Las Vegas' iconic Tropicana resort is blown-up in firework ceremony

by · Mail Online

The iconic Tropicana Las Vegas Resort was demolished early Wednesday in a stunning fireworks and drones display. 

The classic hotel on the Sin City strip had stood for 67 years, but has now made way for a new $1.5 billion baseball stadium for the Athletics franchise's move from Oakland to Las Vegas. 

Footage of the demolition showed the resort's two 23-story structures crumbling to the ground while 550 drones and 150 'pyrodrones' put on a light display over the city. 

Almost 2,200lbs of explosives were used to bring the Tropicana down, which took just 22 seconds from the implosion button being pressed to the towers falling. 

The iconic Tropicana Las Vegas Resort was demolished early Wednesday in a stunning fireworks and drones display
550 drones and 150 'pyrodrones' put on a light display over the city for the demolition, which used over 2,200lbs of explosives 
The Tropicana's two towers (pictured in 2020) had stood for seven decades before they were finally torn down on Wednesday 

The lights and fireworks show paid homage to the Tropicana's place in Las Vegas history, including displaying the iconic Tropicana logo in drones. 

The classic 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas' sign and a tribute to the new Athletics franchise were also included in the display. 

In preparation for team's move to Las Vegas for the 2028 season, the plot has been cleared for a new Athletics stadium following its move from Oakland, California, where the franchise has been since 1968.

The new ballpark will cost upwards of $1.5 billion, will seat 33,000 fans - although the release of design renderings captured headlines as many said it resembled Australia's iconic Sydney Opera House. 

Residents can also expect further developments on the 35-acre Tropicana site, with Las Vegas builders scrambling to construct on the rest of the area after the 9-acre stadium is erected. 

The hotel has been cleared to make way for a proposed $1.5 billion baseball stadium (seen in a rendering) for the Athletics' move from Oakland to Las Vegas 
The new stadium (seen in a rendering) will seat 33,000 fans, and is expected to be completed in time for the 2028 season
When the renderings for the proposed stadium were released, some remarked that it appeared to mimic Australia's iconic Sydney Opera House 

Originally erected in 1957, the Tropicana was the most expensive property in Las Vegas history when it opened, and it quickly became the epitome of West Coast glamour. 

Best known for its prominent role in The Godfather movie as Michael Corleone's Las Vegas casino, the Tropicana also appeared in the classic 1971 James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever. 

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The Tropicana's immensely popular Les Folies Bergere show opened in 1959, and went on to become the longest-running show in Las Vegas history before it eventually closed in 2009. 

The hotel quickly emerged as a hotspot for A-listers in its heyday, with Frank Sinatra, Eddie Fisher and Sammy Davis Jr. among its regulars in the 1950s and 60s. 

But the extravagant resort was also plagued by scandals over the years, not least due to its ties to the mafia, which ultimately tarnished its reputation. 

In its most notable mafia-related scandal, in 1957 mobster Frank Costello was shot in the head and investigators found a note containing confidential information about the Tropicana's finances at the scene. 

The hotel struggled to shake its reputation as a mafia favorite in subsequent decades, even as it also emerged as a celebrity favorite. 

The Tropicana, seen the year after it was built in 1958, was a staple of the Sin City strip and appeared in a number of iconic films including The Godfather 
It was the hotel that James Bond chose in the popular 1971 flick Diamonds Are Forever. He's seen in the swanky Tropicana resort in the movie
The Tropicana's reputation as a mafia favorite also earned it a place in 1972's The Godfather as Michael Corleone's casino 
Singer Eddie Fisher seen performing at The Tropicana during its heyday in 1958 

The Tropicana stood as Las Vegas' third-oldest casino before it shut its doors earlier this year following years of financial troubles, bringing its seven-decade run to an end. 

Before the demolition on Wednesday morning, the last hotel to be flattened in Las Vegas was The Riviera in 2016. 

It joined a number of other landmark Sin City hotels to be cleared including The Boardwalk, The New Frontier, The Stardust and The Dunes, reports 8NewsNow. 

'What Las Vegas has done, in classic Las Vegas style they’ve turned many of these implosions into spectacles,' Geoff Schumacher, historian and vice-president of exhibits at the Mob Museum, told the Associated Press.