How to Own a Piece of Tropicana Las Vegas History

Posted on: March 31, 2024, 12:58h. 

Last updated on: April 2, 2024, 01:59h.

Corey Levitan Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.

Though the Tropicana Las Vegas closes for good on April 2, mementos from the 67-year-old casino resort can be yours via a pre-demolition liquidation sale.

The chandelier from the Tropicana’s nightclub, most recently known as the Havana Club, is up for grabs in a memorabilia sale beginning Monday, April 1. The price isn’t listed. (Image: ICL Sales)

Staged by Ohio-based International Content Liquidations, the sale primarily features furniture, TVs, and fixtures from the Tropicana’s restaurants and 1,800 hotel rooms. Prices, on the items that have one, go as low as $1, which can can buy you a whole hotel dresser!

Though no traditional casino memorabilia is listed, and most of the items lack any Tropicana branding, there is still plenty to interest casino collectors. This includes the chandelier from the resort’s nightclub, patio furnishings from what at one point was the most luxurious pool on the Las Vegas Strip, and “hundreds” of gaming stools.

Frustratingly, the website offers no prices for these items.

The sale includes seats, tables, and private booths from the Tropicana Theater, which was designed by Sammy Davis Jr. and hosted the “Folies Bergère” showgirl show. No prices were listed. (Image: ICL Sales)

Perhaps most intriguingly, seats, tables, and private booths from the Tropicana Theater are also up for grabs. People sitting in these 1,100 seats would have seen Ann-Margret, the Osmonds, and, on the same bill, Pearl Bailey and comedian Jack Benny.

The theater was opened in 1973 as the Superstar Theatre, according to the specifications of Sammy Davis Jr. Though the Rat Pack member never performed there, he purchased an 8% stake in the resort a year earlier.

In 1974, it was rechristened the Tiffany Theatre and became the second and final Tropicana home to “Folies Bergère until its closure in 2009 — which made the Tiffany the earliest Strip performance space to catch magicians Siegfried & Roy and Lance Burton, who performed as variety acts within the showgirl show.

In 2011, the venue became the Gladys Knight Theatre when the R&B singer began a residency there. It was rechristened as the Tropicana Theater in 2013 following a set by the rock band Chicago.

In more recent years, the theater served as home base for tribute shows including Legends in Concert, MJ Live, and Purple Reign.

ICL is taking private appointments to preview the items. To register for an appointment beginning at 10 a.m. Monday, click here or call 702-933-9540.