Tropicana Laughlin

Tropicana Laughlin
The property as seen in 2018
Location	Laughlin, Nevada, U.S.
Address	2121 South Casino Drive
Opening date	June 1988;35 years ago (1988-06)
Theme	Railroad Station
No. of rooms	1,498
Total gaming space	52,840 sq ft (4,909 m2)
Owner	Gaming and Leisure Properties
Operating license holder	Caesars Entertainment
Architect	Various, SOSH Architects (Renovations)
Previous names	Ramada Express (1988–2007) Tropicana Express (2007–2009)
Renovated in	1993, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2017
Website	troplaughlin.com

The Tropicana Laughlin (formerly Ramada Express and Tropicana Express) is a casino hotel in Laughlin, Nevada. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The hotel has 1,498 guest rooms and suites, located in the 12-story Casino Tower and the 24-story Promenade Tower. The casino has 1,050 slot machines and 21 table games. ^[1] It includes the restaurants: The Steakhouse, Passaggio Italian Gardens, Carnegie's Café, Taqueria Del Rio, Poolside Café, Dips & Dogs and Victory Plaza.

History

In June 1988, the property opened under the name Ramada Express. In 1993, an expansion was completed that included the Promenade Tower, the Town Square area, additional casino space and restaurants, and a parking garage. In May 2007, Columbia Sussex announced that the Ramada Express would change its name to the Tropicana Express. ^[2] The hotel opened as the Tropicana Express on July 28, 2007. It was later renamed as Tropicana Laughlin in 2009.

In 2018, Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLP) acquired the real estate of the Tropicana and Eldorado Resorts (later Caesars Entertainment) acquired its operating business, under lease from GLP, as part of the two companies' acquisition of Tropicana Entertainment. ^{[3] [4]}

In 2019, the Tropicana's buffet closed permanently.

Entertainment

The Tropicana has the Pavilion Theater, a 9,000-square-foot (840 m²) indoor entertainment venue. It also has Tango's Lounge, which has live entertainment, the Eclipse Bar and a premium slot lounge, the Grand Junction.

Railroad

Tropicana Express Train: Diesel engine No. 11 Lucky Lady in 2008

The Tropicana formerly operated a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge train in a loop on the grounds that could be ridden for free. Rolling stock consisted of open passenger cars, a 4-4-0 locomotive replica of the Virginia and Truckee No. 12 Genoa named No. 7 Gambler powered by a diesel engine inside its tender and a Plymouth Locomotive Works engine named No. 11 Lucky Lady used as a spare. ^[5] The lobby and casino floor was adorned and decorated in a railroad theme with various mementos and artifacts from the historical railroad lines and companies from throughout the United States.

On April 14, 2012, Tropicana Entertainment donated the rolling stock to the Las Vegas Railroad Society. All equipment was trucked from Laughlin to be stored in Las Vegas. ^[6] In April 2018, the rolling stock was placed on display at the Craig Ranch Regional Park in North Las Vegas. ^[7] The tracks have since been torn out and all of the railroad memorabilia removed.

See also

• Tropicana Las Vegas
• Tropicana Atlantic City

References

1. "Listing of Financial Statements Square Footage". Nevada Gaming Control Board . Retrieved July 24, 2015.
2. Maslikowski, Dominika; Maniaci, Jim (July 29, 2007). "New owners rebrand old Ramada into the new Tropicana Express". Mohave Daily News. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
3. Parry, Wayne (April 16, 2018). "Icahn's company strikes approximately $1.85B Tropicana deal". Las Vegas Sun. AP. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
4. "Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. completes previously announced acquisition of the real estate assets of Tropicana Entertainment" (Press release). Gaming and Leisure Properties. October 1, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
5. Click, Paul (November 3, 1994). "Railroad at the Ramada Express rewarding experience". The Kingman Daily Miner .
6. Hogan, Jan (June 5, 2012). "Locomotive donations boost railroad group's bid to create park". Las Vegas Review-Journal . Archived from the original on 2013-11-03. Retrieved May 12, 2015.
7. "Las Vegas Railroad Society Project". Las Vegas Railroad Society. Retrieved 8 June 2019.

External links

• Official website

35°9′28″N114°34′32″W / 35.15778°N 114.57556°W / 35.15778; -114.57556