How and where to watch the implosion of the Tropicana Las Vegas | tourism

The planned implosion of the remains of the Tropicana casino hotel is a must-see in Las Vegas for locals and tourists alike.

The controlled demolition of the two former Tropicana Las Vegas hotel towers is scheduled for 2:30 a.m. Wednesday and will take about 22 seconds. There will be fireworks and a drone show beforehand.

But with nearby hotel rooms almost fully booked or too expensive for the average visitor, catching a glimpse of the spectacle could be harder than expected.

Officially, there are no designated public viewing areas for the implosion of the Rat Pack-era casino at the corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.

For safety reasons, an area around the site is closed to the public. Pedestrian access on the roads surrounding the Trop site will be restricted and road closures have been announced.

Given that the implosion is taking place in the early hours of the morning, the usual places one might go to get an unobstructed view of the Las Vegas Strip – such as the top of The Strat casino hotel or the Legacy Club in the Casino Circa – downtown hotel – will not be open to the general public.

So where can you watch this historic event?

The most obvious places to keep an eye on are the roofs of nearby parking garages. The roof of the New York New York Casino Hotel parking garage offers a completely unobstructed view and the MGM Grand Casino Hotel parking garage also offers a completely unobstructed view. As of Friday, MGM Resorts International — which operates both casino properties — has not said whether it will restrict access to those locations.

Another MGM-operated casino has a prime viewing spot that is arguably the best spot in town. A sold-out party is taking place in the Foundation Room on the 63rd floor of the Mandalay Bay Casino Hotel. The event is hosted by LiveNation.

An off-Strip casino hotel is also participating in hosting an implosion viewing party. Ellis Island, located on Koval Lane, two blocks east of Las Vegas Boulevard, hosts its own shindig Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning. There will be Las Vegas trivia and karaoke in the Ellis Island Front Yard before the big bang.

Las Vegas locals may be able to see the implosion from their favorite vantage points around the valley, although distance and darkness may scupper those plans. On the west and northwest sides, several parks in Summerlin and Centennial Hills offer great views of the Strip, while on the east and southeast sides of the valley there are dozens of sightseeing locations.

For those who don't want to venture outside but still want to watch the spectacle, the Las Vegas Review-Journal will livestream the event. Local television news stations also broadcast the Trop implosion.

The Trop, which opened in 1957, is being demolished to make way for a baseball stadium and a new resort on the 35-acre site. Bally's Corp., which owns the gaming license for the now-closed property, and the Athletics have announced their intention to build a $1.5 billion stadium on a 9-acre site, possibly with a new hotel resort later. So far, the owner of the Major League Baseball team has not disclosed any public funding source for the stadium and Bally's has not revealed its plans for a new resort.

According to officials, the Trop's planned demo will cost about $1.2 million and will hold up to 2,100 pounds of explosives. The implosion will bring down the Club Tower and Paradise Tower.

David Danzis can be contacted at [email protected] or (702) 383-0378. Follow AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.