Moment iconic Las Vegas Tropicana hotel implodes and is reduced to rubble in 22 seconds – months after closing doors
DRAMATIC footage has captured the moment the iconic Tropicana hotel in Las Vegas imploded and collapsed into a pile of rubble.
The so-called Tiffany of the Strip, which featured in the James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever and the 1972 blockbuster The Godfather, came crashing down in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The implosion occurred just months after the hotel closed its doors to the public, ending 67 years of history.
Before the blast sent the towers crumpling to the ground, an impressive fireworks and drone show dazzled the Nevada skyline.
Before the blast, an impressive seven-minute show featuring 500 drones and over a hundred pyro drones was held.
There was a nod to Las Vegas’ rich gambling history, and a projection of the famous Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign appeared in the sky.
The drone show also featured a tribute to the Oakland Athletics —a nod to the team that will play at the new state-of-the-art baseball stadium worth $1.5 billion, which will be built on the site of the former hotel.
At least 2,000 pounds of explosives were used to carry out the implosion.
The Paradise Tower came down first, followed by the 23-story Club Tower.
Officials said it would take 22 seconds for both towers to come crashing down after the order to detonate was given.
Dynamite was put inside the Club Tower ahead of the implosion.
The explosives were wrapped in metal so debris from the tower wouldn’t fly everywhere.
But a charge sent copper through the Paradise Tower, which weakened it.
This was because the structure was made of steel.
Mark Loizeaux, the president and owner of Controlled Demolition Inc., revealed that one tower would fall, and the second would crumple.
“In a concrete structure like the club tower, we’re dealing with sticks of dynamite like you would see in the cartoons,” he told the ABC affiliate KTNV-TV.
Teams who helped prepare for the explosion admitted they were unprepared to see the hotel come crashing down.
“When I see the lot completely gone, it’s going to be very, very sad,” Debby Lamm said.
She revealed she first visited the hotel in 1981 and had stayed there another 10 times.
The implosion is the first such event that Las Vegas has seen in almost a decade.
In 2016, the final tower of the Riviera Hotel, also located on the famous Strip, was leveled.
The only standing Las Vegas strip resort from the 1950s remains the Sahara.
Tourists booked rooms in advance and bought gas masks and hazmat suits, per the Fox affiliate KLAS-TV.
Anna Otero told the network she booked a hotel room across the road from the Tropicana around four months ago.
“We were going to make the date come up here to come see it,” she said.
Tourists said they flocked from California and Tennessee to see the event.
“It’s something we’re all going to remember,” Corey Brady told the ABC affiliate KTNV-TV.
“We’re going to go as close as we can get,” Dakota Baldwin, also from Tennessee, said.
Cops closed roads along the Las Vegas strip in the hours before the event.
An exclusion zone was also set up ahead of the event.
A RICH HISTORY
The Tropicana opened its doors in April 1957 and it’s estimated that more than 12,500 flocked to the casino resort for its grand opening.
It cost an estimated $15 million to build, and it was the most expensive resort in Vegas at the time.
The hotel was known for its mosaic tiles and its mahogany panels, and its lobby featured a towering tulip-shaped fountain.
A local press report said the Tropicana was built as a “resort hotel” rather than a casino.
The hotel had a rich history, with A-listers, including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and the famous magicians Siegfried and Roy, all taking the stage.
And the resort also made appearances in hit movies like The Godfather and Diamonds Are Forever.
In the Bond classic, Agent 007 famously said: “I hear that the Hotel Tropicana is quite comfortable.”
The iconic hotel was Michael Corleone’s casino business in the first Godfather movie.
In The Godfather Part II, the hotel name was switched to the Tropigala because of copyright issues.
The resort also appeared in Elvis Presley’s 1964 movie Viva Las Vegas.
The singer Gladys Knight and Wayne Newton, who was known as Mr. Las Vegas, even had residencies at the resort.
The Tropicana faced challenges throughout the history.
During the 1970s, resorts such as Caesar’s Palace and Las Vegas Hilton opened.
Hotel chiefs scrambled to ensure the resort remained relevant, and it underwent a $70 million revamp.
Throughout the decades, ownership changed hands, and the hotel was bought by Bally’s Corporation in 2022.
But the hotel closed its doors for the final time in April 2024.
“Our team felt that this was the right time, post the peak season, to prepare to close the Trop,” the company chairman Soo Kim said.
“It’s been in the works for some time.”
Fred Doumani, who owned the hotel between 1974 and 1979, said the implosion marks the end of an era.
“There are no more original hotels to be knocked down, really,” he said.
Once the land has been cleared, construction on the new baseball stadium will begin.
The Oakland A’s team is expected to move in ahead of the 2028 season.
The new arena will be able to seat around 33,000 fans at full capacity.