Tropicana Las Vegas

Tropicana Las Vegas
File:Tropican1.jpg
Address	3801 Las Vegas Blvd South Las Vegas, NV 89109
Opening date	April 4, 1957
Theme	Tropical
No. of rooms	1,878
Total gaming space	61,000 square feet (5,667 m²)
Permanent shows	Folies Bergere The Comedy Stop
Casino type	Land-Based
Owner	Columbia Sussex
Renovated in	1979 1986
Website	Tropicana website

The Tropicana Resort & Casino is located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Columbia Sussex. The hotel has 1,871 rooms and is attached to a 61,000 square foot (5,667 m²) casino. The Tropicana also has 110,000 square feet of convention and exhibit space.

The main original building, with the Garden room wings, was built in 1957. The Paradise Tower, a hotel tower consisting of 21 floors of guest rooms and suites, was built in 1979 as the Tiffany Tower, adjoining the resort's Tiffany Theatre, home to the Folies Bergere production show. A 22-story Island Tower was later constructed in 1986.

This location, Tropicana - Las Vegas Boulevard intersection, has the most hotel rooms of any intersection in the world and as a result is extremely busy. Pedestrians are not allowed to cross at street level. Instead, the Tropicana is linked by overhead pedestrian bridges to its neighboring casinos: to the north across Tropicana Avenue, the MGM Grand Las Vegas, and to the west across the Strip, the Excalibur.

History

In March 2006, Aztar announced that it would be acquired by Pinnacle Entertainment, Corporation of Las Vegas. However, A bidding war for Aztar ensued with several different companies battling for control of assets. In May of 2006, Kentucky based hotel-casino operator Columbia Sussex won the bidding war, agreeing to pay $2.75 billion for the company. The acquisition was approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission on November 17, 2006 and is expected to be completed in December 2006.

Film history

It was featured on the TV Show Angel in the episode entitled The House Always Wins as the Casino the Character Lorne had his show.

It is also mentioned briefly in The Godfather Part II

A scene from Folies Bergere is featured in the 1964 Elvis Presely film Viva Las Vegas.

Future Plans

Night Shot of Tropicana in 2006

On November 2, 2006, Columbia Sussex publicly announced a $2 billion renovation of the Tropicana. Unlike previous Las Vegas projects however, there will be no demolition of the entire resort. The existing Paradise and Island towers will receive both interior and exterior renovations and 4 new towers will be built on the property (the last will be branded as a separate hotel).

Also unusual, is that the resort will remain open during the renovations, which will increase the size of the hotel to over 8,000 rooms. There are also plans to add a 600,000 square foot convention center to the resort, which will be the 5th largest convention center in Las Vegas; after the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Sands Expo and Convention Center, the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, and the convention center at Echelon Place (currently in the planning stages). News Article.

Present Amenities and entertainment

In addition to the casino, the Tropicana includes a showroom, spa, comedy club, swimming pool and numerous shops. In 2005 the hotel had featured, and since May 26, 2006 is featuring again the Titanic—the Artifacts Exhibition, with more than 300 artifacts from the doomed ocean liner, and Xtreme Magic, a production show starring Dirk Arthur, featuring tigers and leopards.

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition will continue through 2007 along with Bodies: The Exhibition. The Exhibition is a respectful presentation of 21 whole, real, human bodies that have been disected and preserved for this collection.

The Tropicana is also home to Folies Bergere, the quintesential Las Vegas Showgirls show offering covered and topless shows nightly in the world famous Tiffany Theatre. Showcased on Christmas Eve 1959, this show has come a long way and remains a favorite for locals and visitors alike. With 2007 marking the shows 48th continuous year, Folies has the honor of being the longest running stage production in Las Vegas.

External links

• Tropicana homepage
• Vegas.com: Tropicana Hotel
• Titanic - The Artifacts Exhibition