One of the most iconic lodging destinations on the Las Vegas Strip disappeared into rubble this morning as the Tropicana Hotel was taken down in a demolition implosion.
The hotel’s two towers were brought down by Controlled Demolition Inc. at 2:37 a.m. PDT. The demolition was preceded by a fireworks ceremony and marked the first controlled implosion on the Strip since the Riviera was brought down in 2016.
The Tropicana opened in 1957 at a cost of $15 million, making it the most expensive Las Vegas hotel at the time. The venue was among the most popular with a colorful history of A-list entertainers including Eddie Fisher as the hotel’s opening act, followed over the years by stars including Louis Armstrong, Sammy Davis Jr. and Wayne Newton. It was featured in the 1971 film “Diamonds Are Forever” with Sean Connery’s 007 taking a guest suite because he heard the Tropicana was “quite comfortable.”
Over the years, the hotel had different owners who tried to reinvent the property to fit their concept of a Las Vegas resort. The Tropicana closed in April and the site will be home of a new 33,000-seat baseball stadium for the relocating Oakland A’s.
Photo: Roman Eugeniusz / Wikimedia Commons
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