Tropicana
Hotel Vegas
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As one of the original casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, the Tropicana Hotel Casino has seen it's share of excitement in a city that changes it's face every few years. Originally linked to mob ties, and then more mob ties, and eventually legitimate corporations, the Tropicana has gone through several changes of it's own in the 50 years it has offered entertainment to the city of Las Vegas.
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The Tropicana first opened it's doors to a limited crowd of 500
VIP guests on the evening of April 4, 1957. At the time of it's
opening, the Tropicana was often referred to as the "Tiffany of
the Strip", due in part to the well-manicured lawns that
surrounded the hotel, elaborate balconied hotel rooms and one of
the most elegant showrooms in Las Vegas. The casino's tropical
landscaping and a 60 foot fountain in the shape of a tulip set
the Tropicana apart from other casino resorts of the era.
Unfortunately, the Tropicana's grand opening was quickly
overshadowed by the casino's connections to the Mafia. The mob
connections were brought to light on May 2, less than a month
after the Tropicana first opened it's doors, as a rival gang
attempted to assassinate mob boss Frank Costello in New York
City.
With Costello hospitalized, detectives investigating the
incident found a note in the mobster's pocket detailing the
Tropicana's profits for the first 24 days of operation. The slip
reported the profits as being $651,284.
The City of Las Vegas and all those involved considered it to be
an embarrassment for the mob connections to come to light in
this manner, especially so soon after the casino had opened.
Authorities worked quietly behind the scenes to force the owners
to sell, but the new owners were later revealed to be another
organized crime family - the Civellas.
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In attempt to boost profits and increase the appeal of the
Tropicana, the owners opened the "Folies Bergere" in 1959. The
Folies is the original showgirls show in Las Vegas, and was
brought to the Tropicana directly from Paris. Today, the Folies
is not just the longest running show in Las Vegas, Folies
Bergere is the longest running production in the United States.
Over the next couple of decades the Tropicana played host to a
number of other well-known celebrities. Count Basie, Sammy Davis
Jr and Jack Benny all headlined at the Tropicana, to name just a
few. The Tropicana expanded it's entertainment offering in 1961
to include a private golf course next door to the hotel.
In an attempt to wipe out the remaining Mafia connections,
authorities forced the owners to sell the Tropicana to the
Ramada Corporation in 1979. The company eventually landed under
the control of Aztar Corporation, a publicly traded subsidiary
that Ramada created to manage it's gambling interests.
By the 1990s the appeal of the Tropicana had faded. The Folies
still drew a crowd, but the casino was best known for it's
location. It soon became a place for cheap hotel rooms used by
patrons who would spend their gambling dollars at the
neighboring casinos, which included the MGM Grand, the Excalibur
and New York New York.
As a sign of the Tropicana's fading appeal, the casino stopped
accepting new hotel reservations past April of last year. As
rumors circulated that the property was to be demolished, a
bidding war started between Las Vegas based Pinnacle
Entertainment and Kentucky based Columbia Entertainment.
Columbia eventually won with a $2.1 Billion take-over of Aztar
Corporation and it's assets.
Columbia is currently planning a $2.5 Billion renovation of the
Tropicana. Plans include demolishing the single level motel
sections of the property and building new towers that will
increase hotel capacity from 1,880 rooms to over 10,000 hotel
rooms by 2010. The new owners are also planning to completely
replace all of the games on the casino floor with newer models.
The one thing that will remain the same will be the Folies,
which are a nastalgic part of the Tropicana's legacy.
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