costello had ties to the casino, and a 1970s investigation revealed millions of dollars skimmed from its revenues by mobsters. 

Despite these dark connections, the casino’s opulence and grandeur left a lasting legacy.

In a nod to nostalgia, fans of the Tropicana were able to say their goodbyes in April before the hotel closed for good. 

One emotional visitor, Joe Zappulla, summed up the sentiment, saying, “Old Vegas, it’s going.”

Now, the site is getting ready to host the $1.5 billion baseball stadium dedicated to the relocating Oakland Athletics as well as a state-of-the-art entertainment resort as envisioned by Bally’s Corporation. 

At the end of July, the corporation reaffirmed its commitment to Las Vegas amid its ambitious expansion plans.