Kicking It Old School
April 19, 2010
The past several days have been spent traveling back and forth to the south strip, and yesterday, I decided to change intersection corners. After working on my base tan at the Luxor (don’t laugh, it’s necessary to prevent painful burning in May), I walked over to the Tropicana.
About 15 people from my site are coming into Vegas this weekend, and they are contemplating making the Tropicana one of their stops. As such, I decided to see how things were coming along.
After looking around the Trop for a bit, the answer to my question was: very quickly.
The crotch port is still under construction, as is the area at the end of the Tropicana Ave pedestrian bridge, but the gaming pit is looking pretty nice. It’s certainly a huge change from just a couple of weeks ago when I last visited. The pit has higher ceilings, it’s quite bright, and the feel of the place is now a little more “upscale”.
Tropicana Hotel and Casino Sign at Entrance
Tropicana Hotel and Casino
Tropicana Hotel and Casino Crotch Port
Tropicana Hotel and Casino Pedestrian Bridge
Tropicana Casino Gaming Pit
Tropicana Casino Gaming Pit
Tropicana Casino
Tropicana Hotel and Casino Entrance
Tropicana Hotel and Casino Entrance
Of course, since the remodel is not yet finished, it’s a bit premature to render a judgement … but the old joint is definitely looking more fresh. I’m looking forward to seeing where they are in another month or two.
Now, last week marks the first time in recent memory that any of my group members have discussed hanging out at the Trop, and I found this slightly fascinating.
Apparently, there is an interesting bit of a “buzz” developing around the Tropicana, and with the marketing push behind it — I would go so far as to say that it’s *almost* no longer uncool to stay and play here. To be honest, I have decidedly mixed feelings about this.
You see, I’ve began staying at the Trop in the late 90’s, and I’ve declared my loyalty to the place ever since. Much like the Sahara, and Strat, it’s always been a sleeper favorite of mine, and I’ve never had any trepidation about broadcasting this to the world. Simply put, I liked the Tropicana long before it was cool to like the Tropicana.
Now that the Trop has a new Twitter account (as was conveyed to me by a site member) and they are pushing a new “South Beach Miami” theme, people are coming out of the woodwork like they were down with the Tropicana all along … when the reality is … damn near every scenester on the planet was calling for the place to be imploded for the entirety of the 2000’s.
Look, I’m not naive, and I am 100% aware that Las Vegas is a phony place full of fair-weather, glad-handing, “what have you done for me lately” people, but when all is said and done, I hope the Tropicana doesn’t start buying into its own PR. If the property gets too hipster, I’ll be very disappointed.
Don’t get me wrong, I want to see the place thrive, and every dollar is as green as the next, but hipsters are a fickle group. They are neither stable nor consistent clientele. As soon as this demographic sticks a finger in the air and detects a change in the wind direction, the Trop will once again eat at a table by itself in the high school cafeteria.
Once it has lost enough weight, learned the right catchphrases, and applied enough makeup to become a cheerleader — hopefully the Trop doesn’t forget the band nerds who were the only kids in school that didn’t talk shit behind their back … even when they had bad skin and listened to Menudo.
From the groundswell of interest that has been conveyed to me so far, I predict this to be a banner year for the Tropicana with a new slew of pretendsters who are suddenly hip to the property, but if management uses solid and sound judgement, this will also be a perfect opportunity for the Tropicana to build up a new crop of loyal clientele that will carry them even further into old age.
I also hope the Tropicana does not try to cover its history by trying to pretend to be too young.
Have you ever encountered 60 year olds who desperately fight their age by trying their damnest to keep up with hip lingo which was obviously not from their generation? They use words like “peeps” and they clumsily try to keep up with the latest trends, but it’s always painful to watch because it’s just not believable. These very same folks tend to alienate both older and younger people because neither group is able to relate to them.
Well, I don’t want to see this happen to the Trop.
This property is 54 years old, which is ancient in Las Vegas terms, but as long as they embrace that age instead of fight it … the Trop will have a lot to offer visitors for years to come.
To me the Tropicana has always symbolized a level of maturity and wisdom in a sea of corporate sameness. It has a “been there, done that” credibility that other properties simply do not have.
I’m very, very glad that the Tropicana is getting a clean shave and a haircut, but you can still have an upgrade and remain dignified. I don’t think “Planet Hollywood II” or “Hard Rock South” is a good idea, and hopefully this new “beach” thing that the Tropicana is designing will be carried out in a less-than-doucheful way.
In retrospect, it really would have helped had they found a way to keep Folies Bergere, and the Tropicana would be the perfect place to resurrect such a show in the future.
Until that time, I hope the Tropicana is able to make its way into the future without forgetting its roots.
Speaking of … I’ve been meaning to see Wayne Newton at the Trop in the near future.
Seriously.
I saw him many years ago at the Stardust, and while I won’t pretend to have a pile of his records laying around, I thoroughly enjoyed his show.
Now that the Stardust is gone, the Tropicana is one of our last bastions of nostalgia, and I can’t think of a better place to once again see “Mr. Las Vegas”. Sometime within the next few weeks, I’m going to pull up the entertainment schedule and see what they have available for Wayne’s gig.
It’s time to kick it old school.
Written by Mike_Ch on April 19, 2010 at 11:50 pm
It’s ownership, Rex.
The Old Tropicana as you call it’s 2000esque incarnation, was run by Bill Jung and Columbia Sucks-er, Sussex. They ran the place as a grind joint that was not grateful to it’s customers, and not happy with it’s employees. They made it a business first and foremost and did everything possible to fleece as much money as they could, as shamelessly as possible.
That model doesn’t work but for a moment.
Alex Yem-whatever (I can’t write his name properly on a full keyboard, let alone a touchscreen) probably has at least an idea of how to be a good innkeeper compared to the roach motel that CS subscribed to.
Unless the Trop you liked was early 2000s, run by Aztar, there’s no other answer to that other than that they just wanted to keep the lights open and sell when property was high, like so many Vegas proprietors.
They need to rebranded themselves because of negative equity. A big “now under new management” sign doesn’t get noticed in Vegas. They got to pull all the people who got fleeced and said “never again” away from their new haunts in the duopoly.
Written by wbeem on April 20, 2010 at 12:18 am
I’ll go on record as still hating the Trop. Maybe hate isn’t the right word, but I never got a good vibe from walking through the casino. It’s like Hooters, but older and without any semi-attractive women.
Written by tully on April 20, 2010 at 12:20 am
It looks like they’ve refurbished to highlight the Tiffany stained glass ceiling, and it certainly deserves it. . Wouldn’t even hazard a guess of the dollar value of that ceiling.
Written by Lori on April 20, 2010 at 1:34 am
I’ve seen many shows that you have reviewed that I would not have considered checking out (Carrot Top first comes to mind) and was glad I did. I have not seen Wayne Newton yet and just might during my next trip b/c I may never get the chance to do so again. You mentioned seeing his old show at the Stardust but I’d like to know how his new show at the Trop is before making the commitment. I trust your reviews. After expressing your interest in checking out the new Wayne Newton show, someone from Trop’s marketing dept should offer you a ticket to review the show. If they don’t contact you and invite you to see Wayne Newton, then they have no idea what they are doing.
Written by Howard Park on April 20, 2010 at 1:36 am
Is the pool open yet? Cool, uncool, hip, flip, whatever…isn’t the Trop still the only place with an indoor pool/indoor hot tub option in Las Vegas? I’m a frequent enough visitor that I’ve been in Las Vegas in cool weather and the one time I stayed at the Trop I really enjoyed the indoor pool.
Written by J. Louise on April 20, 2010 at 3:50 am
Rex: I ALWAYS loved the Trop! I hope to God they don’t ruin it, but it’s nice to see the property get some Botox. Can’t wait to make it back there sometime in the future. Thanks for the update.
Written by Jason A on April 20, 2010 at 5:39 am
Haven’t stayed at the Trop since the early 1990s (MGM II and NYNY were a few years from opening) but I am glad to see money being put back into the casino and will consider staying there when the remodel is complete. They have one of the best pool areas in Vegas.
Had to laugh at the plasma tv sign with MGM across the street. I’m checking into Aria next weekend and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the standard 27″ 1980s style old TVs, MGM Mirage’s signature card, in the new Aria rooms.
Written by LizzieGirl on April 20, 2010 at 5:21 pm
I saw Wayne Newton a couple years ago at MGM, and it was one hell of a great show. I think the Trop is a great place for him. I love it there, it seems like I can almost see the ghosts. I just FEEL the place.
Written by KarenTN on April 20, 2010 at 7:09 pm
who is going to the Tropicana this weekend and why didn’t they tell me?? The last time I was in the place was a few years ago when the Titanic exhibit was there. I hated walking past all of those people selling crap that you had to pass on the way to the exhibits. And I think I recall an odd smell
That said, I do like the looks of the ne pit area. sort of. What is with the white walkway on either side. I hope that isn’t carpet
Written by Wwishie on April 20, 2010 at 10:16 pm
My one Nit with the Tropicana was that the last time I went there, you had to use your comps within 48 hours or lose them. As someone who only goes to Vegas maybe twice a year, it doesn’t seem worthwhile to play there with their comp system. Is it still like that now?
Written by briguyx on April 22, 2010 at 7:29 am
Had a chance to walk through the Trop this past weekend and while you could see they were working on upgrades, I can’t see the place ever being too hip. There’s just too many new and upscale places for people to go, and without completely changing the layout of the Trop, it can’t compete. Maybe if they manage to bring in someone super as entertainment once the theater is refurbished, but otherwise I see it as a nice budget wise place to stay with a nice pool, kind of like the Stratosphere for the south end of the Strip…
Written by Tvshooter on April 22, 2010 at 3:29 pm
I saw Wayne Newton on the 13th of aPRIL. There’s nothing groundbreaking, nothing super spectacular about it….and it is a great, fun show that I highly recommend you see.
It’s Wayne, mostly telling stories, jokes, some singing…his voice certainly isn’t at it’s peak, but he works with what he has very well.He’s got a great band, and the pace of the show is excellent. The Tiffany theater has seen better days…hopefully they’ll update it as well.
But when Wayne comes out, you get the feel of a guy that really wants to be there, appreciates the fact he won’t be there to much longer, and wants you to enjoy being there. It’s truly an old Vegas style show…bar service(no waitresses though),our seats were in a booth…felt like a true Vegas night out.
I read once where Wayne misses the star driven shows of old, where you had dinner, drinks and the show…would love to have been able to have dinner at the table, then Wayne’s show.
If this is really his last hurrah, I would say go see him asap. It’s worth the money.
We played craps waiting for the theater to open, and the new casino area was a lot more vibrant and bright from my last stay there 2 years ago. Then as now, my ONLY complaint about the Trop is the damn Tahiti Village timeshare people. How smart is it to have poeple selling something in your hotel that encourages them to NOT stay at your hotel?
Written by McGoo on April 24, 2010 at 4:37 pm
My understanding is that the Trop was purchased by a Canadian based company, the name escapes me right now. I think the Trop should appeal to Canadians just as the California downtown appeals to Hawiians. A lumberjack motif, with pictures of beavers and Wayne Gretzsky strewn around the property. Hockey showing on all LCD’s with the Tragically hip/Gord lightfoot/Rush being blasted through all speakers. Maple syrup based cocktails and restuarants specializing in bacon. You know all the things that Canadian really truly love and appreciate.
New slogan “The Tropicana, EH!”