A piece of Las Vegas hotel history will soon be demolished to make way for a new baseball stadium.
The Tropicana Las Vegas – a DoubleTree by Hilton, which first opened in 1957 and quickly became a Sin City landmark, closes its doors today as it awaits demolition in October.
In its place is slated a $1.5 billion Major League Baseball stadium, expected to open in 2028, for the Oakland Athletics. The team received approval to relocate to Las Vegas from California in November.
Located on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, the 1,470-room Tropicana hotel originally opened with 300 rooms, billed as the most expensive Las Vegas resort development at the time. The Tropicana underwent several expansions in its history to add towers and more guestrooms. The casino-hotel was last renovated in 2016.
Today, it sits on a 35-acre parcel on the corner of Tropicana Boulevard and Las Vegas Boulevard, has 50,000 square feet of casino space with 1,000 gaming positions, a 1,200-seat performance theater and a 100,000-square-foot convention and meeting space.
The Tropicana last sold to Bally’s Corp. in 2022 for $148 million, which included a retail space for $10 million, according to CoStar data. A news release by Bally's in 2021 stated the transaction total was valued at roughly $308 million. The seller was Gaming & Leisure Properties.
In addition to buying the Tropicana's buildings and operations for $148 million, "Bally's has agreed to lease the land underlying the Tropicana property from GLPI for an initial term of 50 years at annual rent of $10.5 million, subject to increase over time. Bally's and GLPI will also will enter into a sale-and-leaseback transaction relating to Bally's Black Hawk, Colorado, and Rock Island, Illinois, casino properties for a cash purchase price of [$148 million] payable by GLPI. The lease will have initial annual fixed rent of $12 million, subject to increase over time," the release states.
The new stadium will occupy 9 acres of the 35-acre total parcel. While Major League Baseball approved the Athletics' relocation, the Nevada legislature approved funding for the stadium development and the team unveiled renderings for the new stadium, the project still faces obstacles in the form of lawsuits and uncertainty over where the team will play before the new stadium opens in 2028.
But if all goes according to plan, the addition of the new MLB stadium adds to the numerous projects turning Las Vegas into a mecca for megaevents and sports tourism.
Just four years ago, the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League also left California to occupy the new Allegiant Stadium and become the Las Vegas Raiders.
Allegiant Stadium was built in 2020 and was home to the 2024 Super Bowl. The event drew in 330,000 incoming visitors the week of the game, more than $600 million in total economic impact and 350,000 hotel room nights booked.
Other recent additions to the Strip include the Sphere, the new 3,644-room Fontainebleau hotel and the 3,506-room Resorts World Las Vegas. The city also will host a Formula 1 Grand Prix event for the next 10 years.
Though final plans for the new 33,000-seat baseball stadium haven’t been set yet, renderings of it show a multi-deck domed stadium with sail details reminiscent of the Sydney Opera House.
Tropicana's History
In its heyday, the Tropicana Las Vegas was advertised as "the Tiffany of the Strip" for its opulence and high-end attractions.
The idea for the Tropicana was formed in 1955 by Ben Jaffe, then partial owner of the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach, according to the National Museum of Organized Crime & Law Enforcement. Jaffe purchased the vacant property on the site, intending to build the finest resort on the Strip.
The resort casino opened on April 4, 1957. The 300-room, Y-shaped property cost $15 million to build, according to the Las Vegas Sun. In the stem of the Y were lobby and lounge areas, the casino, “an elongated serpentine bar,” a cocktail lounge, its Theatre Restaurant, two additional dining rooms and multiple shops.
“Unlike many other Strip layouts, the Tropicana was designed and built as a resort hotel, not as a casino and night club with incidental guest rooms,” the newspaper reported at the time.
The property was subject to a great deal of government scrutiny for its mob ties in its early years. Original owner and operator Conquistador Inc. was headed by Phil Kastel, who oversaw construction but came under scrutiny from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, concerned over Kastel's ties to Frank Costello, boss of the Luciano crime family. Kastel was forced to sell his interest in the project in order for it to receive its gaming license. J. Kell Houssels, owner of the Las Vegas Club, was brought on to run the Tropicana. He would later buy out Jaffe and gain majority interest in the Tropicana.
A 1979 FBI investigation into hidden mob interest in Las Vegas' casinos found a skimming operation at the Tropicana, the New York Times reported.
The property changed hands as a result, with Ramada Inns acquiring the business and 50% of the real estate, reported Vegas Seven. That deal would later be the subject of a lawsuit over a breach-of-contract allegation. In 1984, the Tropicana started a $70 million expansion that added the Island Tower, its second after the Tiffany Tower in 1979.
The property’s troubled history includes more than its mob ties. During a labor dispute with local trade unions across the Strip in 1984, a small bomb exploded near the front entrance of the Tropicana, United Press International reported. While no one was injured, the explosion damaged nine cars belonging to employees who crossed the picket lines.
The property and its various owners and operators would continue to hit highs and lows over the following years. In 2008, Tropicana Entertainment, the owner and operator at the time, filed for bankruptcy, Reuters reports. It emerged in 2010 under a $200 million deal through billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
Tropicana Las Vegas was among the oldest hotels still operating on the Strip. Others include the Flamingo, which opened in 1946; the Sahara, which opened in 1952 and went through a few ownership and branding changes; the Linq, which originally opened as the Flamingo Capri, in 1959; and Caesars Palace, which opened in 1966.
Popular Culture
The Tropicana was well-known for many of its features and live entertainment. A section of its casino floor featured a 4,000-square-foot stained-glass ceiling that was installed in 1979, Vegas Seven reported in 2017. It cost $1 million to install.
The resort's 450-seat Theatre Restaurant as well as the Showcase and Blue Room lounges hosted numerous live acts and musical performers, including Eddie Fisher, Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman.
Inspired by a visiting French act at another property, the Tropicana debuted its own topless revue imported from Paris in 1959 with Les Folies Bergere. The revue would go on to be the Las Vegas launching pad for magicians Siegfried & Roy and Lance Burton.
The 1,100-seat Tropicana Theater opened in 1973 as the Superstar Theater. It underwent several name changes over the years, including the Gladys Knight Theater as part of the singer's residency.
The Tropicana hosted and featured in many classic movies. The 1964 film "Viva Las Vegas" starring Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret included a scene from the Tropicana and its Folies Bergere revue. Sean Connery’s James Bond stayed at the Tropicana in 1971’s "Diamonds Are Forever."
Scenes from "The Godfather" featured the Tropicana as well, shown as belonging to the character of Moe Green, a powerful crime boss. The property was initially included in "The Godfather Part II," called the Tropigala, but scenes from the property were cut from the film.
Stuntman Robbie Knievel, son of famous stuntman Evel Knievel, once jumped his motorcycle across 30 limousines at the Tropicana during a live TV special.