Some rooms still available for Tropicana’s last days

Tourists who want to be a part of a Rat Pack-era Strip resort’s last days can still get a room, according to booking websites Thursday.

Room rates for the 66-year-old Tropicana, set to close on April 2, are higher than usual for the last four days in operation but have dropped since the beginning of March. Rates for check-ins Friday and Saturday night are listed at $259, plus taxes and fees, on the Tropicana’s direct booking site. Sunday and Monday night, the last two nights of operation, are $499. Third-party booking site Hotels.com is sold out for the weekend, a search shows, but has some rooms available for about $20 less for Sunday and Monday night stays.

Industry analyst Brendan Bussmann said it’s unclear how many rooms are available at the hotel during a weekend that draws March Madness watchers and some spring breakers.

“This is a busy weekend. In the middle of it, you’re shutting down a property that’s been there for decades,” Bussmann, founder of Las Vegas-based B Global, said. “They’re clearly trying to drive room revenue until they close.”

Hotel room rates across the Strip are set based on supply and forecasted demand and are often subject to change. Major events can also influence demand on the Strip. This month the property promoted $499 rooms for this weekend. They have dropped about 48 percent.

Tourists who plan to stay or visit at the historic property on its last days should prepare for a ramping down on the gaming floor, along with some private commemorative parties and comedy shows.

The historic property will close in preparation for demolition to make way for a Major League Baseball stadium home to the Oakland Athletics, who plan to move to Nevada and build a $1.5 billion, 33,000-seat ballpark. Plans call for construction to begin in April 2025 and be completed in time for the 2028 season.

Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. owns the 35-acre Tropicana site at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and the hotel’s namesake Tropicana Avenue.

Tropicana operator Bally’s entered a 50-year ground lease with GLPI for the site in 2021, and it has plans to redevelop a Bally’s-branded resort next to the ballpark.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.