Las Vegas Demolishes Tropicana Casino in Celebratory Fashion

Sin City gave its final send-off to the Tropicana Las Vegas casino in a demolition-turned-spectacle early Wednesday morning.

Bally’s Corporation live-streamed the 22-second demolition, which also featured 555 drones and a fireworks show, according to a news release. 

The resort closed two days before its 67th anniversary on April 2 to help accommodate plans for a new stadium for the relocating Oakland Athletics. 

Out with the old

The demolition, which took place at 2:30 a.m., was Vegas’ first casino removal since 2016. It was the third-oldest casino on the strip.

The celebratory show that included drones and fireworks is common in Vegas. Former casino magnate Steve Wynn created the precedent in 1993 when he arranged an event that made it seem as if pirate ships fired at the Bellagio from one of Wynn’s other casinos across the street.

“It [was[ kind of a celebration of life for all that property has meant to Las Vegas,” said Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Wednesday’s events paved the way for the Athletics, who were granted permission by Major League Baseball on November 16, 2023, to move to Las Vegas.

The A’s new ballpark will include 33,000 seats, a large foul territory area, an MLB-record 18,000-square-foot jumbotron, and a roof that opens toward the Vegas Strip in the north. Well within that view will be Harrah’s Las Vegas, another of the city’s many casino locations.

"The demolition of the Tropicana is an important milestone in the process of bringing A’s baseball to the world-renowned Las Vegas Strip and the community of Southern Nevada," said A's owner John Fisher in the Bally's news release. “We hope that, in time, this site will become a place of unforgettable experiences for fans of the game.”

In with the new

Public viewing of the demolition was prohibited for safety concerns. Patrons and fans of the casino were allowed to say their goodbyes during an event in April.

Without the Tropicana, the Sahara is the only casino from the 1950s left on the strip.

The Tropicana had ties to the mob and the infamous Frank Costello when it opened in 1957. Costello was non-fatally shot in the head weeks after the casino opened, and when police reached him, they discovered the Tropicana’s earnings report in his jacket pocket.

Federal investigators investigating the Kansas City mob charged more than a dozen criminals with conspiring to skim $2 million (roughly $16.5 million accounting for inflation) from several Vegas casinos, including the Tropicana. Five convicts had direct ties to the Tropicana.

On a more positive note, the casino is also known for featuring in the 1971 James Bond film “Diamonds Are Forever” and the classic 1972 film “The Godfather.”

Vegas recently welcomed the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders and the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces in 2020 and 2018, respectively. 

The city also held the first Las Vegas Grand Prix F1 event in November and hosted the Sweet 16 in March Madness for the first time.