Tropicana Las Vegas Gives Employees Notice Of Closure

Well, it looks like the days of one of the longest-standing hotels in Las Vegas are now numbered. The Tropicana on the Las Vegas strip will be closing soon.

The Tropicana on the Las Vegas Strip told its employees this week, that it plans to close within 18 to 24 months - at least temporarily - but will operate business as usual until that point.

For the past three years, we’ve been hearing about this being a possible location for the ballpark, said Harry Basil, General Manager of the Laugh Factory Comedy Club at the Tropicana. Basil says after several years of chatter about it, he was relieved to hear the news last month that the Oakland A’s could move to a site on the west side of the I-15.

Everyone at the Trop (breathed) a sigh of relief, Basil said. Like, Okay, we’re good. But then came the memo from Bally’s, which owns the Tropicana, saying it’s preparing to close in the next 18 to 24 months to prepare for a renovation.

Basil says it would be sad to see the property go - not just because of his own business there, but  also because of  all the memories of the legendary property. Bally’s calls the project an “integrated casino hotel and resort and baseball park,” which hints at the plan for at least part of the Tropicana to remain.

Las Vegas' Historic Commercial Center hasn't seen much action over the last decade, or so, but that's about to change.

EDM artist Deadmau5 is heading up “The Fabulous Commercial Center Block Party” Thursday at the historic entertainment and hospitality center on East Sahara Avenue.  Nina DiGregorio’s Bella Strings and Las Vegas favorite Franky Perez will also perform the free-admission event.

The party will happen on three stages in the Commercial Center parking lot, that is being converted to a festival grounds for the event.

Gates open at 6 p.m. Bella Strings perform at 7 p.m., followed by Perez at 8 p.m. and Deadmau5 at 9 p.m. Though there is no cover charge, but tickets are required they will be limited to two tickets per email address. Click this link for tickets. Availability is limited, and may already be sold out.. A crowd of 10,000 is expected. Organizers suggest ride sharing, as parking at Commercial Center and surrounding areas is very limited.

In addition to music, several large scale art pieces will be featured. Like El Pulpo Mecanico, a 35-foot-tall mechanical octopus. El Pulpo belches fire from eight limbs, and has been a popular attraction for years at Burning Man.

The point of the event -  other than to just have a great time - is to show investors that Commercial Center is still viable. It coincides with the renaming of Karen Avenue, to Liberace Avenue.

Clark County has a gentrification effort to create an arts colony that would take up about 60 acres in the larger South of Sahara Avenue District. SOSA, as the county refers to that entire property, is bordered by Sahara Avenue, Maryland Parkway, Liberace Avenue and Joe W. Brown Drive.

When the Mob ran Las Vegas, Commercial Center was often a meeting place for the mobsters in the 60’s & 70’s. The famed Ice Palace drew some big rockers back in the 60's (SEE BELOW), and it was a place to see and be seen. From Liberace at Tiffany’s cleaners and John Fish To Elvis Presley, The Rat Pack, and even the Rolling Stones.

Over the years, Commercial Center shuttered most of it's businesses, but is now on the way to improvement. Suffice to say, Commercial Center has not seen such a large-scale event like the Deadmu5 event, since opening in 1963, but they are looking to make a name for themselves again.

Here's hoping Commercial Center will make some noise again, because we really don't have a lot of Las Vegas history left in the way of buildings, and structures.

Here are the few huge acts that played the Ice Palace at Commercial Center in Las Vegas in the 60's and 70's. We can now add Deadmu5 to the list of Commercial Center Concerts!

The Grateful Dead became a mainstay in Las Vegas for "Deadheads" until the death of Jerry Garcia

Most likely the first - and LAST - time Led Zeppelin played Las Vegas.

The Doors played Las Vegas a few times. The now-legendary Vegas gig at the Ice Palace skating rink in Commercial Center appears to be the last time, and by that time, the world saw a heavier, bearded Morrison, a deteriorated shell of the sleek, lean lead man of 1968, that worked in Vegas.

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Here are the actual setlists:

POCO: 1. Pickin' Up the Pieces 2. Hoe Down 3. Blue Water 4. Fool's Gold 5. I Guess You Made It 6. Hurry Up 7. Railroad Days 8. And Settlin' Down 9. A Right Along 10. Restrain 10. Ride the Country 11. A Good Feelin' to Know"

YES: 1. The Firebird Suite 2.Siberian Khatru 3. I've Seen All Good People 4. Mood for a Day 5. Clap 6. Heart of the Sunrise 7. And You and I 8. Close to the Edge  9. Keyboard Solo 10. Roundabout 11. Yours Is No Disgrace 12. Starship Trooper

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Steely Dan 9Walter Becker has passed away), and Boz Scaggs both continue to play Las Vegas on occasion.

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