Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images News / Getty Images
The Tropicana, an iconic Las Vegas hotel and casino, was reduced to rubble in a spectacular implosion on Wednesday (October 9). The event marked the end of an era as the Tropicana was the last true mob-era building on the Las Vegas Strip. The implosion was accompanied by a fireworks display, making it a spectacle in true Las Vegas style.
The Tropicana, also known as the "Tiffany of the Strip" for its opulence, opened its doors in 1957 and closed in April after 67 years of operation. The casino was a frequent haunt of the legendary Rat Pack and was featured in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. The Tropicana's ties to organized crime, largely through reputed mobster Frank Costello, have long cemented its place in Las Vegas lore.
The implosion cleared land for a $1.5 billion baseball stadium for the relocating Oakland Athletics, part of the city's latest rebrand into a sports hub. This leaves only the Flamingo from the city’s mob era on the Strip. However, the Flamingo's original structures are long gone, having been completely rebuilt in the 1990s.
The Tropicana's implosion was the first in Las Vegas since 2016 when the final tower of the Riviera was leveled for a convention center expansion. The city has a history of turning such implosions into spectacles, with the destruction of the Dunes in 1993 by former casino mogul Steve Wynn setting the precedent.
Despite the lack of public viewing areas for the event, fans of the Tropicana had a chance to bid farewell to the vintage Vegas relic in April. As one teary-eyed New Jersey resident, Joe Zappulla, said at the time, "Old Vegas, it’s going."
You can watch the entire fireworks show and implosion below!