Tropicana Las Vegas Sold Amidst Coronavirus Shutdown

8 Comments

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  Frances McMahan May 14, 2020

  frances McMahan may 14, 2020 at 12:13 pm I have always loved the trop, I always go there when I come yo town, even tho a lot of the machines that I like are no longer there, so what the other casinos are the same my favorites are gone there to. the casinos need to go back and look at their gamblers to see what they are playing. I don't get to go as much anymore. I will always love las vegas and will always visit all of my favorites.

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  JeffinOKC March 29, 2020

  I read this to be a simple real estate play. It has nothing to do with casino operations or ownership. PENN has traded the Trop real estate for “rent credit”. I figure that means they don’t have to pay rent on any of their casino properties owned by their REIT for however long it takes to use up $375 million. That makes it a lot easier to ride out the virus downturn.

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• 
  Scott Roeben March 29, 2020

  Five months.

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• 
  I. Diaz March 28, 2020

  As an adult, Tropicana was my first Vegas hotel. And they say you never forget your first. I loved its old-school, pre-renovation charm, but I also love its beachy white-washed overhaul that somehow preserved throwbacks like the stained glass above the casino floor. But what does Tropicana offer that differentiates itself from its neighbors? -- A sweet pool? Yes, but Mandalay Bay does it better. -- A sense of luxury? MGM and Mandalay have more options. -- Discount rooms? Not cheaper than Luxor and Excal's. -- Great gambling odds and/or rewards program? Hard to top MLife. -- A nationwide network of sister/feeder casinos? Actually, Trop has this. -- Food and drink specials? Not cheaper than Hooters/OYO. -- Name-brand food and retail opportunities? Not nearly enough of either. -- An impressive nightlife (or daylife) scene? *Crickets* since Nikki Beach left. -- History? Perhaps, but Caesars Palace and all of downtown Vegas do it better. -- Attracting conventions (and conventioneers' expense accounts)? Nope. -- Access to the Strip? NYNY and MGM need fewer pedestrian walkways. -- Good entertainment? Trop has tried, but it's been years since anything worked. -- Good people watching? Not without perfecting most of the above components. I bet Tropicana wishes MGM had, in its heyday, built one more casino just south of the Trop to extend the Strip since Mandalay Bay's presence doesn't add much foot traffic (and none on the east side of the Strip). Instead, that MGM-owned land south of Tropicana became the ill-fated grounds for music festivals. I know it's not MGM's responsibility to prop up the Trop. But Hooters/OYO doesn't instill much panache either, and it's sad to see that corner languish. There were rumors that a retail complex would be added in front of Tropicana, but if it became anything like Bally's bizarre Bazaar, I'm glad that didn't happen. So what's left to keep Tropicana from becoming the Bubba Gump Shrimp of the Strip? -- Stable ownership that, behind the scenes, can lean into the convention business. Those same stable owners also should get Hilton to work its Conrad/Curio Collection magic on Tropicana's branding and room options. -- Find some permanent, popular entertainment options that aren't retreads from other casinos (easier said than done). Bring back the classic Follies showgirls, but modernize some aspects like NYC's Rockettes have done. -- Rejoin pop culture (encourage non-douchey celebrities and influencers, film Hangover-esque movies, attract famous residencies, create a Tesla showroom and driving school, host award shows, etc.) -- The best gambling odds on the Strip: Every table game. Every slot-machine denomination. All the time. Cater to gamblers. -- And perhaps play up Tropicana's history better than Flamingo does. (speakeasies, an actually functional Mob Museum annex, nightlife that ties into either the Swinging '60s or pre-revolution Cuba, a how-the-Strip-grew exhibit, etc.)

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  shannon March 28, 2020

  I enjoyed the old trop with the free spins on the way in. We won follies berge tix once. Also the show in the sky was cool. And the 20 for 10 promo and the tic tac toe chicken. That was the trop. Now total different vibe.

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  Bruce March 28, 2020

  I’ve always wanted to like the Trop. Every time we’re in town I look forward to it and have to go there. But something just feels ‘off’ there. I really like the brightness and color combinations, but it can’t seem to hold me in. After an hour or so I’m down the road. Not sure why that is - anybody else get a similar vibe?

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  Vegas Insight March 27, 2020

  I know I'm crazy, but I will keep saying it. If you operate the Trop like the Orleans, or better yet a downtown casino, you'll do very well at the intersection of LV Blvd. and Tropicana Avenue. There's got to be a reason why nobody is willing to go that route, but I don't get it. I made a rare cameo inside the Trop in the summer of 2018. Plenty of people and plenty of action everywhere, and yet the Trop might as well have been shuttered that day. How could changing up the marketing plan make things worse? Take what the D is doing, more or less, and offer it on the strip. That will fail?

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  Linda March 27, 2020

  The times, they are a changing ??

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