To see the place today, you probably couldn't tell that a half-century ago, the Tropicana was among the city's best hotel-casinos, the Bellagio of its time. Dubbed the "Tiffany of the Strip" for its elegant opulence, the Trop, as it was called, was the place to see, be seen and see world-class shows from the likes of Sammy Davis Jr. and the topless "Folies Bergere."
Backdropped against a skyline dominated by billion-dollar megaresorts, the place seems like a relic of the era: boring white facade; mildly discernible tropical theme; no dancing or exploding outdoor attractions to lure tourists.
Time, mismanagement and Vegas' ever-changing landscape have conspired against the Strip's oldest property, built in 1957.
Even before the recession, the Tropicana struggled financially, cycling through a handful of owners and eventually filing for bankruptcy in 2007.
Columbia Sussex envisioned a $2.5 billion, mixed-use complex with five towers (including a condo-hotel) and 10,224 rooms, 645,000 square feet of convention space and 273,000 square feet of retail space spread across its 34 acres.
Like so many overhyped but underfunded projects of the mid-2000s, it died on the drawing board.
Renovation and reinvention
Enter new investors, led by Onex Corp. and former MGM Grand Inc. executive Alex Yemenidjian. After purchasing the property for $205 million in July, they announced plans for a $165 million renovation.
In a year at the helm, they've feverishly worked, hoping the property's next act is as good as its first.
Should the renovation succeed, it will mark one of the more impressive comebacks in local gaming history, a remarkable turnaround from mob-controlled hot spot to bankrupt afterthought to a midprice slice of Miami on the Strip.
The first phase of the two-phase renovation also includes updates to the sports book, public areas, convention area, restaurant space and the property's once-popular pool. And the first hint that this isn't your father's Tropicana is evident soon after you walk in: Thanks to a pumped-in scent, it smells tropical.
Another immediately noticeable change: Thassos white marble tile on the floor and the ceiling of the gaming pit (the stone is quarried on the Greek island of the same name).
The look creates an airy feel and, working with the autumnal colors of the carpet, infuses a South Beach aesthetic. Continuing the Miami motif, mirrors and brass in the elevator lobbies have been replaced and the walls painted white.
"The old Trop had a tropical feel, but it was a mixed feel," said Arik Knowles, vice president of hotel operations. "You had tropical mixed with Caribbean mixed with Miami. There was a lot going on and no real cohesion."
Now, Knowles said, "We're focusing more on one vibe, a South Beach vibe. We want a clean, hip-looking place with lots of bright colors and light."
The beach aesthetic extends to the completely redesigned rooms, which feature rattan and bamboo furnishings; sunset colors; 42-inch, plasma TVs; and paintings by Latin artists. The nine suites generally reserved for high rollers and other coveted customers have been modernized and equipped with 50-inch, flat-screen TVs.
The choicest among them is a two-story suite, one of the few in town. Nods to ecofriendliness abound in each room: low-flow showerheads and toilets, fluorescent lights, shutters that let in natural light. All done, said Knowles, to reposition the Tropicana as a destination resort.
"We wanted to create a room that was the best in its class," Knowles said, comparing them with accommodations at hotels such as Treasure Island. "The last time these rooms were updated was in 1985. It'd been so long that a lot of the housekeeping materials were out of date.
"We also had to modernize all the conveyance systems -- the elevators and escalators constantly broke down -- just so we could get all the new furniture in. The last time these rooms were updated was in 1985, so it was about time."
Changing spaces
The rest of the property, too, had gone decades without a major renovation.
In 1977, two decades after the Tropicana opened, came the 600-room Tiffany Tower, additional retail, expanded casino space and the world's largest Tiffany-leaded glass canopy hovering over the gaming pit.
The property's last major remodel, in 1986, added the Paradise Tower and an indoor bridge connecting it to the casino, restaurants and the tropical pool.
This time around, additions to the casino include an updated poker room and race and sports book. The buffet has been removed to make space for a spa, and the restrooms have been redone. Knowles is tinkering with the new retail offerings, including a wine bar. Legends Steakhouse is set for a makeover into a South Beach-style restaurant.
Additional upgrades are planned for the rotunda, the porte cochere and outdoor landscaping (again scrapping the tropical aesthetic for a Miami feel).
Ironically, the recession-sparked implosion of the gaming and tourism economy has helped the Trop's renovation plans. Tropicana officials had their pick of top-quality inventory -- furniture, fixtures, equipment, operating supplies -- left over from stalled projects such as Echelon and the Cosmopolitan. "We were able to get excellent products at deep discounts," Knowles said.
The venerable Tiffany Theater is also up for a revamp. Along with refreshing the room, approximately 200 seats will be added (bringing capacity to 1,000) to the legendary venue, which hosted "Folies Bergere" for a half-century, served as Sammy Davis Jr.'s performing digs and housed Wayne Newton's "Once Before I Go" production.
Formerly home to tennis courts and, most recently, to the set of the remade "Let's Make a Deal" TV game show hosted by comedian Wayne Brady, the 110,000-square-foot convention hall will be split in two, with half devoted to meetings space and half housing a mob memorabilia exhibit.
Recalling the Mob Era
When Tropicana officials announced plans for the Las Vegas Mob Experience and hired Antoinette Giancana, daughter of deceased New York Mafia kingpin Sam Giancana, as a consultant, the exhibit was immediately seen as a direct competitor to the $42 million Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, a city project backed by mob lawyer-turned-mayor Oscar Goodman.
Backers of both have gone to great lengths to differentiate the projects. Promoted as an interactive exhibit (one promotional item for the exhibit takes the form of a summons), the Las Vegas Mob Experience seems a natural fit for a property once run by an associate of the Kansas City Mafia. By contrast, the Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement will be housed in an old FBI office in downtown Las Vegas when it opens next year.
Goodman told the New York Times that the Tropicana exhibit is "no competition, because we're the real thing."
In her rebuttal to the Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas Mob Experience spokeswoman Carolyn Farkas downplayed any competitive angst. "Our experience will be very different from theirs," she said. "Theirs is more a law-enforcement accounting; for us it is more a personal view."
Pool party, more renovations
As popular in its day as the Hard Rock's pool is today, the Tropicana pool will enter into the ultracompetitive and lucrative daylife market with the spring 2011 debut of Club Nikki, a 15,000-square-foot nightclub that will lead into the pool area.
The complex will mimic its sister offering, Nikki Beach Miami, which features cabanas, lounge beds, VIP bottle service and dining. The makeover also includes new chairs, new cushions, an upgraded center bar and a 24-hour restaurant.
The goal, he said, is to re-create the atmosphere of a pool at a destination resort. Similar to XS at Encore, Nikki Beach will link the pool and nightclub to create indoor-outdoor synergy.
The Nikki Beach partnership "marks a new era in Tropicana Las Vegas' history," co-owner Yemenidjian said in a press statement. "Together we will deliver a truly exceptional experience, joining two of the world's most iconic brands in a way that has not been done before in this city."
Beyond the announced revamps, Knowles can foresee additional changes. Officials want to lower the lobby and refashion the look of the front desk area to match the new motif. The convention center will be modernized with better lighting and a new heating and air-conditioning system.
"Construction hasn't been that much of an impediment," Knowles said. "Obviously, it has an impact, but we hope to really create a wow factor with what we're doing. We've gotten good feedback from loyal customers who were finally seeing the upgrades that previous owners had promised. They're OK with our changes.
"Structurally, we haven't done much to the property. This place has good bones. We hope to convince a new demographic of customers to give us a try."
Visit www.troplv.com.
This report appeared in the June 14 issue of Travel Weekly.