That’s all, folks.
The Tropicana Casino, one of Las Vegas’ longest-standing and most historic hotels, went out with a bang on Wednesday as it was demolished to make room for a new Major League Baseball stadium.
The infamous mob-era resort was reduced to rubble just after 2:30 a.m. in an elaborate and colorful 22-second-long controlled implosion that featured 555 drones and a fireworks display to celebrate its long-standing legacy, according to a Bally’s news release.
“It’s a little sentimental because, you know, it’s like part of our neighborhood,” said Louis Gamboa, who lives within walking distance from the Tropicana, according to KVVU.
“But at the same time, I love progress, I love seeing Las Vegas grow.”
The now-demolished site will be transformed into a $1.5 billion ballpark for the Oakland Athletics and an entertainment complex.
The Tropicana opened on the iconic Las Vegas Strip in 1957 as the largest casino in Las Vegas, drawing an elite crowd of high-rollers and celebrities, Bally’s said.
The three-story fixture featured 300 rooms split into two wings and was quickly coined the “Tiffany of the Strip” for its opulence, the company added.
The resort underwent two major hotel expansions as Las Vegas evolved, opening the Tiffany Tower in 1979 and the Island Tower in 1986, Fox News reported.
For over six decades, it remained an iconic fixture on the Strip, featuring the likes of the Rat Pack and debuting a risque show featuring topless feathered showgirls — but it also had close ties with famed mobster Frank Costello, the outlet noted.
Costello was shot in the head in New York weeks after the Tropicana opened, and while he survived, police found a piece of paper with the Tropicana’s exact earning figures in his coat pocket — emphasizing the mob’s interest in the casino, the report added.
By the 1970s, federal authorities investigating mobsters in Kansas City would charge more than a dozen mob operatives with conspiring to skim nearly $2 million in gambling revenue from Las Vegas casinos, including the Tropicana.
Charges connected to the Tropicana alone resulted in five convictions.
The casino shuttered on April 2 after welcoming guests for two days shy of 67 years.
John Fisher, owner of the A’s, called Wednesday’s implosion — the first in nearly a decade — an important milestone as the baseball affiliation collaborates with Bally’s to relocate to Las Vegas.
“The Tropicana Las Vegas was one of the original pioneers of the Strip, setting the stage for the vibrant, larger-than-life entertainment destination we know and love today,” said Soo Kim, chairman of Bally’s Corporation, in a news release.
“It’s fitting that this iconic site now represents the future of Las Vegas as we look forward to welcoming Major League Baseball, the Athletics, and an exciting new entertainment complex.”
The Flamingo is now the only remaining casino from the city’s mob era left on the Strip.