Tropicana Hotel imploded during spectacle in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Las Vegas said goodbye to the Tropicana before dawn on Wednesday in an elaborate implosion that reduced the last real mob building on the Las Vegas Strip to rubble.

The Tropicana hotel towers collapsed in 22 seconds at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. The celebration included fireworks and a drone show.

It was the first implosion in nearly a decade for a city that loves new beginnings and has made casino implosions as much a part of its identity as gambling itself.

Former casino mogul Steve Wynn changed the way Las Vegas blew up casinos in 1993 with the implosion of the dunes to make way for the Bellagio. Wynn thought of not only televising the event but also concocting a fantastical story for the implosion that made it seem like pirate ships were shooting into the dunes at his other casino across the street.

The city hasn’t blown up a strip casino since 2016, when the Riviera’s last tower was leveled for a convention center expansion.

This time, the implosion will free up land for a $1.5 billion baseball stadium for the relocating Oakland Athletics, part of the city’s recent rebranding as a sports center.

It was once known as the “Tiffany of the Strip” for its opulence and was a frequent haunt of the legendary Rat Pack. His past among the Mafia has long cemented his place in Las Vegas lore.

It opened in 1957 with three floors and 300 hotel rooms in two wings.

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