‘Drop the Trop’ may be the last Las Vegas casino implosion for some time

When the Tropicana’s two hotel towers are brought down via implosion on Oct. 9, it will mark what will likely be the last event of its kind for some time.

Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson said he was born in Las Vegas, and the Tropicana Las Vegas has been there as long as he can remember.

“This is the last (of the) real major structures on the boulevard that will be coming down any time soon,” Gibson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal this month.

Despite the property’s deep history, Gibson said, the property had its heyday, and it’s time for something new to breathe life into the busy intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue.

“It’s been kind of a tired property to operate in the last decade, maybe more than the last decade,” Gibson said. “This is an awfully exciting opportunity for the landowner (Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc.) and Bally’s, to take a hard look at what is next. I think anchoring whatever is there with an A’s stadium, it sounds, to somebody who is not in that business, like a really good idea.”

Clark County issued the demolition implosion permit to Bally’s Corp. on Monday, according to county spokeswoman Stacey Welling. The blasting plan has been submitted to the Clark County Fire Department and has been approved, but that document is considered confidential.

The Rat Pack era property is being brought down to make way for the Oakland Athletics’ planned $1.5 billion, 33,000 fan-capacity ballpark. The stadium will be built on 9 acres of the 35-acre site, with Bally’s Corp. plans to later build a new resort on the remaining acreage at the site.

The event is being dubbed “Drop the Trop,” with the Athletics and Tropicana owner Bally’s Corp. taking part in the ceremony. The festivities will kick off the night of Oct. 8 with a drone and fireworks show put on by Fireworks By Grucci.

“It’s going to be a milestone, in both a farewell to the Tropicana and what it meant for Las Vegas and Southern Nevada and the Strip and also to look forward to our incredible ballpark that we’re going to be building on the Strip,” A’s President Dave Kaval told the Review-Journal this month. “It’s going to be a really fun night and a great way to showcase the project and build the momentum for the future opening in 2028.”

Plans call for construction on the A’s Las Vegas ballpark to begin in the second quarter of next year and to be completed in time for the 2028 Major League Baseball season. The A’s are playing their final home games at the Oakland Coliseum this week and will play at a minor league ballpark in Sacramento between 2025 and 2027.

The blasting permit will not be issued until the night of the implosion, following an on-site inspection, Welling said.

“It’s going to be an awfully exciting evening,” Gibson said. “It’s been years since we did our last one, and it will likely be many, many years before we do another.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.