Front-row seat to Las Vegas history as Trop casino prepares to come down

Daniel Roth did not plan on having a picture-perfect unobstructed view of the Tropicana casino-hotel implosion. But sometimes things can just go your way in Las Vegas.

“I definitely requested that view and I got lucky,” Roth said. “(The hotel) was actually all booked out.”

Roth, a Las Vegas local who works at the Excalibur casino-hotel on the Strip, occasionally stays overnight at his place of employment.

‘A little watch party’

“I’m at work until midnight and then having some people over for a little watch party,” he said Tuesday night about his plans leading up to the 2:30 a.m. controlled demolition of the Tropicana Las Vegas.

On Monday, Roth posted a picture in the “MGM Rewards Fanatics” Facebook group of his front-row seat to Las Vegas history. His was one of dozens of photos with prime views of the ill-fated Rat Pack-era hotel towers, nearly all of which were accompanied by personal stories or memories shared among the group’s nearly 88,000 members.

Christopher Julian, another Las Vegas local, commented that he was “just a few floors above” Roth. Julian, who goes by the name “DJ Caffine” at Gilley’s Saloon, Dance Hall & Bar-b-que inside Treasure Island casino-hotel, was also planning to get out of work in time to meet up with some friends for a couple of drinks and watch the early-morning implosion from his hotel room at Excalibur.

Since moving to Las Vegas more than 20 years ago, he has not missed a casino demolition.

“It amazes me how something so big can fall so easily,” he said. “And it’s always cool to see something being blown up. It may be the kid in me.”

The 67-year-old Trop is coming down to make way for a proposed Major League Baseball stadium. The team formally known as the Oakland Athletics will be playing in Sacramento for the next few years before relocating to Las Vegas in 2028.

The owners of the 35-acre site at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue have designated 9 acres of the plot for the stadium.

Bally’s Corp., the current Nevada gaming license holder for the Trop, has indicated it may build a new hotel-resort on the site as well.

‘Bonding experience with the others there’

The demolition of the Trop, which closed in early April, also stirred up some emotions in revelers.

Fontaine Marsi has a somewhat personal connection to the Trop. Her parents honeymooned at the hotel and saw Folies Bergère, which was a staple at the Trop for decades and is credited with being the longest-running show in Las Vegas history.

Marsi said part of the reason she moved to Las Vegas years ago was for events like this one.

“I was there when the Stardust came down,” she said. “It was my first and it was sad. But also a bonding experience with the others there.”

She planned on creating some new bonds on Wednesday morning as the Trop joins a long list of fabled Las Vegas casinos that are no more. She is also staying overnight at Excalibur.

“I tried to get a room with a view but they were sold out by the time we got word of the date and time,” Marsi said. “I’ve been searching every Las Vegas Facebook group and finally found someone willing to have a small party in his room. So I’ll be making a bunch of new friends tonight.”