Tropicana is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Penn National Gaming and operated by Tropicana Entertainment.
The Tropicana has 2,542 rooms and is the 28th largest hotel in Las Vegas.
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The Tropicana Las Vegas was built in 1957 by Ben Novack on the site of the former El Rancho Vegas Hotel. Novack originally wanted to call the resort the Tiffany of the Strip, but was unable to secure the rights to that name.
The hotel opened on April 4, 1957 with 102 rooms and two floor towers. The original entrance consisted of a giant elephant statue with a rotating sign on top.
In early 1958, Novack added a third floor and two more towers containing 300 rooms each. The Tropicana Las Vegas also became known for its “Flamingo Garden”, which contained live flamingos and other exotic birds.
In 1961, Novack sold the Tropicana Las Vegas to Trans-Texas Airways. The new owners added a 15-story tower containing 400 rooms.
Trans-Texas Airways then merged with Continental Airlines in 1962, and the new owners decided to sell the Tropicana Las Vegas.
In 1963, Ramada Inns purchased the Tropicana Las Vegas and began an extensive renovation of the property. The renovation added a 11-story tower containing 500 rooms, as well as a new entrance with a porte-cochere.
The total cost of the renovation was $10 million.
The Tropicana Las Vegas reopened on December 22, 1963 with 542 rooms. In 1968, Ramada Inns began an expansion of the Tropicana Las Vegas, adding a 20-story tower containing 400 rooms.
The expansion also added a new showroom, convention facilities, and a swimming pool complex with a tropical theme.
The total cost of the expansion was $12 million. In 1986, Ramada Inns sold the Tropicana Las Vegas to Merv Griffin for $250 million.
Griffin then sold the property to New York real estate developer Donald Trump for $320 million in February 1987. Trump then renamed the resort Trump’s Castle Hotel & Casino.
In 1995, Trump sold the property to Hilton Hotels Corporation for $315 million. Hilton then renamed the resort Hilton’s Grand Vacations Club at Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas.
In December 1999, Hilton sold the property to Park Place Entertainment for $270 million. Park Place then renamed the resort back to its original name, Tropicana Las Vegas.
In May 2008, Columbia Sussex announced plans to purchase Tropicana Entertainment for $2.75 billion. However, Columbia Sussex was unable to secure financing for the purchase and subsequently withdrew its offer in August 2008.
In March 2009, Penn National Gaming announced plans to purchase Tropicana Entertainment for $1 billion. The sale was completed in October 2009 and Penn National Gaming took control of operations on December 1st 2009. .
Tropicana is not currently part of Hollywood Casino.
