Tropicana Las Vegas ceasing operations this spring to make way for new ballpark
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The Tropicana's last days are in full effect after its owner announced the date it will cease operations ahead of demolition for a new professional baseball stadium.
Slot machines will no longer be heard on the resort's casino floor on the Las Vegas strip after April 2, just shy of its 67th anniversary.
Bally's Corporation made the announcement Monday, FOX 5 Las Vegas reported. But all nostalgia and history may not be lost, as a press release obtained by the local station states a "state-of-the-art integrated resort and ballpark" will take its place.
"This is an exciting next chapter for Bally’s, and we are honored to be a key partner with the Athletics on bringing a Major League ballpark to the great city of Las Vegas," Bally’s President George Papanier said.
The Tropicana Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. (Bridget Bennett/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Bally's did not announce how quickly after closing demolition would begin, but the timeline of the closure progressed much more quickly than expected.
About 500 workers will be impacted as a result of the closure. Most of them are part of the Culinary Union, which did not immediately respond to a Fox Business request for comment, but a spokesman told FOX 5 they were prepared.
The Tropicana Las Vegas' stained-glass ceiling is shown over table games after the Las Vegas Strip resort reopened for the first time since mid-March because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on September 17, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Workers who stay until the very last day of operations will get paid $2,000 per service year as part of their severance package along with six months of free health care, the union spokesman said. Those who choose not to take the severance package is getting paid up to $15,000 and an opportunity to work at the new property.
Despite being owned by Bally's, the Tropicana is operated as a DoubleTree by Hilton. Hilton did not immediately respond to a Fox Business request for comment on the announced closure date.
This year will be the last the Oakland A's play at the Oakland Coliseum, with Major League Baseball announcing the approval of the move to Las Vegas in November. Once the team moves to Las Vegas, Oakland will no longer be home to any professional sports teams.
FILE - In this Aug. 4, 2015, file photo, sunlight illuminates a sign at the Tropicana hotel and casino in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher,File / AP Images)
The new Las Vegas ballpark that can seat 30,000 fans is set to open in 2028. It is unknown at this time where the A's will play their 2025-27 seasons.
The Tropicana opened on April 4, 1957. At the time, it was the most expensive casino ever built in Las Vegas, costing $15 million, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
"It was a very high-end property that a lot of major stars frequented," Lorenzo Doumani, local real estate developer and CEO of Majestic Resorts, told the newspaper. His father, Edward Doumani and uncle Fred Doumani, owned the Tropicana for a time in the ’70s. "It was one of the prime destinations on the Strip. It really was iconic."
