Demolition of Tropicana Las Vegas: A New Era Begins

Las Vegas is on to yet another chapter of its history.

The hotel towers at the city’s Tropicana Hotel and Casino were officially demolished early on Wednesday, marking the end of the story of the Tropicana Las Vegas. This casino resort had been part of the city since opening in 1957.

The demolition was the grand finale of a ceremony that included a fireworks display and drone show celebrating the Tropicana and nodding towards the future of the space, which hugs the Las Vegas strip—the area is being cleared to make way for a $1.5 billion baseball stadium that will serve as the home of the Athletics, who are relocating from Oakland.

While construction on the stadium is slated to start in 2025, the Athletics hope to start their new life in Vegas at the beginning of the 2028 season.

There was no public viewing of the demolition, though Bally’s did broadcast a long ceremony online. Several Vegas social media accounts caught the implosion. Here are some of the better views:

Adiós Tropicana pic.twitter.com/M7lhDV7rLC

— Las Vegas Locally 🌴 (@LasVegasLocally) October 9, 2024

The Tropicana, 1957 – 2024. pic.twitter.com/04akctLVgK

— Las Vegas Issues (@VegasIssues) October 9, 2024

And here’s the view from the city’s Harry Reid International Airport (LAS):

Goodbye to our neighbor, the Tropicana 🫶✨ #Vegas pic.twitter.com/0SjOMfmZ7K

— Harry Reid International Airport (@LASairport) October 9, 2024

The Tropicana has not been open since it closed its doors for good in April 2024, just a couple of years after Bally’s purchased the resort from Penn National Gaming, which had owned it since 2015. It was one of two major casino-resorts to shut in 2024. The city also said goodbye to The Mirage resort, which shut its doors for the final time in July.