Steve Marcus
A sign promotes the Laugh Factory at the Tropicana Las Vegas Thursday, March 28, 2024. With the Tropicana closing to make space for a baseball stadium, the Laugh Factory is lopoking for a new home.
Sunday, March 31, 2024 | 2 a.m.
The Laugh Factory opened its doors at the Tropicana Las Vegas a dozen years ago, immediately drawing in performers and audiences alike with its swanky space, love for comedy and dedication to entertainment.
Laugh Factory wasn’t the first club to make the Tropicana its home, said partner and general manager Harry Basil. It all started around 35 years ago, he said, when legendary comic Rodney Dangerfield opened the resort’s first comedy hub: Rodney’s Place.
“There’s been so many laughs in this room,” Basil said from the venue’s iconic green room, where comedians have gathered to sing karaoke together and watch the live acts from backstage over the years. “ … There’s always so much energy in here.”
Basil and many of his peers are among those performing through today in “Last Laughs at the Trop,” a farewell show as the club prepares to say goodbye to its home of more than a decade and the stage that has hosted celebrities like Tiffany Haddish and Marshawn Lynch, as well as provided a platform for an array of local comics.
The Tropicana, one of the oldest gaming properties on the Las Vegas Strip, will permanently shut its doors Tuesday. The resort, operated by Bally’s Corp., is slated for demolition, making way for an ultramodern stadium that will be the new home of the Oakland Athletics, who will relocate to Las Vegas in 2028.
Officials have previously revealed that the A’s $1.5-billion, 33,000-seat ballpark will take up 9 acres of the 35-acre parcel of land on which the Tropicana sits. The land is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. The latter will then work with Bally’s to develop the remainder of the property into a new resort.
“The A’s have created a remarkable design that adds to the rich fabric of must-see attractions in Las Vegas,” Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim said in a statement earlier this month. “This is a once-in-a-generation project, and we are thrilled for the opportunity to develop a comprehensive site plan at this iconic location. We look forward to sharing more on our plan in due course.”
The estimated 500 Culinary and Bartenders Union workers at the Tropicana can receive $2,000 per service year and six months’ of health insurance in severance, union leaders have said. Workers who want to get a “recall” to the property’s future resort, however, can only receive up to $15,000 in severance.
In a January memo announcing the resort’s closing date to employees, Tropicana General Manager Arik Knowles said that property leadership would work with Bally’s to assist workers through the transition.
“We know these past few months have not been easy, but we cannot begin to express how thankful we are to have such a stellar team to work with day in and day out,” the memo said. “We will continue to be committed to our guests and to each other, and to providing everyone with the excellent service Tropicana Las Vegas has been known for over the years.”
The resort’s closure may not come as a complete surprise for its tenants, however. According to Basil, there’s been talk of shuttering the Tropicana for the last 30 years. So when Bally’s began operating the property, he knew the corporation had something planned.
“In the back of our heads, we always knew we were going to have to find another location,” he said, noting that the Laugh Factory already has offers from multiple Las Vegas resorts wanting to be the club’s new home. “But we also knew that we’re a strong brand — a successful show — that any hotel would want us.”
He said the Laugh Factory, which has a flagship location in Hollywood, has had a wonderful experience with its operators at the Tropicana, including Bally’s. The resort “never said no” to the club’s ideas, Basil said, from doing a midnight show to being among the first venues in Las Vegas to reopen after the COVID-19 pandemic hit its height.
Bally’s has always been very supportive, said Basil, who also emphasized that the Laugh Factory has had the same staff for its entire duration at the resort, which is “terrific.”
“Thank you for 67 years of unforgettable memories and unwavering support,” a Bally’s spokesperson said in an email to the Sun. “We are immensely grateful to you, our loyal guests, dedicated team members, and the vibrant city of Las Vegas for your role in making Tropicana Las Vegas an iconic destination.”
Harry Basil, partner and general manager of the Laugh Factory Las Vegas, reminisces about his years at the comedy club during an interview in the Tropicana Thursday, March 28, 2024. With the Tropicana closing on April 2 to make space for a baseball stadium, the Laugh Factory is looking for a new home.
The resort’s legacy is undeniable at a venue like the Laugh Factory, where so many of the entertainers who have performed in the past wanted to play there one last time, that Basil was forced to get creative with their booking.
Stand-up comedian and juggler Ron Pearson, who performed at the Laugh Factory’s Tropicana opening 12 years ago, will be there to close the club, Basil said at the Laugh Factory before Thursday night’s show, when pictures of past comedy acts still hung on the walls.
A booth dedicated to Dangerfield, boasting a life-sized statue and vintage posters, also sat untouched — though, Basil said, other booths dedicated to different comedians over the years had already been deconstructed in preparation for the resort’s closing.
The stage’s backdrop, painted in bright colors that evoke memories of the 1970s or earlier, will likely not go with the Laugh Factory to its next location, Basil added, as it’s been there so long, it’s suffered severe water damage.
The club will still have some time to pack up and move out when the resort closes Tuesday, Basil said.
“The chandeliers are still there, and they’re from — I think they’re from the ’50s or ’60s,” he said of the historic space. “And the crystals that are hanging in there have seen a lot of comedy.”
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