The Tropicana closing has officially been confirmed. Its last day of business has been set, and the resort will be demolished. In the meantime, thousands of casino workers are threatening to strike within days… just in time for Las Vegas to host the Super Bowl.
While we wait for specifics on the Tropicana closing, the Super Bowl is just 2 weeks away, but the deadline for Las Vegas Culinary and Hospitality workers to walk off their jobs is this Friday. Complicating the issue even further is that now, Las Vegas bus drivers are getting involved. But first some good news, as six of the resorts facing a work stoppage have reached an agreement with the Union. And as encouraging as this is, that still leaves thousands of workers and 16 properties that could be affected by this strike.
Higher pay and fewer hours is what the union is demanding, amongst other things. And if their demands aren’t met by this Friday things could get pretty ugly at these sixteen Las Vegas Resorts: Binion’s, Circa, Circus Circus, Downtown Grand, El Cortez, Four Queens, Fremont, Golden Gate, Golden Nugget, Main Street, the Plaza, the Rio, Sahara, The D, Treasure Island, and Virgin.
No waiters. No Cooks. No maid service. And Lord forbid, no bartenders! Add to this hundreds and hundreds of Las Vegas bus drivers who were also threatening to go on strike just before the Super Bowl. And if you’re out there thinking, ‘Well that’s no big deal. I don’t take the bus while I’m in Vegas’ consider this: On average, 150,000 people ride the buses in Las Vegas every single day. That would mean 150,000 extra people trying to book taxis and ride shares and cram onto the monorail. What do you think that’s going to do to your ability to find a ride? What do you think that’s going to do to the cost of your ride?
While we worry about the Tropicana closing and how to get around in Las Vegas and who’s going to change our sheets and bring us a beer, record betting is expected on the Super Bowl this year. Over $ 1.3 billion, in fact. And more and more, that betting is legal! And this week, we’re watching sports betting expansion in States like North Carolina, Vermont, and Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, more people are betting in Arizona, while record revenue levels are being set across the country.
And finally this week, the announcement has come that the Tropicana closing will happen on April 2nd of this year. And that means, my friends, that April 1st is the last day you can book a reservation… and that’s no fooling. Now, the Tropicana will eventually be demolished, they just haven’t set a date yet. Best guesses are the end of this year or the first part of next year, all in order to build that brand new professional baseball stadium and the brand new Bally’s Las Vegas!
The Tropicana was built in 1957… that’s just 2 years before Wayne Newton started performing in Sin City! And Tropicana is the third oldest Resort on the Strip, behind only the Sahara and Flamingo. That means that when the Tropicana is torn down, Wayne Newton will become the third oldest thing on the Strip!