It’s the end of an era for the Tropicana Las Vegas, which was once a crown jewel on the Strip. The hotel-casino closed on April 2, 2024, just two days shy of its 67th anniversary, to make way for a planned $1.5 billion, 33,000-seat domed stadium for Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics and a related resort development by Bally’s and Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. Here’s a look back at the Tropicana from its early days to its closing.
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A view of the Tropicana hotel-casino in the summer of 1957, just a few months after its opening.
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The Tropicana opened in Las Vegas on April 4, 1957, with its ribbon cutting the day before. It was the most expensive Las Vegas resort built to date when it opened in 1957 with a $15 million price tag.
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An aerial view of Las Vegas Boulevard facing north on May 2, 1975 shows the Tropicana, the Marina, MGM Grand, Dunes, and Caesars Palace.
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An aerial view of the Las Vegas Strip facing east on Oct. 19, 2005, shows New York-New York Hotel & Casino, MGM Grand, the Tropicana and the Excalibur Hotel & Casino. MLB owners approved the Oakland A’s relocation to Nevada in November 2023, and the team hopes to move into the ballpark, which will occupy nine acres of the 35-acre site, in 2028.
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A Folies Bergere showgirls performance at the Tropicana Las Vegas in 1963. The Folies’ showgirls entertained audiences at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Las Vegas for 49 years and attracted stars like Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Their last show was in 2009, just a few months shy of the show’s 50th anniversary. The Vegas show has its roots in the original Folies Bergere theater, which opened in Paris in 1869.
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The Folies Bergere group poses for a photo in front of the Tropicana Las Vegas in 1975. The resort became well-known for entertainment. It was the first Las Vegas stage to showcase the magicians Siegfried & Roy as part of the Folies Bergère show.
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Entertainer Eddie Fisher (C) poses with his wife, actress Debbie Reynolds, (R) and actress Elizabeth Taylor (L) on April 3, 1957, at the Tropicana Hotel a day before its opening in Las Vegas.
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Actress and model Kitty Dolan poses next to a 1958 Ford Edsel Citation outside The Tropicana Hotel in 1958 in Las Vegas.
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German singer Heino and Austrian singer and actress Hannelore Kramm pose in front of the Tropicana in Las Vegas in 1978.
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Columnist Walter Winchell, once a vaudeville hoofer, does a mambo with dancer Lita Leon during his opening night appearance at the Tropicana.
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A view of the Tropicana with the Paradise Hotel/Casino in background in 1976.
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An aerial view of the Tropicana in 2005. The Tropicana closed its doors on April 2, 2024, and has a tentative demolition date slated for October.
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A view of the Tropicana Hotel pool in 1964.
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One of several pools at the Tropicana on March 29, 2024, in Las Vegas.
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Actress and singer Rhonda Fleming poses at the Tropicana pool in 1957, a couple months after the resort’s opening.
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Cabanas at Sky Beach day club at the Tropicana on March 29, 2024, in Las Vegas, just a few days before the hotel-casino’s closing on April 2.
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A portion of the 4,000 square-foot stained-glass ceiling is seen over gaming machines at the Tropicana on March 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. The site has a tentative demolition date of October 2024, with MLB’s Oakland A’s hoping to move into a new stadium in Las Vegas in 2028.
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Rows of seats at the theater inside the Tropicana on March 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. The Tropicana said on social media that it will be collaborating with UNLV, the Neon Museum and the Showgirl Museum to “preserve the heritage and items of sentimental value within the Tropicana.”
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A view of the Tropicana in 2005 in Las Vegas. Management over the resort changed hands a number of times with the most recent buyers – Bally’s Corp. – purchasing the property for $148 million in 2022.
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The Tropicana Las Vegas almost three weeks after its opening in 1957. Once dubbed “the Tiffany of the Strip” as a reference to the famous jeweler, the 300-room property was considered a luxurious retreat.
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An exterior shot of the Tropicana in 1983, with signage promoting Folies Bergere.
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A view of the Tropicana hotel and casino on Feb. 7, 2024, less than a couple months before its closing on April 2, 2024, to make way for the Oakland A’s. Once the Tropicana is gone, the only standing Strip resort from the 1950s will be the Sahara.
Kirby Lee, USA TODAY