Tropicana Las Vegas Set to Wrap Up, Close Its Doors Permanently

Article by : Erik Gibbs Jan 31, 2024

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The Tropicana Las Vegas, with nearly seven decades of operation, is slated to shut down on April 2. The announcement was released to employees through a memo on Monday morning.

According to the official communication, the closure is deemed necessary for the upcoming construction of a $1.5 billion baseball stadium, requiring the demolition of the Strip location.

In a message to staff, Tropicana General Manager Arik Knowles announced the commencement of the closure process, including the discontinuation of hotel bookings and the relocation of future reservations.

Despite being unavailable for media calls, Knowles’ statements were corroborated by a resort operator, and the existence of the memorandum was initially disclosed by Las Vegas Locally on X, previously known as Twitter.

Knowles emphasized that Bally’s Corp., the Rhode Island-based operator of Tropicana, is in the process of finalizing its master plan.

As part of this plan, 9 acres of the 35-acre site are earmarked to be handed over to MLB’s Oakland Athletics for the construction of a 33,000-seat stadium.

Knowles expressed an understanding of the numerous questions raised by many during this period. He assured everyone that the property leadership is working closely with Bally’s leadership to provide support to all team members throughout this transition period.

As of now, Bally’s has not submitted a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act letter to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. This letter is mandated for larger workplaces 60 days before closure.

Tropicana currently employs around 700 individuals, with approximately 300 being represented by Culinary Workers Union Local 226.

Notably, Tropicana was among the first individual resorts to negotiate a new five-year labor agreement with Culinary, following settlements the union reached in November with MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts.

On Monday, Culinary Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge disclosed that the Tropicana’s severance agreement is designed to provide union workers with $2,000 for each year they were employed at the resort.

According to Pappageorge, the company had informed workers about the impending closure without specifying dates. Negotiations conducted in December aimed to secure a favorable deal for the workers in anticipation of the closure. Many long standing Tropicana employees, with service ranging from 20 to 30 years, stand to benefit from this severance agreement.

Pappageorge emphasized the concerted efforts made with Bally’s and the Tropicana negotiating team to finalize the agreement, highlighting its significance as a substantial severance package.

In May of the previous year, the Culinary Union had reached an agreement with the Oakland Athletics, allowing workers at the planned ballpark the potential to join the union. However, the stadium is not projected to open until 2028.