Tropicana Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary

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Release date: March 05, 2007  /  Print This

The Tropicana Resort & Casino will reach a milestone on Wednesday, April 4, 2007, when it marks its 50th anniversary on the Las Vegas Strip. The kickoff event will be a celebrity-studded VIP party for invited guests on Saturday evening, March 31, 2007 in the Grand Ballroom.

“The Tropicana was one of the first resort/casinos to define true Las Vegas style and entertainment,” said Larry Johnson, Tropicana’s casino general manager. “We’ll celebrate that magic on March 31 and we’ll unveil a series of events to be held throughout the year so that everyone can share in this historic achievement.”

Ben Jaffe and Colonel Charles Baron opened the $15 million dollar, 34-acre, 300-room casino/hotel on April 4, 1957, ushering in a new era of first-class Las Vegas resort entertainment. From its groundbreaking, the plush desert resort became the unchallenged "Tiffany of the Strip," a metaphor first used by the Saturday Evening Post to describe the hotel’s atmosphere of serene elegance. The "creme de la creme" of society's most affluent families visited the Tropicana, located on the remote southern end of Highway 91, now known worldwide as the "Las Vegas Strip." The Tropicana was the twelfth hotel/casino to open on the Strip, also known today as Las Vegas Boulevard.

The casino/resort has seen many changes over its 50 years. But from the legendary Rat Pack era to the neon of today’s Las Vegas mega resorts, the Tropicana has maintained its integrity as a classic Las Vegas playground for fun-loving adults.

Currently the Tropicana features more than 1,800 garden and tower rooms & suites; six restaurants; a five-acre tropical garden oasis with three swimming pools & whirlpools, cascading waterfalls & lush foliage; a full service spa; a styling salon & barber shop; unique shopping; wireless Internet hot spots; over 100,000 square feet of convention & exhibit space and a tropical-themed island wedding chapel.

The property is also home of the world-renowned showgirl extravaganza Folies Bergere acquired directly from Paris in 1959. Folies is the longest-running and most successful show in Las Vegas history. It shares the Tiffany Theatre stage with the afternoon production Xtreme Magic Starring Dirk Arthur, the only magic show on the Strip to feature large exotic cats as its main act. Other Tropicana entertainment offerings include the award-winning comedy club, The Comedy Stop; live music in Celebration Lounge and lively karaoke in the Tropics Lounge.

The hotel features 61,000 square feet of gaming space filled with the newest video reel and multi-game slots; classic table games such as blackjack, craps & roulette; and a new Poker Room featuring specialty card games including the world’s hottest rage Texas Hold ‘Em. In addition, the Tropicana offers a popular Swim-Up Blackjack game held seasonally poolside at the Coconut Grove Bar.

For more information on the history and future of the Tropicana Resort & Casino, please call 702-739-2543, or visit www.tropicanamediasite.com.

Columbia Entertainment is a privately held owner and operator of casino gaming properties. Columbia's portfolio of gaming properties owned or operated now includes 13 casinos in the United States, including the Tropicana branded properties in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.

Columbia Entertainment is owned by William J. Yung, III, who along with his family also owns Columbia Sussex Corporation, one of the largest privately held owners, developers and operators of hotel properties in the world. Columbia Sussex is the largest licensee of full service Marriott Hotels in the U.S. The company and its affiliates own 75 hotels and 27,000 rooms across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean that operate under top brand names including Marriott, Hilton, Westin, Sheraton, Renaissance and Doubletree. The companies employ nearly 28,000 people.