The Tropicana Las Vegas (pictured) is set for implosion on October 9, 2024, operator Bally’s confirmed this week.
Bally’s plans an ostentatious farewell for the venerable Las Vegas “Rat Pack” era casino hotel. The Tropicana opened in 1957, and on April 2, 2024, it closed its doors for the final time.
It will become the first former Las Vegas Strip casino resort to be imploded since 2016 ‘s demolition of the Riveria.
Bally’s plans to lease the site for a proposed new Major League Baseball Stadium. The $1.5 billion ballpark is expected to take about three years to build, making it ready for the Oakland A’s planned 2028 move to Las Vegas.
“Pending approvals, Bally’s Corporation and the Oakland A’s are set to host a commemorative event on the morning of October 9, featuring a spectacular drone and fireworks display by Fireworks by Grucci, concluding with the implosion of the Tropicana slated for 2:30 a.m.,” said a Bally’s spokesperson.
The Demolition
Bally’s applied for a demolition permit from Clark County in April, shortly after closing the casino resort. It did not reveal the exact date at the time. It has not been approved yet, but is widely expected to be passed closer to the event.
The company has already cleared much of the site, leaving mostly only the two 22-story hotel towers to be imploded. The Tropicana Club tower and the Paradise Tower are set to come down in “a single explosive event,” according to Bally’s.
The October 9 implosion will take place overnight to minimize the impact of dust and other disruptions in the busy tourist corridor and discourage large crowds. That’s although Bally’s has promised fireworks displays (alongside the actual implosion) and a drone show to give the Tropicana a glitzy Las Vegas send-off.
Aside from the cost of the extra entertainment, a ballpark figure for the demolition process, as per Bally’s permit application, was $15 million.
The Future
The Rhode Island-based Bally’s is demolishing the Tropicana to make way for a $1.5 billion baseball stadium.
The build for the Oakland A’s planned renaming and relocation to Las Vegas still has to go through three more rounds of contract agreements with Clark County before it can begin in earnest.
Bally’s says it has tentative plans to build a new casino resort on the site after the planned 2028 opening of the stadium.
The Tropicana will become the first Las Vegas casino resort to be imploded in eight years. The Riviera was imploded in 2016. You’d have to go back another decade to find such an event on the Las Vegas Strip, with the 2006 demolition of The New Frontier.
Sin City will be getting another demolition later this year, as the now-closed Mirage goes under the wrecking ball. It will eventually be replaced by a giant Hard Rock Las Vegas Casino Resort.
However, its new owners, Hard Rock International, will not be imploding the Mirage’s resort tower. It instead plans to remodel it, while adding a new 700-foot-tall glass hotel tower where the Mirage Volcano stands today.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
